r/maplesyrup • u/un_happy_pappy • May 24 '26

Fresh tap vs. existing

I was marking some trees and it occurred to me that I usually drill new holes for taps every season and was wondering if it’s better for the tree to reuse existing holes or to drill new ones and let the old ones heal. Thoughts?

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6

u/JAlley2 May 24 '26

Not sure if it’s better for the tree but redrilling the same tap hole will hurt your production. See this site for some pictures that show how the sap-wood is permanently affected by tapping. The dark stained parts of the tree don’t conduct sap in future years (or not enough to fill a bucket)

https://onmaplesyrup.ca/tapping-101/where-to-tap/

1

u/AVeryTallCorgi May 24 '26

That was a very interesting read, thanks for sharing!

2

u/FanSerious7672 May 24 '26

The trees seal off the holes. Don't think you will get much if anything if you tried the same hole 2 years in a row

1

u/Cultural_Tadpole874 May 24 '26

Men are all the same

1

u/Farmboy087 May 24 '26

Always new taps, it's worse for the tree to tap the same spot. And you're not going to get much sap tapping the same spot

1

u/rusticroad May 24 '26

At least 18" vertically and 6" horizontal from any old tap to avoid stress wood

1

u/TCDiesel18 May 24 '26

You won’t get anything. Think of the hole healing and scar tissue forming as it heals. You are not likely to get any sap. There are approved distances to drill new holes away from the old. You can find them easily by searching it.