why is my tree dripping? (Maple Trees, insects, squirrel, front yard)
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I've lived here for 16yrs and I've never seen anything like it.
My tree is dripping big fat drops of liquidy something from an area where we removed a branch about 7 yrs. ago. There seems to be a very large cone shaped hole there like something bore through it too, and that's where the liquid is dripping from.
It's really too high up for me to see what's going on and I can't remember if the tree is an oak or a maple.
Does anybody have any ideas on what is going on with my tree?
I've lived here for 16yrs and I've never seen anything like it.
My tree is dripping big fat drops of liquidy something from an area where we removed a branch about 7 yrs. ago. There seems to be a very large cone shaped hole there like something bore through it too, and that's where the liquid is dripping from.
It's really too high up for me to see what's going on and I can't remember if the tree is an oak or a maple.
Does anybody have any ideas on what is going on with my tree?
thanks, Laurie
Same thing is currently happening, but started last spring/summer, with our huge River Birch in the front yard. I'm not even kidding when I say that some days it's almost like it is raining because so much fluid is coming out of it. Then one day it dawned on me that it wasn't sticky like sap, and for what I could tell was just water falling from somewhere, which prompted me to research a bit. If I remember correctly the main possibilities could be: tree had tapped into water/sewer lines and it was literally water flowing through it and out(also read that was very rare plus if it was sewer water I'm pretty sure a person could tell...lol), the tree have liike borers, scale insects, tree aphids, rot, or even carpenter ants have been known to cause it. Majority of articles I read said that River Birch just sometimes do it and no need to worry.
Don't know if that helped any, bBut that's what was going on with mine. Unlike what I had thought which was it was possessed and some supernatural thing was going on and completely freaked me out for the most part. I kid....well, kind of :-)
Most tree saps are pretty watery. If it is a maple, that sounds like about what you'd expect. Maple sap is very watery coming out of the tree; you have to boil it down quite a bit before it starts to become syrupy. Can you get a ladder up there to have a look at that hole and see what's going on?
Most tree saps are pretty watery. If it is a maple, that sounds like about what you'd expect. Maple sap is very watery coming out of the tree; you have to boil it down quite a bit before it starts to become syrupy. Can you get a ladder up there to have a look at that hole and see what's going on?
I know that squirrels will chew through the bark of maple trees to make the sap run - and then drink it. It might be thin, watery, and not that sweet to us - but sweet to them. It would not surprise me if other animals and insects also too advantage of sugar water.
I know that squirrels will chew through the bark of maple trees to make the sap run - and then drink it. It might be thin, watery, and not that sweet to us - but sweet to them. It would not surprise me if other animals and insects also too advantage of sugar water.
Yep, I agree that squirrels do this and it also could be the work of a yellow-bellied_sapsucker. Either way, the damage is probably minimal to the tree.
Same thing is currently happening, but started last spring/summer, with our huge River Birch in the front yard. I'm not even kidding when I say that some days it's almost like it is raining because so much fluid is coming out of it. Then one day it dawned on me that it wasn't sticky like sap, and for what I could tell was just water falling from somewhere, which prompted me to research a bit. If I remember correctly the main possibilities could be: tree had tapped into water/sewer lines and it was literally water flowing through it and out(also read that was very rare plus if it was sewer water I'm pretty sure a person could tell...lol), the tree have liike borers, scale insects, tree aphids, rot, or even carpenter ants have been known to cause it. Majority of articles I read said that River Birch just sometimes do it and no need to worry.
Don't know if that helped any, bBut that's what was going on with mine. Unlike what I had thought which was it was possessed and some supernatural thing was going on and completely freaked me out for the most part. I kid....well, kind of :-)
I hear ya. I freaked when I saw it too.
I guess I can cancel the exorcism.
I know that squirrels will chew through the bark of maple trees to make the sap run - and then drink it. It might be thin, watery, and not that sweet to us - but sweet to them. It would not surprise me if other animals and insects also too advantage of sugar water.
aha.. you may be on to something. I've seen a squirrel in that part of the tree quite a few times.
But would a squirrel be able to make a cone shaped hole in the tree?
Yep, I agree that squirrels do this and it also could be the work of a yellow-bellied_sapsucker. Either way, the damage is probably minimal to the tree.
Thanks for the link.
But it's definitely not the work of a yellow bellied sapsucker. That's a beautiful bird and one that I would remember seeing. Also, the holes aren't like that.
The hole in the tree is located where we had cut down a branch about 7 or 8 years ago. It's about 2 inches in diameter and from what I can see, it's cone shaped with the smaller end leading into the tree.
I guess based on the shape of the hole a bird could have done it, although I haven't seen any birds in that part of the tree at all.
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I hear ya. I freaked when I saw it too. 
