More Tapping

Although the formerly mentioned method works fairly well, it only works for a day or so. These small wounds heal over fairly fast and stop providing any sap at all. A much more long lasting and productive method is to drill a hole at an upwards angle of the tree and plug the hole with another birch stick with a V cut going along its length. The sap will collect in the cut and drip into your container. When you have tapped one particular birch for a few days you can plug the hole again with a whole birch plug.

A few other points to tapping sap:
– When the ground is very dry, birches doesn’t provide much. In persistent dry weather, tap birches close to water sources or wet ground.
– The sap subsides during the night.
– Insects will be attracted to your sap. If possible it’s best to elevate your container from the ground to reduce the amount of ants falling in. You will still get some moskitos and flies falling in. I just scoop those out before drinking.