Aluminum Tree Tags

[rojen]

As I inventory my tree lot, I've gotten interested in the aluminum sequentially numbered tree tags forest services use.  I wouldn't mind tracking my production from tree to log to finished product. 

My question is how hardy are these tags?  If I nail them to my trees are they going to survive felling and skidding to my log pile?  I typically roll logs and use arches behind a side by side to forward.  I don't drag with winches very often, but it does happen occasionally.  Am I going to end up putting extra nails into my logs and lose the tags that would highlight them?  Or will they hold up enough to work as intended?  Just use aluminum flat heads or should I go for a double headed nail for ease of removal? 

Thanks.

[Clark]

My question is how hardy are these tags?  If I nail them to my trees are they going to survive felling and skidding to my log pile?  

No, they won't survive that trip. You'd be better off spray painting an ID # to the butt end of the tree or log.

Clark

[Old Greenhorn]

I know those tags are pricey, too rich for me when I looked into them. I wanted tags for keeping track of when I milled stuff and what species it is. 21incher turned me on to these, they are plant markers about 20 bucks/thousand. They seem to be holding up to the weather fine, but are only as durable as the staple holding them.



 

[btulloh]

Put whatever you use on the end of the log. You could use a paint pen instead of a tag.  

[nativewolf]

We are doing an inventory with al tree tags but it will be 10 years before we harvest any so your thoughts are way beyond us.

Our process is to take an aluminum tag with copper wires get to a sample tree, go to the base, take one carbon black UV resistant zip tie, staple it with stainless steel staple to the very base, below the harvest height (just an inch off ground for instance) then tie the copper lines holding the label to the end of the zip tie.  The tree growth here would swallow the tree tags on many trees (chestnut oaks, red oaks, yellow poplar) in only 10 years if we just stapled the tag to the tree.  

By using a neutral 8" zip tie we give the tag enough length to survive even a 20 year harvest cycle.  As the tree grows it will naturally cover the end of the zip tie- the staple and zip tie has to survive for our tagging to work so shade and UV resistance is important.  I'm sure we'll lose some.  

We also geo tag the data by recording lat/long and taking a pic of the stem so we can compare epicormic sprouting, effects of small trunk scrapes, etc etc etc.  

[moodnacreek]

Those things. The problem is the steel nail everybody uses. The tag you can saw through but a steel nail is just that.

[RichTired]

What about a RFID "tag" embedded in the base of the trunk. Or one of the chips that Vets put in dog and cats. Or like the RFID ear tags for cattle.

[Nebraska]

Don't know how deep an RFID reader would penetrate to read if the tree covered it.  It will read through a little bit of fat on a do g micro chip though.. Just for a try I can put a couple  thicknesses of wood over the top of a cattle tag and see if it would read through...Interesting idea though. 

[nativewolf]

Don't know how deep an RFID reader would penetrate to read if the tree covered it.  It will read through a little bit of fat on a do g micro chip though.. Just for a try I can put a couple  thicknesses of wood over the top of a cattle tag and see if it would read through...Interesting idea though.

That would be a neat experiment!  Do you have some rfid cattle tags you could try on and a reader.  I'd really like to know if it could penetrate 2-3 inches.  That would open up all sorts of opportunities.   How far away does it read?

[donbj]

Those things. The problem is the steel nail everybody uses. The tag you can saw through but a steel nail is just that.

The mill I worked at used aluminum staples to attach the bar code tags onto the bundles of wrapped lumber. Also used them to staple the wrapper on 

[GullyBog]

We use aluminum tags on the base of trees at work.  Aluminum nails are hammered halfway in to give a little room to grow.  They hold up well for 5-10 years.  Sometimes squirrels will chew on the tags.  A young tree can overgrow the tag in 5 years.  It's easy to bend an aluminum nail but it's easy to straighten them back out.  I agree with other posters about marking the log itself once it has been felled.  The aluminum is very soft and wouldn't make it over any rocks.  After waiting years for the data I wouldn't want to lose it at the end.