Carpenter ants!!! HELP!!!

[atasteofnature]

I have a customer who is a graphic desinger and is bartering with me (best thing ever) and she has problem with her maple tree. She says every year another branch dies and falls to the ground. She says about midway through spring she sees one big ant hill under the tree. This tree is their "baby" because it sits in the right spot in the yard to be a great specieman. It is probably 15' tall and 10' wide. I think the problem is carpenter ants but I don't have the knowledge to stop them and save the tree. I will go in and trim all the dead branches out but don't know how to stop the ants eating the rest of the tree. They will go to any measure to save the tree rather then cut it down. I didn't know if there was something I could inject the tree with or i just don't know. Please help!!! Thank you everyone for your time.

[ICT Bill]

Carpenter ants like dead wood, take their food away and they will move, typically buried roots from cut down trees

Ants do not like castor oil and it will not hurt trees or turf, we have a 5 essential oil mix, with garlic and capsaicin (pepper oil) called essential-1 that will drive fire ants off of a property. We trialed all of last year in FL it worked in every case. This year we are having Universities document it

It does not kill them but after a couple applications they move the nest, I would think that the carpenter ants would do the same. It is very safe to use

I do not have the data to back this up only anecdotal at this point

[atasteofnature]

thank you thank you thank you so much for the quick response and great idea. I will take action and keep this thread updated. I am open to others as well. Everyone have a great day.

[topsites]

I can't tell you to use this without a license but I treat my home for termites with Talstar (it ain't cheap).
Which also keeps the living areas clear of bugs the entire year, might see a daddy long legs sometimes.

[atasteofnature]

sounds like a plan...thanx topsites

[White Gardens]

The soft maple in our back yard had carpenter ants. A couple of years ago I sprayed ortho ant killer on the trunk of the tree, from the ground to about five feet up. Since then I haven't seen any in that tree.

I know they don't actually hurt the tree, and were feeding on the rotting wood (tree was topped years ago), but they were starting to get into the house and my wife wasn't having it.

[atasteofnature]

Amen brother. Ortho, I will add to my list. Thank you for your imput and everyone have a great weekend.

[TwinTurbo]

I'm no expert but I've done my share of battling carpenter ants in my trees and log house. I live on the edge of a heavily forested area and they are constantly trying to gain a foothold (after I booted them out).

Carpenter ants have bent antennae, this is the easiest way to distinguish them from their less damaging cousins. Check the web for pictures, lots of places to see them.

They do not eat wood, they eat sugars and protiens. They only burrow out wood to make their nest. Left alone, they will eventually kill the tree or weaken it enough it will fall from wind, etc.

Ants are resilient. They switch between eating sugars and protiens so it's best to use both as bait to be sure they find your tainted food and take it back to the nest.

One of the most effective poisons is boric acid powder. It's also fairly safe to humans, about as toxic as aspirin to us. The trick is to expose them to it or get them to ingest the powder. They can pick it up by walking through it. They then clean themselves or track it back to the nest. This is not very effective outdoors due to rain and dew. The alternative is to provide a mechanism to attract them and get them to eat it.

One solution that works quite well is a honeydew attractant. You dilute the solution so as not to kill them immediately. They soak it up and take it back to the nest. I bought some feeding stations that you fill with the solution. The ants can walk up and under a protective hood to gain access to the poison but the rain won't affect it.

I also have protien granules that you scatter on the ground that are laced with the boric acid. Sometimes, this is all they will touch and they completely ignore the sugar solution. This is typical in early spring when fresh young caterpillars are everywhere.

It takes awhile to kill the nest. I've used spray poisons and thought they were all dead. Crack open the nest and there are quite a few survivors hunkered down in there. The bait approach kills all of them. If any survive the first round, they dine on the stored food and then they die too.

Spray poisons will work on a single tree if you treat the lower part of the trunk and be sure to keep up on the applications. The methods above work well when you have environmental concerns, difficult to access infestations or fear of children getting into harsh chemicals in the yard.

It's also tough this time of year since the winged ones are out looking for new nest sites. Perimeter spraying is not as effective since they can land anywhere.

[benjammin]

Carpenter ants like dead wood, take their food away and they will move, typically buried roots from cut down trees

Ants do not like castor oil and it will not hurt trees or turf, we have a 5 essential oil mix, with garlic and capsaicin (pepper oil) called essential-1 that will drive fire ants off of a property. We trialed all of last year in FL it worked in every case. This year we are having Universities document it

It does not kill them but after a couple applications they move the nest, I would think that the carpenter ants would do the same. It is very safe to use

I do not have the data to back this up only anecdotal at this point

I think I need some of that. I just signed up at your website.
cheers