WE HAVE AN OLD MAPLE THAT IS LOADED WITH CARPENTER ANTS. IS IT TOO LATE TO SAVE THE TREE?
It’s not likely carpenter ants can kill a tree by themselves. In fact most trees will develop weak spots where pests like ants love to nest. But even after a nest is started, most won’t harm a tree. However, there are a few that can and no doubt carpenter ants are one of these “bad” species.
That being said, in my experience it’s more likely they’ll use spaces, cracks and crevices already present on the tree to make their nests. Such areas will develop under the bark or where limbs sustain normal damage due to weather or wind. So if you’re seeing a healthy tree full of leaves and void of any evident sickness, it’s more likely the ants have an active nest but that the tree is still very much alive. Such trees should be able to live indefinitely and are designed to overcome mild insect activity. But should you allow the ants to continue nesting even if the tree is healthy? No way!
If you’d like to ensure the tree’s long term health, get it treated with some TERMIDOR. This unique formulation is slow acting and as ants travel over the treated bark, they’ll be picking up a dose of active that will eventually spread throughout their nest. Within 4-8 days, it will effectively shut down any nests it’s carried to making it both effective yet easy to use without knowing where the nests are located. But if you can see where the nest is located, a direct treatment with the DRIONE will be fast and immediate. Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:
Termidor: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/termidor-sc-20-oz
Drione: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/drione-dust
Carpenter Ant Control: https://www.carpenterants.com/carpenter-ant-control
guest says
In trying to determine how to rid my tree of black ants that are boreing therein, I need to know if carpenter ants and borers are the same. In looking up info sometimes it appears the two are used interchangeable. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks.
admin says
@guest: I’m not sure what you mean by “the two are used interchangeable” but here’s what I do know. First, if you are seeing large black carpenter ants active on a tree you’d like to save from dying, you should treat with either the Termidor or the Drione described above. It will quickly remedy the problem. And second, after the ants are gone (which will only take a day if the Drione is used; 1 week if the Termidor is used), you should monitor the tree to see if any new “boring” is done. By “monitoring”, I mean looking to see if there is any other insect activity that’s important or worse yet, if you can still see signs the tree is being damaged by something. This would be a sign that another insect is still nesting. Remember a tree can serve as host to a wide range of insects and many trees are in fact susceptible to different kinds of boring beetles. We can not rule out for said tree to have both carpenter ants and borers active at the same time until after one is addressed and since it sounds like you’re seeing large black ants, starting with them makes perfect sense.
Now if a week after treating with either of the products above you’re still noting damage (ants are gone but you’re seeing large holes or saw dust in the tree trunk or limbs), then it would seem that a borer of some kind is nesting and needs to be treated as well. For this we have both an aerosol treatment and a liquid concentrate that can be sprayed (different from Termidor). You can read about this process in our Borer Control article here:
Borers: http://www.bugspray.com/article/pinebark.html
For more Drione and Termidor information, following these links:
Drione: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/drione-dust
Termidor: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/termidor-sc-20-oz
guest says
I had a maple tree infested with carpenter ants. The tree has been removed, but I am seeing carpenter ants in my home. I have found several dead ants around the baseboards in my house. I have located an area where the dust etc is visible, so it may be the location of an active nest. Should I try to inject that area with this Carpenter Ant Gel?
admin says
@guest: You do not want to use the gel for this. If you read our article, you’ll see the Gel is best for when you see ants but have no idea where they’re nesting. In this case, you know exactly where they’re nesting so the Drione would be best. A direct treatment would shut them down for good.
Drione: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/dust/drione-dust
Now as our article also explains, these guys rarely have just “one” nest location. In fact, they usually have several which appears to have been the case with your problem. So when the tree is removed, the other nests will rebound strong and many times make themselves more visible. When you see this happening, you’ll usually be able to find trailing ants. So if you ever see trailing ants with no clue where they’re going, that would be where some Gel could be applied. But sticking it too close or “into” the nest will only spook them since they know food doesn’t just “magically” appear. And by presenting it to them like this you’d probably make them learn to ignore it so do not attempt such a treatment; in general this will only make maters worse.
As for what would be best? My suggestion is the Drione puffed directly into their nest followed by a liquid treatment around the home with the Termidor. This way if there are any nests on or in the home that you still don’t know about, the Termidor will handle. And I don’t see any need for the gel at this time. It’s strength is best used for tough problems where the nest is unknown and compared to the Drione and Termidor, the gel is third best for sure.
Termidor: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/termidor-sc-20-oz
Carpenter Ant Control: https://www.carpenterants.com/carpenter-ant-control