Ants in black cherry

[keegantimber]

On top of all the dead ash I have...I have ants in mature black cherry trees bringing out sawdust. Is it a worthwhile venture to try to kill off the ants or is it a lost cause? I understand ants are attracted to wet wood but maybe I can get a few more years with these trees seeing as Im busy with the dead ash ?

 

[Mad Professor]

heat some water to a boil and dissolve some boric acid, then add some sugar (thick is good). Put this out at base of tree in some tunafish cans. The ants bring the mixture home and it kills the nest

 

[buzz sawyer]

Good idea on the boric acid. How big are the trees and how far up are the ants? Photos? I had a cherry about 18" dbh that had woodpecker holes a few feet up and the tree was hollow in that area and full of carpenter ants.

 

[keegantimber]

Yep. Im familiar with boric acid and sugar solution. Works good. Tree trunks are about 12 inches in diameter. Will give it a try

 

[Marine5068]

heat some water to a boil and dissolve some boric acid, then add some sugar (thick is good). Put this out at base of tree in some tunafish cans. The ants bring the mixture home and it kills the nest

Is it Tunafish or just Tuna....lol

 

[keegantimber]

Lol. I had a nice chickenbird and mayo sandwich for lunch. Lol

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

Lol. I had a nice chickenbird and mayo sandwich for lunch. Lol

I had roast beefmammal.

 

[Oldmaple]

On top of all the dead ash I have...I have ants in mature black cherry trees bringing out sawdust. Is it a worthwhile venture to try to kill off the ants or is it a lost cause? I understand ants are attracted to wet wood but maybe I can get a few more years with these trees seeing as Im busy with the dead ash ?

The ants are not causing structural damage to your trees. They are in your trees mining out already decayed wood for their galleries. Fungal decay is what causes trees to weaken, not the ants. Cherries are not particularly resistant to decay and will generally have pockets of decay in them. Whether the trees are a hazard or not depends on target (what they will hit if they fail) and on where and how extensive the decay is.