Black Carpenter Ants/Maple tree

[jensen 32000]

Looking for some help! This summer we have really noticed a lot of what I believe to be carpenter ants in our house. My wife killed about a dozen this morning in the hallway and we see a lot in the master bedroom and bathroom. I looked on "The Net" and most sites tend to indicate that the "main nest" (with the actual Queen) is usually outside. We don't have any really damp areas in the house that we know of, that would attract them for a nest inside. (fingers crossed) So far the only source of ant activity is a hole in the soil, leading to the roots of a small (20') maple tree about 12' total from the front of the master bedroom. (house is a ranch bungalow). Incidentally this maple tree has a whitish mold on the leaves in the later part of summer (now). 1) Could this mold be caused by ants eating the roots. 2) How do I tell if there is a nest? 3) will the tree have to come down. Also I do bring firewood home now and then and there has been ants in the wood, but I usually split it right away, and kill any ants and dump any really infested wood in the dumpster. I store my wood about 60' from the house. Any help/advise appreciated. Thanks in advance. Mike

 

[treeseer]

I do bring firewood home now and then and there has been ants in the wood, but I usually split it right away, and kill any ants and dump any really infested wood in the dumpster.

Gotta watch that firewood; brought roaches into my place that way.

Your tree is not the problem, though getting an arborist to locate cavities and control ants would be a good battle to win in your war against the ants.

 

[jensen 32000]

Ants

It's about 9:45 pm and I just did a walk around the front of the house and the tree is the only spot, with ants, moving up and down the tree and about three around the hole. Should I try digging it up or something like that? I would like to try something, if I could myself. Or is the tree's fate already sealed. Thanks Mike.

 

[treeseer]

is the tree's fate already sealed. .

Mike, no need for such negativity. Cavities are common in maples, and seldom call for removal. See the Insects and Disease brochure in the link below.

Take pictures and post them here if you want an opinion on the tree, which opinions will be worth at least what they cost you. Better yet, get a local arborist to car efor that maple so you'll stop with the gloom and doom about it. :umpkin:

 

[chowdozer]

I had carpenter ants in the side of my house last year. I used Grant's Kills Ants. It works really good. Took a couple weeks because the poison is slow acting. When I put the tins out, I watched and it took them about 5 minutes to find it. They would fight over it. When you put the stuff out, use a toothpick to smear some on the outside of the tin and also break the skin on the poison inside the hole. I bought it at Fred Meyer. They're little metal tins on a gray plastic stake. Put them right in their path. They take it back to the nest and they all feed on it. Doesn't work on the red and black ants though

 

[12guns]

Solution

Call Your Pest Control People...i Used To Work For The Largest In The Country, And We Always Put Out Granular Bait That The Ants Would Eat, And Carry Back To The Nest. They Would All Die!! There's All Kinds Of Baits, Gel, Grain, Etc That Work Great.