How to protect your trees from carpenter ants

Chances are you have already seen ants crawling along a line at your house. Ants are common pests that form a conical heap where they reproduce and gather subsistence from their environment. There are different kinds of ants found and cannot be generalized. Some are harmless ants, but some cause damage. They are also harmful to the trees that you own. You should be on a lookout for the type of ants that are harmful to your trees and take measures to protect your trees.

The Basics of Carpenter Ants

​What are carpenter ants? Like other ants, carpenter ants are insects that have a fascination with drilling holes into wooden structures such as tree barks. Unlike termites, they don’t eat wood, but instead boreholes to make tunnels and clear out wood. They do not even appear like normal ants; they are longer and larger. If you find any such ants at the base of a tree, it’s highly probable that the tree is infested with them.

What an Infestation of Carpenter Ants Means

​If you feel scared for the safety of your tree, don’t worry! Carpenter ants are usually fixated on dead decaying wood. If your tree is healthy, it should be clear of such pests. If your trees are infested with ants, it very likely means that the tree has a health problem, like a fungal disease and it may be decaying.   

Protecting Your Trees from Carpenter Ants

There are a few steps you can take to ensure that your trees are protected from carpenter ants.  First, ensure that your tree is not wilting, and it is hydrated. All trees need water to live.  A tree that is deprived of water will start to wilt, and this decaying matter will attract carpenter ants as they seek protection in the tree’s rotten wood.  Second, an ant pesticide powder is an excellent measure to protect your trees. Use it around the base of your tree. These pesticide powders provide ants with toxic food which kills them. Believing to be food, they are taken to the heap where the entire colony consumes it and dies.  Third, a solution of water and peppermint oil works wonders. Spray it at the bottom few feet of your tree. This helps, as peppermint oil is an ant repellent. Ants despise peppermint, so they refrain from attacking the tree.   Lastly, proper tree trimming technique helps avoid wounds that invite insects.  

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