Fresh wind damage
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Question about the carpenter ant damage: I have 2 big (100-year old) maple trees in front of my house that the town is taking down because of ant damage. (Though we had 40+ MPH gusts last night, and both trees survived...) Anyway, the town tree warden said they would leave the logs for me (about 4 cords total), but should I be concerned about the ants?
Yes, the wood still has BTUs, but what about the carpenter ants going to work on the rest of my wood? Anybody have experience/recommendations with this?
Yes, the wood still has BTUs, but what about the carpenter ants going to work on the rest of my wood? Anybody have experience/recommendations with this?
Dix
Minister of Fire
The ants will leave, and find better fodder.
I'm taking down trees due to carpenter ants. Once they hit the ground, I have found that they leave.
They might move on to the next tree that's a potential victim.
I'm taking down trees due to carpenter ants. Once they hit the ground, I have found that they leave.
They might move on to the next tree that's a potential victim.
We have had some fairly heavy winds here the last couple of days. Wind chills tonight down to -15 with a regular temp of -1. I am REAL suprised no trees have come down yet.
So the ants are not inclined to hang out in the woodpile? I didn't think they cared about whether the tree was standing.
I wonder if I poured some gas in the holes in the stump, if that would kill the nest.??
I've heard that works?
I sure don't want them, attacking other trees or the house.
They must be in the below ground part of the stump for winter. I didn't see any when I split it.
I've heard that works?
I sure don't want them, attacking other trees or the house.
They must be in the below ground part of the stump for winter. I didn't see any when I split it.
wood spliter
New Member
The heavy winds are more of a problem for evergreens in the winter. Less of a problem for deciduous trees but the can still come down. In the summer when trees have leaves its a problem since there is more surface for the wind to catch. Top it off with a dry spell followed by rain and wind is a bigger problem. They soak up water through the leaves and the Branch's become heavy. Than they really have the potential to go over.
Good point. I guess the bigger risk in winter is the ice storm. We haven't had that yet this year, but I don't want to find out the hard way with the maple crashing through my daughter's bedroom.
Wood Duck
Minister of Fire
I get a lot of wood with Carpenter Ants in it, and they seem to leave once the wood is split. i think they prefer big pieces of moist wood, and wood in my pile is, I hope, fairly dry and in small pieces. Around here, I don't see Carpenter Ants in fallen wood, only standing and usually live trees. If I have a really ant infested part of the tree i split is smaller than usual to try to open up most of the ant tunnels, then I leave the wood laying around on the ground for a few days, and the ants are gone before I stack. I have never heard of ants moving to parts of the tree that are below ground, but I am sure the Carpenter Ants in Alaska are a different species than we have in PA.
Shari said:
I thought the vapors killed everything in the nest, queen, eggs, workers etc.
I was told the vapors are heavier than air, & will displace the good air with bad air & kill them.
If burned, the vapors are burned & the only ones killed are the ones in the heat zone.
quads
Minister of Fire
Nice! And your maul is standing at attention, like any good maul should.
I wouldn't dump gasoline to kill the ants. They'll go away. As far as I know, they only attack the rotten spots in trees that are already sick anyway, so trying to kill them won't matter to the healthy trees in the area. But the gas could kill other stuff, like the young trees around where you pour it etc. Besides, it's just nature. Nature is full of carpenter ants.
I wouldn't dump gasoline to kill the ants. They'll go away. As far as I know, they only attack the rotten spots in trees that are already sick anyway, so trying to kill them won't matter to the healthy trees in the area. But the gas could kill other stuff, like the young trees around where you pour it etc. Besides, it's just nature. Nature is full of carpenter ants.
daveswoodhauler
Minister of Fire
I kinda think that the Carpenter ants are a sign that the tree was on its way out anyway....sort of a Darwin type thing 
My thought is that its natures way of saying....."cut me down and get me in that stove so I can have a proper funeral"
My thought is that its natures way of saying....."cut me down and get me in that stove so I can have a proper funeral"
savageactor7
Minister of Fire
sksmass
Member
If the main nest is down below ground in the stump, it'll probably stay there and not be any bother to you. The ants that are in the main trunk will find their way back to the nest. If the nest is in the part of the tree that you cut down and split up, then the ants will scatter and many (hopefully most, including the queen) will be lost to predation by birds and other bugs. If you have a friendly flock of chickens, or pigeons, or crows, invite them over for a meal around splitting time.
ohio woodburner
Feeling the Heat
Dave i wouldn't worry about them ants they'll leave. I wouldn't dump gas on em either. My neighbor puts kerosene on them. I told him if i could afford to dump good kerosene on the wood I'd turn my thermostat up. :lol: Was it tricky to get that tree down?
ohio woodburner said:
this is not the tree in the swamp that's tangled at the top. Another smaller one that was easy to get to & on the ground.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
As others have said usually when I see carpenter ants in a tree I know the tree was on its way out . . . there was an issue with the tree to begin with and that's why they're there . . .
As for what to do . . . buck the wood, split the wood and they'll leave . . . I mean think about it . . . what would you do if some big ol' giant came along while you were sitting at home watching TV and hanging out with the family and proceeded to tear into your house with a chainsaw . . . your house is being shaken apart by the giant chain racing through the wood, the noxious exhaust is getting to you, hot metal and oil is being splattered all over the place . . . and we're not even talking about any of the death, injuries and carnage.
And then a minute or two later just when you think the worse of it is over and you've started to gather your wits and think about what you need to do to rebuild your home which is now in two or three pieces that giant returns and starts whacking your home into even smaller pieces . . . with a Fiskars . . . there goes your master bedroom . . . there goes the living room . . . there goes the kid's bedrooms . . . so now your home is in four to six sections, totally exposed to the elements (not to mention your mortal enemies -- and I'm not talking about the car salesman down the road . . . I'm talking about your other neighbor who has threatened to kill you and your family in the past) . . . would you still want to stay there . . . heck no, you'd be grabbing the kids, the babies, your mother-in-law (well maybe you'd leave her behind) and vacating the premises to go find another nice place to live.
As for what to do . . . buck the wood, split the wood and they'll leave . . . I mean think about it . . . what would you do if some big ol' giant came along while you were sitting at home watching TV and hanging out with the family and proceeded to tear into your house with a chainsaw . . . your house is being shaken apart by the giant chain racing through the wood, the noxious exhaust is getting to you, hot metal and oil is being splattered all over the place . . . and we're not even talking about any of the death, injuries and carnage.
And then a minute or two later just when you think the worse of it is over and you've started to gather your wits and think about what you need to do to rebuild your home which is now in two or three pieces that giant returns and starts whacking your home into even smaller pieces . . . with a Fiskars . . . there goes your master bedroom . . . there goes the living room . . . there goes the kid's bedrooms . . . so now your home is in four to six sections, totally exposed to the elements (not to mention your mortal enemies -- and I'm not talking about the car salesman down the road . . . I'm talking about your other neighbor who has threatened to kill you and your family in the past) . . . would you still want to stay there . . . heck no, you'd be grabbing the kids, the babies, your mother-in-law (well maybe you'd leave her behind) and vacating the premises to go find another nice place to live.
quads
Minister of Fire
firefighterjake said:
Now I feel like a home wrecker. Sadistic home wrecker, ("death, injuries, carnage") & a polluter: "noxious exhaust, hot metal & oil" & tree killer & I don't like my "Mother-in-law".
Gosh, thanks for the motivational speech.
LOLMaybe I'll feel better when I use their home to heat my home but don't think so.
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
bogydave said:firefighterjake said:
Now I feel like a home wrecker. Sadistic home wrecker, ("death, injuries, carnage") & a polluter: "noxious exhaust, hot metal & oil" & tree killer & I don't like my "Mother-in-law".
Gosh, thanks for the motivational speech.
Maybe I'll feel better when I use their home to heat my home but don't think so.
If it helps the next time you start whacking their home apart just start yelling this out . . . warning . . . your neighbors may call the cops under the mistaken belief that you've gone over the edge.
Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of a carpenter ant,
Be he alive, or be he dead
They'll soon heat my homestead.
Most of the really large carpenter ant colonies I've seen are actually a skyscraper condo of small nests of 10 -20 ants, each with a queen.
Usually when they are this large a colony the base of the tree inside is long gone and this is where thy throw all thier garbage and sawdust bits. I've seen a foot tall pit of sawdust and brown oval egg shell casings at the base of the tree.
I cut a red oak down a few years ago that had about a thousand carpenter ants in it. Found little carved out shallow depressions just large enough for them to hunker down in, in a stack of plywood sheets about 50 feet away. Sevin dust took care of the ones I found. They don't move too well when it's below freezing and they can't shake the dust off.
They would have no problem standing on the wall near the ceiling watching you watch TV , waiting for you to go to bed.
Rinse out that Budweiser bottle.
Usually when they are this large a colony the base of the tree inside is long gone and this is where thy throw all thier garbage and sawdust bits. I've seen a foot tall pit of sawdust and brown oval egg shell casings at the base of the tree.
I cut a red oak down a few years ago that had about a thousand carpenter ants in it. Found little carved out shallow depressions just large enough for them to hunker down in, in a stack of plywood sheets about 50 feet away. Sevin dust took care of the ones I found. They don't move too well when it's below freezing and they can't shake the dust off.
They would have no problem standing on the wall near the ceiling watching you watch TV , waiting for you to go to bed.
Rinse out that Budweiser bottle.
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