Getting Rid of Ants from Your Tree

by | Jul 6, 2022 | Tree Service

Ants are common pests you find inside your house. However, for those who don’t know, they can also infest trees. They are extremely tiny that it is difficult to notice details when checking them during your day-to-day living. However, you might notice a couple of ants are bigger compared to others if you were to look a bit closer.  

Carpenter ants are the form of ants that can infest your tree. Your tree might have a carpenter ant infestation if you see that it has a line of ants walking towards a hole on your tree. One of the best ways to get rid of them is to hire a Fort Mill tree service company. If you want to do it on your own, here are several tips you can follow: 

Look for their Nest 

Finding the nest of the carpenter ant is the first and most crucial step you need to do. You should look around the tree for where the ants are entering. Look for any holes in the tree that the ants use to access their nest.  

You should keep in mind that the hole might be buried slightly in the bark folds. So, you should try scraping the bark a little at the tree base. If you notice a lot of ants coming out of a hole in your tree, that is perhaps one of their entrance to their nest.  

If you are not certain of an infestation, you can hire a professional tree service company for help. They can also help you figure out whether to proceed with treatments or not. If you hire a professional to check your trees, they can determine the health of your tree. Most professionals can also offer a couple of methods that can help you get rid of the ants.  

Use Ant Bait or Insecticide 

After you find the nest, the next thing you’ve got to do is to apply insecticide. This will help you get rid of the infestation at its source. There are various forms of insecticides. You can use liquid or powder. If you want to use liquid, liberally spray the nest. Next, spray the whole tree trunk from top to bottom to get any ants that might try to escape. If you want to use the powder, evenly spread the insecticide around the hole to the nest. Ants will die when they touch the powder. The other ants will also carry the dead ants back to their nest. This will allow you to poison them inside.  

Your goal is to get rid of the ant’s queen that is located inside the nest. After you kill the queen, the rest of the ants won’t thrive.  

Evaluate the Health of Your Tree 

After you get rid of the ants, you might have to get rid of your dying tree as well. This is particularly true if it is dying from decay and you can’t save it. Doing so will help you avoid reinfestation and the risk of the tree falling.