carpenter ants?

[CodyRa]

I have a 50- 60 ft. Southern Catalpa that has fewer leaves and more dead twigs than in the past. I've seen red&blk bodied ants on it. There were Carpenter Ants on the Red Cedar and the house next door. That Cedar tree fell onto my property during a 70mph wind storm. The 2nd largest Catalpa on the National Register is a block away and it has to be older than mine. My Catalpa is apprx. 40 yrs. old and I like to save it. How can I get rid of these ants so they don't eat my other trees, my deck, or my house? I don't want to use pesticides if possible.

[The Ent]

Well, good news first- they are not killing your tree. They are however feeding on already sick parts of the tree that is already in stress. They are a symptom, not a cause.

What we need to find out is what is bothering the tree and making it stressed to begin with.

Now, I've had a lot of general reports form those with Catalpas lately, since the beginning of the month, that theirs are all looking a bit under the weather. I'd wager weather had a lot to do with it, as we went very quickly from cool-ish and wet to hot and dry.

What I would do in your case is implement the sick tree treatment as posted at the top of this forum, and I'd pay especial attention to the part about foilar feeding. I'd add plenty of Garlic/Pepper tea to the spray in order to ward off the bugs that are trying to clean out the dead stuff for now and to keep away the other bugs that might be tempted to prey on it.

Also check your tree's planting depth- make sure there's been no grade change that has buried the root flare during its lifetime. It might take years to show up, but burying them too deeply will eventually come back to bite you.

Good luck!

[Billusa99]

Keep in mind that the ants are not feeding on the wood. They are simply excavating it and channeling through it to form a colony. They do not normally do that to healthy, living tree wood.