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How to get rid of ants in deadwood?

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marcus watts
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suiseki133
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How to get rid of ants in deadwood?  Empty How to get rid of ants in deadwood?

Post  suiseki133 Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:23 am

I've recently discovered that a big (about a metre tall by 8 inches thick) very old hawthorn yamadori i was kindly given has ants nesting in what are otherwise fairly impressive sections of deadwood. I've just wondering how to get rid of them without killing the tree? Its in my growing bed at the moment so theres no risk of the ants spreading or harming any of my other trees, but nonetheless, i'm worried about what they could be doing to it.

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Post  Jim Doiron Sun Oct 14, 2012 1:24 pm

I've had an annual battle with ants in my house for a while. I have found the a mix of:
1 cup water
1cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of borax powder

heat water to dissolve sugar and add borax. Put out in a tray or container with a lid and holes punched in the top to allow ants access(to keep ants and pets out of it)and allow ants to eat their fill. They will eat it, take it back to the nest, feed it to the other ants and eventually the nest will die. Good luck, you might also look for scale/aphids on the tree in case they are there for a food source.
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Post  marcus watts Sun Oct 14, 2012 9:37 pm

My common juniper had a full colony of really big mountain ants in it - first i blasted all hollows with a jet of water, waited a week, dilute lime sulphar sprayed in, then a blast ffrom my -50 C spray can (see the dead wood freezer thread). No bugs of any description live in it now. Very Happy

cheers


Last edited by marcus watts on Sun Oct 21, 2012 6:03 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Post  yamasuri Sun Oct 14, 2012 10:11 pm

The simplest treatment is with smallest trees to immerse them completely to the bucket with water. Be careful with boric acid powder. I killed my five spruces which I grew for forest. I just spred small amount of powder on substrat surface and rain came down and next day all of them was changing colour to brown red. I could just easy use the water. We always learning.
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Post  Jkd2572 Sun Oct 14, 2012 10:57 pm

How about just put ant bait of some kind at the base?

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Post  crust Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:48 pm

I unfortunately have discovered that Borates (which includes borax, a often used pesticide for ants) which are marketed for preserving wood (i.e. Boracare, Impel etc.) leach out readily and kill roots profoundly. I would not use Borate material on trees. Have stump pile to prove.

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Post  JimLewis Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:40 pm

I was "amused" to read in Lenz's BFTW, second edition, that he uses "a household bug spray."

I'm not sure I'd recommend that, but most any spray with Pyrethrins or Rotenone should do it. (If you have fish, don't do it near the pond with either!)
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