AboutJim Hyland Expertise Registered Forester in the Southern US with 30 years experiance in managing pines. Expert in pine forest health from management to control of pests to ID of species.
Question Hi Jim,
I purchased a lot with a large pine tree in the backyard that provides a lot of shade. It is about two foot across. The tree is all green. It did have a major dead limb out the side.I removed the dead limb and I found it took a strip of rotted wood out down the side of the tree about 6 inches deep for about eight feet. Now ithe tree looks terrible with a big cavity in the side. I guess ants have got to it. The tree guys say i should have it removed at a cost of $700. Is there any way I can spray it with something to kill the ants, and pack the big cavity with something like putty, or tar, or tree filler?
I figure I will have to remove the tree (it is near the house) but it will be a while before I get $700. With spray and filler, maybe I can keep it from getting worse. The ants could endanger my other pines. Do you know where I can buy something like that? I could not find anything around town except a spray can --and I would need a few thousand of those to fill the cavity.
Answer First the ants will not kill the tree-they a being attracted to the wound and sap from the tree. They can be easily sprayed (I think Raid is advertising a outdoor ant/bug spray--spray the trunk all aroung the diameter up to about a foot high and the wound itself. Do not worry about the "cavity". I would trim any loose bark and wood off the edges of the wound , this way the tree over time will grow over the wound and heal itself. IF the tree is green as you say it is healthy and should not be removed.
