londoneye Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Yes - me again on trees - sorry but not big on trees. Have just cleared large patch of our acre of land, and there is a huge tree which had to be cut a year ago in order for our fosse septic to be installed. We are in process of cutting up for wood as and when we get time. However for around 30 sq feet around tree there were brambles (ever seen day of the triffids? - you will understand). Having now cleared all of these away there are about three slightly mullered trees which are very pretty and which I beleive can be whipped back into shape now they have some light and other bare essentials. However there are a couple of baby oak trees which i would like to move - i assume october (ish) to be best time to do this?Secondly, all trees are absolutely covered in ants - i am guessing that these are nesting in the fallen tree and when we have cleared and cut all of that away they may disappear of their own volition - however I could 100% wrong! Is this the likely cause does anyone know, and should I be taking measures now to get rid of them (the ants that is).thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Don't take this badly, but all trees have ants on them, it's one of the things they do, climb trees, don't worry - stay happy.You can move your little trees any time from late Oct until March, personally I think the autumn is best, try to get as much of the roots as possible and trim any broken ones with sharp secateurs.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londoneye Posted June 19, 2006 Author Share Posted June 19, 2006 are you sure?!!!!!!! about all trees having ants !!!! I do believe you - why haven't i noticed before though? perhaps its the quantity that varies and they do seem a lot larger than the uk variety, or am i imagining this. well i did confess to knowing nothing about trees so managed to prove my point quite effectively there!many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Ants may be exploring looking for aphids to milk or any other source of sugary stuff. We have them running up and down our trees all the time, as Crispy says. They may also be attracted to fresh sap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 As far as size goes, spend a bit of time looking at them, there's a lot of different ants!!Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londoneye Posted June 19, 2006 Author Share Posted June 19, 2006 chris, how much time do you have?!!! My top job currently is wheelbarrowing tiles down an acre of land - managed 60 barrows a day so far -but i am a wee 7.5 stone female so its probably not so bad! Funny thing is my OH things i am a bit of a gardening expert - hah -if only he knew he would lose confidence in me entirely!thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 To be an expert in anything all you need is to know is a teeny tiny bit more than your OH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londoneye Posted June 19, 2006 Author Share Posted June 19, 2006 ah well i can safely say i am expert in everything then - but only cos he wouldn't know how to access this site if his life depended on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonzjob Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Careful LE, do you know the definition of an expert?Well an 'ex' is a has-been and a 'spert' is a drip under pressure!!! [6]But back to the trees. We have a Russian Olive tree in the garden. Last winter we had the situation where we had 17 hours of snow, about 6 inches or so, followed by very fine rain that froze as soon as it touched the trees. It played very quiet havoc with the pines, mimosa and out russian olive. Dead silence with very loud 'CRACK' as another branch broke with the weight, very frightening and no wind or other violence.... Anyway our rusky olive was a sad sight with the main branches broken. We cut it back to the trunk and it is now growing again, but it's quite sick, hollow and full of ants. I got a little dropper of liquid t sort them out from the jardiniery (spelling?) and the ants love it. They take it back into the nest and it kills them in there too. Just look fot the name Formis, French for ant. You can also get the little round things with break off tabs that do the same job, but keep all of it away from children and dogs......John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 [quote user="Jonzjob"]but keep all of it away from children and dogs......John.[/quote] Oh yes definitely do that - most of the formulations use arsenic! Not sure how the French get away with it since it is banned in many Europen countries for non professionals. Personally I would leave well alone. They are not likely to do much harm to your trees. The worst will be that they will encourage an aphid attack - and if that becomes severe, spray with diluted wahing up liquid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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