oak tree

oaktrees2010

we had someone come and trim back several of our oak trees. they said that the found some carpenter ants in one of the branches of the tree and that the wood was soft. they suggested that we take the tree down. it still has a lot of follage on the top and only small dead branches. we have been without alot of rain. do we need to remove the tree?

Brent Ferris

Sounds like someone is looking for more tree work. Carpenter ants do hollow out branches and trees in the decaying portions or in dead wood. Live wood is seldom attacked. So unless your trees have extensive portions of deadwood, leave the trees up.
In fact, once the nest is built, the carpenter ants typically roam the tree and surrounding areas feeding on insects and arthropods, rotting fruit etc. One could say, they help the tree survive by eliminating many of the pests that come to the trees for food.