we found nests of carpenter ants in our crabapple and plum trees. these ants have been a problem (in our house) since we moved in and dh has declared an all-out war (they've destroyed two outside walls and parts of our swingset). so when he found the nests, he promptly poisened them. now he wants to eat the plums and I say no-way! I don't know what poison he used, but I highly doubt its approved for food. so I have three questions.. 1. how long until the tree is 'clean' from the pesticide? 2. how to prevent infestation of ants? 3. how to safely control the ants? we can't leave the nests, the ants swarm and find more nests, often in our home. the trees are too close to leave them be.

I've had trouble with carpenter ants in my house and had good luck with this stuff I got from bugspray.com. Its a dry grandular stuff you spread around the house and the ants pick it up and take it back to their nest. That will inturn wipe out the whole colony. That was 15 years ago and bo problems since. I think it was called max force.

Ants rarely ATTACK aphids, jelymon. They often have a symbiotic (mutualistic) relationship with them, guarding them and protecting them from predators. In return, the ants can harvest the sweet honey-dew that aphids excrete...in sweeter concentrations when stroked by the ants. Even aggressive southern fire ants will guard aphids (and scale insects) rather than eat them up.

Post a picture of your yard. I'm concerned about a big hollow tree potentially overhanging your home. IF a big tree is in the middle of my yard ready to fall on nothing I will leave it there and let it decline naturally. Its a neat look. IF that same tree was overhanging my house where there was a chance of it causing me to have to pay my insurance deductible and maybe kill my kids its chainsaw time. For what its worth, I gather carpenter ants / termites do best in declining trees. Imagine all the sap from a healthy maple covering them up when they try to enter.