You wake up on a summer morning and head into the kitchen to make yourself a cup of coffee. Once the coffee is percolating, you grab your favorite mug from the cupboard, pull a spoon out of the utensil drawer, and reach for the sugar bowl on the counter. As you lift the lid, you are quickly dismayed to find tiny black ants crawling around inside the bowl.
After dumping the entire contents of the bowl into the trash, you return to the counter with a bag of sugar from the pantry, ready to try again. Before you can set it down, though, the slightest movement on the countertop catches your eye. You look closer and discover an ant on the counter, quickly followed by another, then another. Half a dozen ants are crawling across your counter in search of the sugar bowl that was there just moments ago.
If this situation or a similar one has ever played out in your Cypress home, you know what it feels like to experience an ant infestation. These pests seem to appear out of nowhere, and once inside your house, they can become extremely difficult to get out of your home. While many ants are simply a nuisance, others can cause serious problems, either inside your home or in your yard. Knowing what to do about an ant infestation is important so that you can safely, quickly, and effectively take care of the issue before it leads to bigger problems.
For ant pest control in Cypress, Modern Pest Control is the company to call. Founded in 1952, we deliver personalized and prompt pest control using the most up-to-date strategies and methods. Our family-run business combines experience with the latest advances in our industry to make sure you receive the best services possible. When ants get into your Cypress home, you need Modern Pest Control for ant control solutions that work.
Arizona cypress trees are beautiful evergreen conifers that add charm and elegance to landscapes across the southwestern United States However, these stately trees can sometimes become infested with ants that crawl on the bark and nest in crevices Getting rid of ants on Arizona cypress trees requires using a combination of natural remedies and chemical treatments. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn effective methods for eliminating different ant species from your Arizona cypress tree.
Why Ants Are Attracted to Arizona Cypress Trees
Ants are drawn to Arizona cypress trees for several reasons. First, ants feed on the sugary honeydew secreted by sap-sucking insects like aphids, scales, and mealybugs that often infest cypress trees. The ants protect these honeydew-producing insects from predators in exchange for their high-energy food source.
Ants also nest in the cracks crevices and hollows of the Arizona cypress’s furrowed, peeling bark. The mature trees provide ideal nesting sites for ants near food sources. Carpenter ants even excavate galleries within the bark and wood of the tree itself.
Common ant species found on Arizona cypress trees include pavement ants, odorous house ants, thief ants, carpenter ants, and fire ants. Identifying the type of ants on your tree will help guide treatment methods.
Effective Ways to Get Rid of Ants on Arizona Cypress Trees
Remove Ant Food Sources
Eliminate honeydew-producing insects like aphids and scales to cut off the ants’ food supply. Prune infested branches, spray horticultural oils or insecticidal soaps, or apply systemic insecticides. Removing these sap feeders will deter sweet-loving ants.
Apply Diatomaceous Earth
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth, a natural mineral dust, around the base of the Arizona cypress tree and ants’ access points. The sharp particles cut ants’ bodies, causing dehydration and death. Reapply after rain or irrigation.
Use Ant Baits
Place ant bait stations near active ant trails on the tree. Foraging ants take the bait back to the nest, where the entire colony feasts on the toxic ant bait and is eliminated. Look for protein or sugar-based baits depending on ant species.
Spray Repellents
Make a repellent spray by mixing a few drops of peppermint or eucalyptus essential oils into water. Coat ant trails and entry points with the spray. Ants detest the strong aromatic oils. Reapply after rain.
Apply Vinegar
It will not be a surprise to hear that the pungent smell of vinegar repels ants. Applying white vinegar to the places where ants were marching before will keep them from returning. Moreover, the pungent odor of white vinegar also eliminates the scent trail that ants leave behind for wayfinding.
Remove Nests
Inspect the trunk and branches for visible ant nests built within hollows, cracks, or cavities. Carefully prune away sections of the tree with nests and dispose of them away from the tree. This eliminates ant colonies directly.
Use Insecticide Sprays
For heavy infestations, apply insecticidal sprays containing chemicals like bifenthrin or permethrin. The residual activity of these powerful insecticides will kill foraging ants and deter others for weeks. Only use as a last resort.
Call a Professional Exterminator
For severe ant infestations or problematic species like carpenter ants, consult a professional pest control company. They have commercial-grade insecticides and treatment methods to effectively eliminate ants and prevent future invasions.
Prevention Tips to Keep Ants Away
Once you’ve evicted the ants from your Arizona cypress tree, implement these prevention tips to keep them from marching back:
- Trim branches away from structures so ants cannot access the tree
- Clear debris and mulch away from the tree base
- Fix leaks and avoid overwatering, which attracts ants
- Seal cracks and crevices in the tree’s bark
- Apply a preventive insecticide around the root area
With persistence and the right combination of natural remedies, insecticidal products, and ant baiting techniques, you can banish ants from your beloved Arizona cypress tree for good. Protect the health and beauty of this iconic tree by taking action against invading ants today.
The Trouble With Ants Crawling Around Your Home
Finding ants in your house can be annoying, but is it really a problem? Just because you realize you have an ant infestation, does that mean you need to do something to get rid of it? The short answer is yes. Depending on the species of ants in your house, a variety of issues could occur due to the presence of those ants. It doesn’t matter if they are dangerous ants or nuisance ants because every species causes some type of problem for Cypress homes.
Some ants are just a nuisance. Ghost ants and crazy ants fall into this category. They are annoying, and they might give off a slightly unpleasant odor when crushed, but they won’t do any real damage to your house or harm your family. However, even nuisance ants can contaminate food. Since most ants move into your home searching for food, they’ll likely get into some of your food items. Because of this, one of the best ant prevention tips is to keep all of your food stored in hard-sided containers with tightly-fitting lids so they can’t get into your food. This step will not only discourage them from coming into your house but also save you money because you won’t have to throw out food that they contaminated.
Unfortunately, not all ants are just a nuisance. Carpenter ants are destructive to your Cypress home. Although they don’t eat wood as termites do, carpenter ants do chew through wood as they create tunnels and nests inside wooden items. When they get into your house, these wood-destroying habits can become a serious problem because the carpenter ants will damage the structural elements of your home. Over time, this damage can become substantial and make your home a dangerous place to live as all of those wooden elements become weaker and weaker.
Some ants are a nuisance, some ants are destructive, and finally, some ants are a problem because they are harmful to your health and the health of your family. Pharaoh ants are well-known for spreading diseases, especially since they often get into healthcare settings and harm people with compromised immune systems. Pharaoh ants can transmit a variety of illnesses, such as salmonellosis, clostridium, staphylococcus, and streptococcus. While a healthy person can often recover, people who are already sick and contract a disease spread by pharaoh ants can experience deadly consequences.
Fire ants also harm your health, but not because of the diseases they spread. Fire ants are dangerous because of the painful stings they can inflict on people. If you accidentally step on a fire ant mound, hundreds of fire ants will immediately swarm over you and sting you repeatedly. These stings are incredibly painful and can also be dangerous to your health. Although most healthy people will recover from fire ant stings, young children, older adults, or people with compromised health can be severely affected by these stings, even fatally so.
It’s hard to imagine something as tiny as an ant as dangerous to humans, but it’s true. Some ants are major trouble when they get onto your Cypress property or your home. Keeping ants out of your house and off your property has to be a priority when you discover an ant infestation.
How To Identify An Ant Infestation In Your Home
There are many species of ants in Cypress. In fact, in Texas, there are more than 250 different species of ants. Some species are commonly found in and around the houses in our area. Some of the most common ants found in homes in our area include:
- Fire ants
- Ghost ants
- Crazy ants
- Carpenter ants
- Pharaoh ants
Most ant species are active during the day. This daytime activity is helpful when it comes to identifying an ant infestation in or around your house because you’ll usually see worker ants moving around inside your home throughout the day. Unlike many other pests, such as cockroaches or termites, that stay hidden or are mostly nocturnal, most ants don’t mind coming out in the open during the day as they forage for food. The surest sign that you have an ant infestation in your Cypress home is finding ants in your Cypress home.
There are other signs of an ant infestation that you can look for if you think you might have an ant problem. Fire ants can get inside homes, but more often are a problem on the lawns of Cypress properties. You can identify a fire ant infestation by the large mounds they create on your lawn. Fire ant mounds are often near sidewalks or driveways and can be very large. A mature fire ant mound can be 18 inches high and 30 inches wide. If you could dig into the ground to see the tunnels and nests, you might have to go as far down as ten feet to reach the end of it! Finding fire ant mounds on your property is a sure sign of a fire ant infestation.
Carpenter ants are one of the few mainly nocturnal ant species. You may see them during the day, but they are more active at night, making identifying a carpenter ant infestation slightly more difficult than identifying other ant species infestations.
If you think you might have carpenter ants in your house, look for:
- Small piles of frass (a sawdust-like material) on the floor near walls or wooden beams.
- Small holes in wooden structures in your house.
- A hollow sound when you knock on the wooden structures in your house.
- Faint rustling sounds coming from inside your walls, especially at night.
- Shed wings near baseboards or window sills.
- Large black ants in your house.
If you’ve seen ants in your house, found fire ant mounds outside, or seen any of the signs of a carpenter ant infestation, you likely have an ant problem. But is an ant problem something you even need to be concerned about?
This Simple Garden Trick Will Keep Ants Off Fruit Trees
FAQ
How do you get rid of ants without harming trees?
How do you treat wood ants on trees?
What natural remedy gets rid of ants on plants?
How do you get rid of ants in a tree?
They might even be bold enough to move into your home. These options are less than ideal, but there are a few that will work. One of the best ways to rid your trees of an ant infestation is to spray the tree’s base with ant powder. The powder kills the ants when they leave the tree to search of food.
How do you care for a cypress tree in Arizona?
Here are the main care requirements for growing Arizona cypress: Plant it in a location with full sun and well-drained soil. Give it at least 1 inch of water per month, preferably more, and water deeply. Avoid planting it in a humid climate. Do not fertilize the tree. Prune minimally in the late winter to remove dead wood.
How do you get rid of ants on a peppermint tree?
Here are a couple of approaches to prevent that from occurring: Splash the tree with an answer that contains 30 drops of peppermint oil and one gallon of water. Ants detest peppermint, so they’ll leave the tree once they find out about the fragrance. Line the base of the tree with subterranean insect draws to catch them as they travel.
What should I do if I see ants on my Tree?
In the event that you see arch formed hills at the base of your tree, be overly mindful so as not to contact or irritate those ant colonies. The little, dim maroon ants will sting whatever disturbs their home. At that point, contact your arborist about a bug spray immediately.