Most everyone has seen an old apple tree with the inside eaten out but the tree is still alive because the structure and the cambium layer has been left intact. What exactly ate out the insides? Are termites a large factor here? Do termites eat out the center part of most trees given that a tree is old enough? My guess is that Redwood trees repel even termites but I don’t know. Also, I know there are different kinds of termites in different parts of the country, but in general, is it just too dangerous to store firewood in a back yard that includes wood where part of that wood has had the inside eaten out? thanks for any thoughts.
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Various fungi will take out that old wood. I imagine termites in certain areas.
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I’ve cut down many maples and even a Chinese Chestnut tree to find huge ants living in the middle. I assume the ants are just squatting in the dead tree but it’s pretty crazy to see them crawling out like that.
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Beetles and boring insects.
Termites in this area wait until the tree is dead most of the time.
Ants do most of the internal damage here on my farm.
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But carpenter ants only attack wood that’s already dead
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I guess I do not see the things that are working on the tree before ants get into the tree. I see the ants coming out of dead wood or some holes in the sides of trees. Those trees are still alive but that have some dead branches.
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thanks for responses
Carpenter ants are really cool, dont find them often around here but when I do I always have to take a minute to watch them, they are huge compared to normal ants in ND.