Question by Frances: I have a weeping willow tree and large black ants are all in the bark and on the limbs of the tree, help.?
This is a very young weeping willow that I have babied to death and I don’t want to loose it so I will take all the help I can get.
The poor little tree does look sickly, it’s had some bad treatment. A lady ran through my yard and struck the side of it ripping some of its bark away, the ants are just the newest problem with it. It has a trunk about 4 inches round and it stands about 15 to 20 ft. tall, I really don’t want to have to have it removed.
Best answer:
Answer by hmmmm.
I wouldn’t have thought ants would cause it any harm, infact it seems unlikely that ants would find anything of interest in the tree itself, is it possible that the tree is producing sweet secretions from its bark, possibly in response to another insect that has been feeding on it, alternatively you may have aphids or blackfly feeding on the leaves and dropping honeydew down onto the stems, where the ants are harvesting it.
Does the tree look at all sickly?
What do you think? Answer below!