Tree disease?

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rube Chicago, IL Jul 11, 2012

I have a tree in the dogwood or redbud family that is an unlikely survivor but has been flourishing. Suddenly there is a big hole at the base of the trunk and ants are having a field day. The guy at Home Depot gave my son spectracide to stop the ant infestation as a beginning. I'm sure it is very toxic and we have dogs. The birds and I love this tree. Any ideas about what I should do?

Rube

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jul 11, 2012

Can you post some pictures? Unless the ants are fire ants (which I don't think you have in IL), I doubt the ants are causing a problem for the tree. Either they coincidentally happen to have a nest there, or if they're crawling up and down the tree then you likely have an infestation of aphids or scale (they secrete honeydew which the ants like). In either case killing the ants won't necessarily fix anything.

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rube Chicago, IL Jul 12, 2012

Well, would aphids or scale cause a big hole in the tree? Is there a non toxic treatment for aphids and scale. I'm going to try to get a picture. Thanks for your input and help.
rube

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jul 12, 2012

No, aphids and scale wouldn't make the hole. But without seeing pictures it's hard to say whether the hole and the ants and the tree are connected to each other in any way (except coincidence).

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rube Chicago, IL Jul 24, 2012

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Thumbnail by rube Thumbnail by rube
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rube Chicago, IL Jul 24, 2012

In above message are pictures of my diseased tree which I can't identify but think is in the dogwood or red bud family. One shows the foilage (click to enlarge) and one shows the hole at the base. The ants seem to have finished their work. Any idceas about anything I can do? A true rube!

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jul 24, 2012

Hopefully someone else will have some ideas on what could be going on and how to fix it, but I can tell you 1) it's not a redbud and 2) I don't know what caused that hole, but it wasn't aphids, scale, or ants.

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