Last month my neighbor cut down several large trees (pitch pine and black locust), I joking asked him if he hated trees and pointed out that he had just wiped out 2 oriele nests (the birds had moved on but..) and the prime spot for some foraging woodpeckers..he tells me the trees have been attacked by carpenter ants...hmmm

Yesterday another neighbor fells 4 pitch pine trees, 50-60 feet in height, I run over to find out if he also hates trees, he shows me a stump, it is at least 14 inches diameter with a 3 inch black spot or "wound" on its edge, carpenter ants are scattering everywhere..he points to the ants and tells me they are why he has cut it down...shows me damage to the base of other trees indicating carpenter ants are also attacking those trees..tells me to go check mine...I have alot of land, alot of trees..The pitch pine serves as a windbreaker against the northeast gales we suffer all winter. The neighbor brings out a huge jug of "sevin" and proceeds to spray everything in sight..I run for cover...

I spent hours researching "carpenter ants in trees"..everything tells me (what you all probably already know) the ants are probably not the problem..they are taking advantage of a pre-existing problem...removing fairly healthy trees is not a good solution..(these trees looked pretty healthy to me in IMHO)

The neighbor walks my property with me, shows me trees with carpenter ants, suggests I remove them (60-80 ft big, with little signs of damage)...We walk his property..I quickly see lots of ants on trees he has sprayed yesterday..keep my mouth shut cuz I figure he's got another jug ready to aim...

My search tells me that baits can help (a post from 07 on here), however, what active ingredient should I look for...those general "kills all ants" have not been very effective in the past..I will not cut down a tree that doesn't need to be...