(See what I did there, with the Star Trek reference? Meh, it's 1am, don't expect comedy gold :-P )

I've had loggers helping me to remove trees that are close to my house, or leaning towards my house. It's become WAY more work than intended! I originally planned to cut 12 trees, but it's turned in to more like 100!

I've learned that a very big problem is the presence of black ants.

I cut down one field pine tree (loblolly, I believe) a few years ago, and after cutting a few inches I saw black ants just start pouring out! Literally millions of them, pouring out like oil! I had to leave and come back about an hour later to finish cutting, and when the tree came down I saw that the majority of the interior was completely gone! I had bark and maybe 1" of actual wood, with 10" on the inside just gone.

Recently, the loggers pointed out the same thing in several of the trees they've taken down. Especially the ones that were leaning, you can see that they were completely destroyed near the base. They described the same thing that I saw, with ants pouring out.

They also pointed out that it only seems to happen in oak and pine trees. I guess carpenter ants are in the oaks, and black ants are in the pines.

Just to throw a little gas on the fire, a few years ago I discovered (the hard way) that I'm suuuuuper allergic to ant bites / stings! I have yet to see exactly which ant is the problem, but I've been outside and felt a sting of some sort, followed by several more within a few seconds. I'm usually OK with one or two, but when I have 10 or more then I'll start to go in to anaphylaxis! That's happened 3 times now... I have an EpiPen and everything. So these aren't really just a pest for me, they're actually dangerous.

So.

I'm thinking about having the loggers take down ALL of the pine trees and oak trees, leaving mostly maple, poplar, and beech. And, of course, I could strategically plant a new tree for every one that I remove; a variety of thujas, maybe, or some other type of evergreen. I have 5 acres of land with 4 acres of it being wild woods, so this would clear a good bit of my perimeter.

I know that I would probably see an influx of ants in my house that are looking for a new home, but I could have the exterior of the house sprayed by an exterminator so that the ants would go somewhere else.

Thoughts?

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