Question
Two Tree TreeHouse
I built a tree house between two pine trees here in Cypress, Texas - Horthwest Houston area - this summer. The trees and the tree house survived Hurricane Ike. However, a neighboring tree in our yard, also pine, broke off at about 20 feet and the remaining 30 feet of tree, now leaning against the roof of our home has made me increasingly concerned assessing the health of the trees supporting the tree house.
I see many fire ants, large with red and black bodies, in the fallen tree. And a large "divet" for lack of a better term in one.
Any resources or self-help measures that you can recommend?
Grateful in Advance for Your Time and Advice,
Michelle Kim
AnswerA couple of things to be concerned about with a structure nailed to a pine tree. The nails can cause damage to the bark and inter cells of the pine causing the tree to exude sap which can be an attractant of pine bark beetles. These beetles can kill the tree. IF the sap is seeping from the nail holes, I would spray the nail holes and trunk area with an insecticide called Onyx to prevent attack by beetles.
Over time as the tree grows the nails can be pulled out by the pressure of the growth. this may take many years and the utility of the tree house may be past by then.
I would keep the trees healthy by fertilizing them with 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb per inch of trunk diameter scattered around the tree and watered in good. This will help the root system as well as the crown to grow stronger.
The tree that broke off more than likely had a wound near the break and allowed fungi to enter. The ants if the wood was soft at the wound used the area as a nest. Or the ants are just foraging looking for food from the broken tree trunk. I would spray the ants with any ant type insecticide in case this was a nest. Ants will not be a concern with a healthy tree.
