Question
We have lovely globe and weeping willow trees about 5 years old.  We live in Santa Rosa, NM.  It has been drought and hot here and our trees are watered well as needed.  I believe the ants are eating the roots and the leaves are starting to turn yellowish and falling.  The winds have been very strong since April  and we don't know if it is because of the weather or if the ants are killing them.  Don't want to loose our trees as they sure help with shade.  The altitude here is at 3600 ft. Please help & thank you.  Gloria

Answer
Willow trees need a lot of water. I would think the drought is the cause of the leaf fall not the ants. I would mulch around the tree with not more than 3 inches deep of organic mulch not piled up on the trunk. Apply the mulch out to about 3 feet around the tree. This will help hold moisture around the roots. then water with 1 inch of water--place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. Do this every other day until it rains then once a week if you do not get a good rain. The dry weather along with the wind will dry out the foliage.

The ant can be controlled with a any bait such as Amdro or Spectracide. Check with your local garden type store for a granular ant bait.