It's weird the way it starts to show also. These trees are right on my driveway and I'm outside all the time with the dogs, then one day there are "holes" in the tree and spots of tan bark when it seems like there was nothing the day before. I have a tree that is about 10-12" that I've been watching for 2 years now just to see what it does.
You would think that black ants would get into these trees more as they are dying off. I guess that the wood needs to start rotting some before the ants move? We see a lot of mature Oaks here with black ants and you cant find many Cherry trees over 12" without ants. They must die from the inside out?
Ash is great wood, but nothing compared to beech, or shagbark hickory. Oak, when given time to sit is great wood, but the drying time it requires is crazy. Great job on the tree Smoketr1973 Those are some nice rounds that will keep you warm in the coming winters!
Tim, I have not found any ants in any of the ash the borer attacked. In addition, they will stand for many, many years before falling. We started cutting damaged ash in 2002 and it was 2013 before we had any fall down on their own. Not lots of them are falling but mainly from the roots rotting just below ground level. We have had a few tops break off too. Here is a picture of one of the root balls from the ash we cut this week. I took the picture from the back side so you can see the roots rot just barely below ground level. Then the tree falls. This particular tree fell a year ago and we just got it. Even where it was touching the ground there was no rot in the tree itself. Ash can lay on the ground a long time before it rots.
Neighbor wanted to take down a few standing dead trees His first cut Notched it, started the back cut, began to lean, and up rooted still fell the right direction.
