Thanks everyone! Now I'm wondering exactly what I used last year. Probably any old thing in my cabinet. Oh well, I'm still here so I clearly didn't poision myself. STacey ******************************** Not true. This is why people die from cancer years later. If the soap solution is too strong it can damage or kill the plant. therefore it might be a good idea to first test your solution on a branch or two for awhile before spraying all your plants. Some plants are much more sensitive then other plants. You are suppose to use dish soap and not detergent. good suitable dish soap is not easy to find. My garden has lady bugs and no aphids to be found. If I find aphids I will note the place and then upon finding a ladybug will move it to the aphids.

I would research the insects in your area. I too had new trees four years ago, and didn't follow a proper spray schedule and lost two trees due to Peach Borers. You will need to protect your trees from leaf diseases (fungi) and insects until they do fruit. Not all sprays are toxic. Mrs. G

It's a great idea to insulate all the boots. It's a BETTER idea to seal and insulate all the ducts. You're probably losing some energy through heat transfer at the un-insulated boot. Chances are better that you may be losing even more energy from duct leakage in the entire length of the boot. DOE has estimated average duct leakage at 25 - 35 % of total air flow. That's a lot! If you can stand the time it will be well worth your while to remove all the insulation, seal the ducts, and put the insulation back on. A contractor that couldn't be bothered to insulate the boots most likely didn't seal the ducts either. This is a great investment of your time and money. I've written several articles dealing with sealing and insulting your ducts. One that may help is titled "How your duct system affects your heating and cooling efficiency". If you're interested, you can read it HERE. Hope this helps! How Your Duct System Affects Your Heating and Cooling Efficiency

Its an older stand that was here before I moved in, so we're not talking about a few vines running up a tree. There are hundreds of vines coming up all over the place like a sod. I spent around 8 hours this winter, cumulatively, working my way along the back property line pulling it by hand, and when I got to the other side it was just at another level, from the back of the property up to the street. Here's the epicenter of the vines, pic taken right before I got after some of it with a brush cutter. Now I want to spray all the runners and ground level vines. Theres also poison ivy, virginia creeper, wild grapes and who knows what else in there.