Take the time to learn that there is not a "cure all" for every pest at every stage of it's life cycle. Some won't work if it's going to rain. Some don't work well if it's too hot, etc. You shouldn't use Sevin unless you know it will work for the insect you are trying to get rid of and in most cases there are less harsh chemicals you can use than Sevin. Pest management is complex, if you wish to use chemical products, do so responsibly which goes further than reading the label. If you want to learn, a good place to start is here: Integrated Pest Management This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist. Education: B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley Appointment: 100% Cooperative Extension Research Interests: Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information. Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture: * IPM references and resources * Preventing pest problems * Natural common enemies * Making less toxic pesticide choices * Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects. You can watch the programs now online: Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free. Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on: Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals. ;) Take the time to learn that there is not a "cure all" for every pest at every stage of it's life cycle. Some won't work if it's going to rain. Some don't work well if it's too hot, etc. Pest management is complex, if you wish to use chemical products, do so responsibly which goes further than reading the label. If you want to learn, a good place to start is here: Integrated Pest Management This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist. Education: B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley Appointment: 100% Cooperative Extension Research Interests: Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information. Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture: * IPM references and resources * Preventing pest problems * Natural common enemies * Making less toxic pesticide choices * Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects. You can watch the programs now online: Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free. Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on: Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals. ;)

yes, it is a nasty thing....and it does not occur in isolation - there will usually be a local outbreak. Certainly, in the UK orchards, it is now a notifiable disease (which means we must contact DEFRA if seen anywhere) and is, thankfully fairly rare. Have never seen or heard of a rose succumbing. On the other hand, I have had a 2 year battle with some awful business concerning Ghislaine de Feligonde which looks as though it has been attacked by girdlers although there are no obvious signs apart from the completely dead and crispy canes throughout the plant. Only GdF is affected despite being practically intertwined with several other roses. Still at the cane cutting stage and have not considered full-on removal yet.

Craig, I seem to have a similar infestation as that which you described in your original posting on this GardenWeb site back in December. My front yard has a single large 36"+ diam. red oak right smack in the middle of it and it is the centerpiece of the yard, not to mention that it's also, by far, the largest tree in my entire yard. The symptoms I am noticing sound very much like the ones you were describing, and they are slowly spreading. Did you get that beetle looked at that you found? ..or did you find any treatment, rather than felling, for the problem? I have several messages with pictures submitted to arborists, the forestry service, and the ISA. While I am awaiting responses, I have been looking over symptomologies on numerous sites and am fairly convinced that I have Ambrosia Beetles.. possibly Asian. Chances are that the beetle you found in your maple is different than the ones that bore oaks, but according to many of the pro's, they, like most beetles, may be treatable with chlorpyrifos. Incidently, after reading that entire forum, I feel compelled to mention that, without regard to others' defensive remarks in this little group, a couple of the responses that you were given (namely heptacodium and ken) were nothing less than downright rude, sarcastic and callous. You were only trying to save your tree... and if you werent able to do so, then the advice of trying to save seed (by alabamatreehugger) was the only thoughtful response in the bunch. Hope to hear from you! :) ~Adam

Sounds like cut ants. They are usually more active at night. I used to use corn meal to kill them. Once you find their mounds, you need to put some down every hole and sprinkle a lot all around the mounds. It will take a few to several treatments to finish them off and it may take several days to weeks. If you don't mind using chemicals, I was told to use Over and Out, which I did, but didn't think it would work, but it did...with only one treatment. I used a whole bag on an area that had over 2 dozen mounds. I poured some granules down each hole and then spread the rest over the area where the mounds were concentrated which was about 30 feet in diameter. I treated them early this Spring, and they have never come back yet. Good Luck Kt