This thread has reminded me of one of my many nightmare stories about fire ants. These ants are simply a part of life in much of the warmer parts of this country. I was living in S. Carolina at the time. I got into my car, backed down the driveway, and started down the road. After about two or three minutes, I felt a sharp sting on my calf. Immediately, I felt stings all over, including down my blouse. A huge swarm of the ants had entered my car at some point from the time I had driven it earlier in the day till the moment they all tried to sting me at once. The nurses counted dozens and dozens of stings from my toes to the top of my head. I was bothered by 'phantom' ant stings for months after that, lol.

I tried the coat hanger Saturday, no dice. The stuff is just hard as it can be. I did finally manage to pop one small one off the tree with a small flathead screwdriver. The rest I think would need a hammer and chisel. I didn't see any hole behind the small one I got off. I was wrong about there being no dead branches. When I stood directly under the tree I did see some very small branches with no leaves on them. There were also a few leaves on the ground Saturday morning, not too many, and we could have had some good wind gusts. I did remember that my neighbor told me that she had lost a couple of trees to what she termed "soft-wood" borers, but they were out of town this weekend so I couldn't ask if the symptoms were the same or not. Ace, what would a prunus species be? There are a lot of trees in the neighborhood, but except for honey locust, maple, some kind of oak, and pecan trees, I'm not sure about all the varieties. My neighbor has honey locust and maple, I've seen pecans in my yard (no doubt thanks to the squirrels), and I've seen at least one oak I recognized. The spots go up on the tree, as far as I can tell, to just past the first main branching. I can see one up above that, and there are a few just below the main branching, but most of them are low, down around the base.

Rob, Mrtexas is correct, classic sign of freeze damage to the bark and possibly the cambium. It won't necessarily show up until the affected areas begin to swell with more fluid and begins to expand, as your weather warms up. So, I would suspect the damage was done, and as your weather heats up, the cracks are expanding. I would check with your local extension office about how to protect young fruit trees from frost damage. If you can preserve the trunk above the graft line, even trees that have lost their entire canopy can come back, as long as the trunk is undamaged. To protect the tender trunks now in the summer, you will want to paint your trunks and exposed branches with regular flat, white latex house paint diluted in 1/2 with water. That will help to reduce sunscald as well as protect from boring insects. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: UC Davis: Rehabilitation of Freeze-Damaged Citrus and Avocado Trees

Hi ashley, It would take you quite a bit of time to read the container forum about soil composition and how small particles can clog up soil over a while, such as worm castings and coffee grinds, sand and so on. Why these are encouraged by many to keep out of pots. I would take a gander some time and see how soil works..It's awsome. But in the meantime, you need help now, and if this does work, the grinds in particular, then I would use it, if that is an only choise, better than nothing, only because you are armed with the knowledge to know what coffee grinds can do to your soil over time. So just keep and eye on your soil, and if you see that it is becoming compact, hard to water, or staying wet to long after the grinds decompose, just do a transplant with a better open and airy soil before the plant suffers. Catch it before this happens. By then, your ant problem just might be gone..:-) You armed with great info here, and you have alot of great choices do great advice from others. Just know your soil basics,and you will save future heartache for your special plants.. Know what to watch for, when it comes to your plants health declining, for almost always it is a root related do to compact soil and air space filled in with stuff usch as grinds, "over time". Goodluck.....let us know if you got rid of the ants You didn't hijack this thread, you only added to its character for the good. Your idea was great for anyone and everyone who know their soils well..:-)