I've painted trees w/ full strength latex and not noticed any problems. I have seen fissures in the paint, but I've not noticed any problems from it. I quit painting trees several years ago. We don't get cold or snowy enough winters to experience SW injury. I do get some sun scald on the tops of scaffolds if I open the trees up to much during the hot summer. I've found vigor will heal anything but the most severe bark injury in my area. We had a terrible hail storm this spring which chewed up the bark badly. Most of the trees already have the wounds closed up. Re:DDT I can live without it, but it really wasn't responsible for decimating the American Eagle. Eagle population was dangerously low before widespread use of DDT. Eagles and other large predatory birds were considered pests in the early 1900s. Farmers/ranchers would shoot them on sight. DDT did destroy their eggs, but people hunting them was their biggest blight.

I find them year round more or less. Early spring I find the best time to dig them out, they are big enough to be able to track down but most of the damage has not happened yet. This spring I microwaved tanglefoot to get it fluid and painted it directly on the lower 6" of my trunks, to the ground level. I haven't seen a borer since then. Note I dug out 20-30 of them by hand before this treatment. I also treated only 5-year and older trees, the younger ones I used tangle trap instead (less caustic). Scott

I had an arborist come out and the bark is damaged further up than I remembered from last fall. The tree is not going to get any better. I am having it removed in March, well it is almost March now. Toronado it would catch the roof if it fell in one direction as apposed to 3 other directions. I am waiting til payday because I have to pay half. They are going to cut up in big peices and we get rid of the wood ourselves. They want over $1,000 to cut and remove. We can surely get rid of the wood. People may use it to supplement with good firewood. If anyone knows will the wood burn okay for a fireplace or wood burner? I know some wood sparks and can be dangerous in an open fireplace.His price for cutting it down was average, and they're insured. The company has been in business for 30 years, he said they haven't kept up their ISA certification, but were certified for years. They are charging $ 450.00 to cut it down. I have other estimates around the same price or higher. I can tell myself the tree is beyond help. You can srape off bark about 2 feet up with no effort.So it's a goner. I have my Compton's oak in the ground already to replace it. Thanks for the input everyone.

After some study, my application technique of putting the ortho home defense max product directly on the soil around the plant seemed to bee the correct thing to have done. However, according to the wiki text I am posting beelow this paragraph, the chemicals are in widespread use and I suspect the users are not as considered as I was in my kitchen garden. I have yet to see the chemicals listed as systemics. I also understand that the chemical degrade fairly rapidly and have a reasonably short half life, thus the need to reapply occurs. From the Alabama Co-op Extension Office: Bifenthrin: This is a synthetic pyrethroid (e.g., Ortho “Bug-B-Gon-Max”, “ Eliminator Ant, Tick, & Flea Killer” by Gro Tech for use in soil pest control for vegetable production) with a broad-spectrum contact action (it is not absorbed into the plant). It can be used in broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cantaloupe, cucumber, pumpkin, squash, egg plant, lettuce, spinach, peppers, sweet corn, beans and peas to manage aphids, cucumber beetles, squash vine borer, pickleworms, and a number of caterpillar pests. Eliminator Ant, Tick, and Flea Killer granular insecticide has 0.1% Bifenthrin and is sold in retail stores for use in bean, cucurbit, pepper and eggplant production but it apparently is not labeled for tomatoes. Half life is 7 days. Many fire ant control products in retail stores also have Bifenthrin but are not labeled for use in vegetable production because the formulation can harm crops. From Wikipedia: On a large scale, bifenthrin is often used against red imported fire ants. It is also effective against aphids, worms, ants, gnats, moths, beetles, earwigs, grasshoppers, mites, midges, spiders, ticks, yellow jackets, maggots, thrips, caterpillars, flies, fleas, and termites. It is mostly used in orchards, nurseries, and homes. In the agricultural sector, it is used in great amounts on certain crops, such as corn. About 70% of all hops and raspberries cultured in the United States are treated with bifenthrin.[1] Bifenthrin is used by the textile industry to protect woollen products from insect attack. It was introduced as an alternative to permethrin-based agents, due to greater efficacy against keratinophagous insects, better wash-fastness, and lower aquatic toxicity.[6] Bifenthrin is not at all toxic to plants. Though it does not have a large toxicological risk towards mammals or birds, bifenthrin is able to accumulate in food, so it might be dangerous to mammals or birds in some scenarios. Cypermethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid used as aninsecticide in large-scale commercial agricultural applications as well as in consumer products for domestic purposes. It behaves as a fast-actingneurotoxin in insects. It is easily degraded on soil and plants but can be effective for weeks when applied to indoor inert surfaces. Exposure to sunlight, water and oxygen will accelerate its decomposition. Cypermethrin is highly toxic to fish, bees and aquatic insects, according to the National Pesticides Telecommunications Network (NPTN). It is found in many household ant and cockroach killers, includingRaid and ant chalk.