I use Merit 75. I use it as a drench (dosage is 1/8 teaspoon to a gallon of water). For several reasons. One, I don't want the spray to go everywhere. And two, I don't have to worry about missing any areas on the plant. Three - the plant absorbs the product as I am watering it into the medium and being taken up into every portion of living tissue. Insect bites - whether it is on the roots, leaf tips or some hiding place of developing leaves/pseudobulbs/flowers - and the product is taken in. I have used many of the pre-mixed systemic sprays - which are nice - but found that some critters where either not touched or the percentage of ingredient necessary was in minimum dosage for the job necessary. I apply once a week for three weeks for scale and an extra week for mealys - I suspect they are more a 'traveling' critter and till they 'land' and feast, needs the extra week. First two weeks you don't notice any difference. By week three the scale blow away like snowflakes. Week four, mealies are like mushy white globs. After the necessary application I am totally free of scale and mealies. I just have to watch for thrips, but that is a far easier critter to contend with.

Most of it doesn't look like bugs, perhaps photos 4 & 6 - if you see fine webbing, it could be mealy bugs. Rest of damage could be mechanical - other plant rubbing against, or pot, or even some critter damage while outdoors. Even 'funky leaf growth' could be caused by something similar. And it is difficult to have a plant without any blemish whatsoever. Here are few snapshots, as you can see, there are some spots here and there. Variegated jade (Tricolor) is known for having brown spots. Mealy bugs are tiny and hard to see, but fine white web gives them away. They tend to 'hide' in tighter spaces, so if spraying, make sure spray gets everywhere. If nothing came off while using q-tip moistened with alcohol or scraping, I don't believe there are bugs. Diseases like rot or fungus will look different. Did you wash off all soil from the roots while re-potting? That is the best thing to do. If there is bug infestation(especially mealy bugs), affected plant should be isolated and treated. If you think few plants may have it, it is best to treat them all. I never used Bayer, just read about using it. In over 3yrs of growing succulents, I have used only rubbing alcohol spray or swab. Brad (paracelsus) gave you good advice above about the dosage. Rina edit to add: I copied what Crenda wrote on another post: I do not spray the Bayer on my plants. They are all outside all year and in full sun. I am afraid it would burn or damage the leaves, especially those planted in the ground. Maybe someone else has a different experience to share, but I cannot advise you on that. I use the Bayer 3-in-1 or the Bayer Tree and Shrub as a soil drench. I water the plants lightly with the solution so the roots can take up the insecticide. This will protect my plants from any pests that bite them. This treatment can be done every 3-6 months.

kimmq What insects are you attempting to control? Keep in mind that any insecticide that might be systemic has the potential to harm insects not targeted by that poison. Just needed a link. No insects were to be harmed in the publication of the ---. Now that you mention it I don't know what she was publishing. BTW, what insects inside should not be targeted? Oh, I just re-read my post. I did not mention that she wanted a link to systemic insecticides to be used inside. My bad, as they used to say.

6 months is most likely the half-life in soil. In a compost pile, with vigorous microbial activity, it is likely to be shorter than that. In a pile mixed with other materials, where leaves from a treated tree make up only part of the pile, there will not be much left at all. Usually people worry about two aspects: will it harm the garden plants or critters (a la persistent herbicides damaging plants), or is it potentially toxic to grow food in it? As for the former, once diluted with other ingredients, composted, diluted again by adding to soil, then diluted again because only a fraction would be taken up by plants (if at all), it seems unlikely that beneficial insects could be harmed. I don't know the mode of action of these ash borer pesticides (whether it works on the larvae, adult, etc.) or whether they are toxic to earthworms. I should think that the biodegradability of the stuff in the compost pile and all the dilution steps would result in much less of the chemical available compared to spraying it on the original tree. As for toxicity to humans, again there are multiple dilution and uptake steps combined with biodegradation. If I lived in a grove of all treated ash trees, I might not use the compost on my vegetables. Or at least I'd try to find out how fast it actually biodegrades and its relative toxicity to humans. But that's my bag, I know the average gardener is going to have to make a judgment call without consulting the scientific literature.