Being on the pessimistic side, I think I might start thinking about replacement trees. If, like me, you are frugal, then starting your own from seed, or digging up seedlings, might be a way to go. If you grow your own, and keep potting them on into larger pots, you can have 15-gal. root systems, and 6-12' trees at least 4, maybe 5 years, down the road, which seems to be about when you will know if your insecticide/protection program is working or not. The size will be NOTHING like the magnificent ashes you now have growing, but it will be a start in providing it to you again.... Of course, if you can afford it, you CAN buy very large trees as replacements, but if you have read through old posts, you realize that the establishment period for large trees is long, and takes much care - the smaller trees would probably catch up to the bigger ones at the end of 3-6 years, and cost a LOT less, both in money and in effort/water/etc.. I hope you do succeed in your endeavors - and if you do end up with healthy ashes, and no need for your "little" trees, then I am sure you can gift them to someone, even to your town for park plantings.

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the GST cats I found and how I purchased a new navel tree for them to eat because they had just about finished off the dwarf navel tree that I found them on, well, only two of the cats ate leaves from the new tree, and they both got sick and died, apparently from what I have been told on this forum, the plant had probably been treated with some type of insecticide, and since i washed all the leaves on the plant very thoroughly when I brought it home, I am assuming it was a systemic toxin the plant was treated with. I have since found 5 GST eggs on the poison tree, I have removed them, rinsed them, and placed them on leaves from the other tree. The first egg hatched, I could not believe how tiny they hatchling was, this was yesterday, and he appears to be dead, he did not eat all of his egg casing and never started eating the leaf. Will systemic insecticide contaminate the butterfly eggs too? I did not rinse the first egg off, but I have rinsed all of the others, and I believe I got them off of toxic tree, not long after they were laid. I have cut all of the new growth off of the tree, and keep checking it to make sure the mother hasn't laid any more eggs on it, I don't know what to do with the tree for now, I would throw it away if I knew it would never be safe to use as host plant, but if it can be used as host plant in future, how long should I wait to make sure it is safe? and in the meantime, where can i put it to make it less appealing to the mother as a place to lay her eggs? thanks!

Neem oil, as a spray and soil treatment, will act as a systemic, with out putting yourself or the environment in jeopardy. It will not cause overnight destruction to pests, but rather acts as an antifeedant/deterant. Best used as a preventative, or in rotation with population knockdown measures. Cold pressed is prime, as some heavily processed oils have the active ingredient Azadirachtin removed, and can be obtained at health food stores/natural pharmacies. Spray water temperature and a good surfactant are important, to ensure proper emulsification and even spread. Warm water (70-80*F ideally) is important, as cold water will coagulate the oil, and hot water will reduce its impact. For a soil drench to combat fungus gnats, root aphids, etc, 5-12ml per litre, mixed with an equal part surfactant (liquid soap, potassium based. Dr.Bonners preferably.) For a spray, I use a 1% concentration with an equal part surfactant Companion planting, trap crops, etc. There are many ways to control pests, a multi pronged approach is best. SM90, with its nose tickling lemony bleach odour, is halfway between neem and Avid. Mainy comprised of canola and coriander oil. It does not work as a systemic, but is good to knock populations down, while rotating with insecticidal soaps and other control measures. Dr.Bonners works wonders on its own, at 1% concentration. Peppermint brings the added benefit of peppermint oil, an insecticide in its own right, and Lavender will act as a deterant. Ensure complete coverage of the plant, with particular focus on the underside of foliage. Spider mite eggs hatch every 3-5 days, an it is advisable to spray every 3-4 days until a measure of control is achieved. As with bringing anything new into the garden, test a small plot or single plant at different concentrations, starting low, and observe results over 3-4 days.

Imidacloprid definitely works as a systemic for mealies. Thanks to one application of Bayer Tree & Shrub (not a spray, you water the plants with a dilution) I am at last mealie free. I have lost I don’t know how many cacti and mesembs to root mealies and more natural treatments, which all involve messing with the roots. Once you introduce a plant with mealies, they spread to all the others over time. I do not overwater, my plants are not etiolated, they grow well, but are not soft from too much fertilizer etc. One plant is all it takes to introduce them, and they do not go away by themselves. Once you are free of mealies, you have to be very careful about adding plants to your collection. Keep them away from the others until you are sure they are clean. I take plants inside when they have open flowers the first year after treatment, to save the bees and butterflies.