Compare-N-Save Systemic Tree and Shrub Insect Drench - 75333, 1 Gallon

I've been buying this for the past 7 years or so to protect my ash tree from emerald ash borers. My now 25-year old tree was definitely hit, I can see scars, but it is alive and doing pretty well while all of the non-treated ash trees in my town have died and been cut down. All of the untreated trees are gone. On my tree probably 95% of the canopy is alive. Anyway, this product is currently unavailable (I just came to buy another gallon for next year) but look for something with the same active ingredient, imidacloprid, 1.47%.

If you have Ash trees and are concerned that you might end up with Emerald Ash Borers (an invasive pest that kills Ash trees), an effective deterrent is Imidacloprid.I buy 2 gallons of this every spring.Rather than mixing it with water before I pour it, I pour it straight around the trunks of our trees and then I just use the garden hose to add several gallons of water.It's a cheap and easy way to protect your trees.I've mixed it with water and sprayed it onto my gardenia plants to kill white flies. It worked fantastically. I've sprayed the soil of houseplants to kill fungus gnats and it worked perfectly there too.If your tree trunk is about 2 feet in diameter, then use 1 gallon of this treatment. If your trees are smaller, you don't need as much and can save some for the following year. Each treatment is supposed to work for about 12 months.

HELPFUL INFO: I found the product info to be insufficient in the listing, as I had no direction on how much product I would need. The water:product ratio is simple, and could easily be in the listing, to help customers with an estimate of gallons needed! I highly recommend pre-measuring the tree trunk(s) to be treated, especially if you have several, and noting them in a similar fashion as I've pictured. Then do the math!The breakdown is easy: 1 ounce of product per 1 inch of the diameter of the tree trunk (at chest height). Or, 3 ounces per foot of shrub height. These amounts are added to 1 gallon (or 2) of water, and simply poured right around the base of the trunk.Needless to say, I'll need far more than 128 ounces (1 gallon) to treat the multiple trees in our yard.** I'll update my review in a couple months, allowing enough time for aphid elimination, based on the absence of honeydew all over our deck and outdoor furniture.UPDATE: It's obviously been more than a couple months. The product does work. But I also learned that application is necessary in the early spring (April) so that the tree has sufficient time to take-in the product prior to the start of aphid activity. Otherwise the aphids get a head start, damage begins, and you're playing catch-up the rest of the season. Today is April 2nd, and I'll be retreating no later than the middle of the month.👍🏻

WORKS AS DESCRIBED

The ash tree in my front yard has been infested with aphids the past couple years and it was time to take action. The little beasties don't kill the tree but I was getting tired of the ugly aphid clusters and being "misted" while walking or mowing beneath them. I read a lot of reviews of different treatments and this one seemed very promising. After a bit of research I decided to take a 2-step approach of using this product and also spraying the leaves with a water-and-dish-soap mix.Earlier this spring the tree already had leaf damage and aphid clusters. Within a week of using this product I could already see improvements. Six weeks after the treatment the improvement is amazing. There's no sign of aphids, the tree's leaves are dark and shiny, and there's even new growth.The product instructions are clear, and it's easy to use. Basically you calculate the number of ounces to mix with water (based on the tree trunk size) and pour the mix around the base of the tree. The jug is also packaged well, as it comes sealed in a bag within the box so you don't have to worry about leaks. It's a good value, too, since I'll get a couple more seasons of treatment out of it.10/10 would buy again.

Last summer, from mid July through Fall, we couldn’t use our yard because it was a sticky mess covered in mold, wasps and ants, all from these darn pests. This summer, it’s now July 24 and I don’t see anything but dead nymphs. I am hopeful we have reclaimed our yard for our beneficial use again.I used this to treat a giant wall full of Boston Ivy, 5 Ailanthus trees (Tree of Heaven, aka Spotted Lantern Flies’ favorite food!) and a giant Paulownia tree (Empress tree). I applied exactly per the instructions on June 6th. It’s now July 24th and I have hundreds of dead SLF’s all over the yard here in Brooklyn, NY. I can see hundreds but I am sure there are many more. The dead ones are late stage nymphs and don’t have wings yet so I’m hopeful that means I also won’t have 10 million eggs to hunt over the winter. This past winter I found and destroyed probably over 150 egg clusters and then caught likely over 1,000 nymphs on sticky tape in April and May but I’m wondering if any of that was necessary given how effective this pesticide has turned out to be.With that said, I’d love to apply less of this so I’ll have to see next year if I can scale back the dose and have it still be as effective. I’m worried about unintentional harm to birds and other beneficial insects so ideally I can cut the dose.

A belated review - we bought this probably 6 years ago. It still works great to kill stuff right down to the roots. Same as RoundUp but cheaper - check the percent of active ingredient.