Damage and destruction caused by insects and disease can severely limit the ability of trees and shrubs in your landscape to manufacture the sugars and substances needed to remain healthy. As a plants health suffers and declines, the odds for defoliation and death sharply increase. A specialized program for trees and shrubs is the most logical step toward managing the spread of harmful insects and devastating diseases. At Arborcare we strive to use the safest and most environmentally friendly products when possible. Today many organic pest control methods are becoming more and more popular as an alternative to synthetic pesticides. Some of the organic products that are often used include horticultural oil, Neem oil, insecticidal soap, pyrethrins, and Kaolin clay. The use of horticultural oil is commonly recommended as a treatment which has a minimal toxicity as way to reduce insect populations before the season begins, reducing further pesticide use later on. Some microbial insecticides, such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) can be use for oakworm problems. The benefits of these microbial insecticides are that they are naturally occurring and they are non toxic to most non-caterpillar insects including natural enemies. And sometimes, when conditions allow, beneficial insects and mites such as nematodes and predatory mites can be applied to treat certain insect problems. Some of the common insect problems in Utah that we treat for include aphids, adelgids, bark beetles, borers, birch stink bugs, boxelder bugs, cherry fruit flies, codling moths, cooley spruce gall, elm leaf beetles, leaf miners, oakworms, plant bugs, sawfly larvae, scale, spider mites, root weevils, and tip weevil. Common disease problems include anthracnose, coryneum blight, fireblight, leaf spot fungus, needle cast fungus, powdery mildew, and scab fungus. Arborcare also provides outdoor foundation sprays to help control insects from getting indoors, or congregating outside such as boxelder bugs.