While I was inspecting the tree, I wondered about the ants. Ill be darned if I didnt see them carrying two scale bugs up the trunk of the tree. I prompty squashed them.

well, if that scale were on my garden tree, he would die for sure; because I would take him off and smash him.

That is the way I deal with many insect pests for my garden trees; of course for my 30,000 odd field Meyers, it is not so simple.

And it is most important to control your ants; they bring aphids and many other critters.

Oil is what I use
Look here-- http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7410.html

good Luck

That's concerning...Just how long does it take for bugs like that to suffocate before they relocate? Gross, right?

Mike