The scale newcomer that began infesting crepe myrtles in north Texas a few years ago showed up on one of our trees last year. The ants were going after them so aggressively I thought we might be able to deal with them mechanically (brush, pressure spray, pick, squash, ...), but are clearly losing ground.

One of the infested trees shares a root zone with a pear tree, so am wondering if anyone has dealt with these successfully without resorting to a systemic. The little info published so far on these beasties does not offer much hope for the common topical scale treatments, but thought someone may know of newer options.

Appreciate any advice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crape myrtle scale: New pest for US? (TAMU)