Drippy Pecan Tree

[UmiUmiSumi]

Hello, looking for a bit of advice about my big ol pecan tree in my backyard.

We bought our house last year, it's pushing 70 and has mature landscaping. There is a lovely pecan in the backyard that provides great shade in our hot summers, but unfortunately it also gets infested with aphids this time of year and turns our backyard into a sticky mess.
I've done some cursory online research; it seems that direct application of some sort of insecticide can help, but the problem is that this tree is at least 40 feet tall. I sprayed down what foliage I could get to with water today, but I know I didn't touch the crown.
I'd rather not use something actually toxic (you know, save the bees and all), but my sticky yard, while not the worst of things, is irritating. Are there people I can hire who can spray that far up on the tree? Or do I just accept that my yard is sticky in August. (For reference, I'm in Sacramento, CA)
Thanks for any advice!

 

[JeffGu]

Root/soil drench with an imidacloprid product, after it is done flowering, should have a low impact on the bees, since the pesticide doesn't make it into the flowers/fruit in a strong enough concentration to be effective against pests.
You might want to think twice about eating the pecans from a treated tree, though, in the treatment years. Having the tree treated with a foliar spray would be a lot more expensive. A soil drench is mixed with water and poured around the trunk of the tree from the root flare out a couple of feet. Treatment usually lasts for 2 or 3 years.

 

[BC WetCoast]

You can have someone spray it with safers soap.

Next year go to the garden store and inquire about getting some ladybugs. You can release them yourself

 

[Jason Douglas]

Green lacewing are an excellent predator as well. I get them in eggs as they can't fly away.

 

[ironman_gq]

regular dish soap and water will kill aphids, not quite as effective as horticultural soap but still very effective.

 

[Jason Douglas]

Thats not advised anymore as a dish soap molecule differs slightly from a hort soap molecule and can cause phytotoxicity. Joe Boggs and Jim Chatfield addressed this at a PHC presentation this past winter.