What are the white balls on my oak tree?

These little balls, called oak galls, are a common occurrence caused when the tree reacts to non-stinging wasps laying their eggs on its leaves, branches, twigs or flowers. These insects inject a hormone into the plant tissue, causing it to grow abnormally and enclose the developing wasp larvae.

Should I remove oak galls?

Something you can do now - and I heartily recommend it - is to remove and destroy any galls you can find on the trees. There probably are many on twigs and branches; look for knobby and hard growth. Chances are it's a gall. By removing it now, you lessen the number of eggs available to hatch come spring.

How do you get rid of fuzzy oak gall?

Prune and destroy gall-infested twigs and branches. Burn or step on the galls to kill the developing larvae. Place gall remains in a tightly sealed baggie or trash bag and discard immediately. Rake and destroy gall-infested fallen leaves.

What are the white balls on my tree?

The small, white, popcorn-like objects are likely cottony maple scale. Cottony maple scale is an insect. It is most commonly found on silver maple trees. However, it can also be found on other maples, oak, linden, hackberry, honey locust, and other trees.

Do galls harm oak trees?

Most leaf galls on oak cause little or no harm to the health of a tree. However, twig or branch galls may cause injury or even death to a heavily infested tree.

Oak galls, what are these balls on my tree. Gall wasp

Why do oak trees have oak galls?

Galls on trees are caused by insects laying eggs inside or feeding on the branches of leaves of trees and other plants. This usually occurs in the spring. The galls, or tumor-like growths, are produced by the tree in response to chemicals injected into it by an adult or larval gall-making insect.

How do you treat gall wasps on oak trees?

Are gall wasps beneficial?

Most galls, especially on leaves, do not hurt the oak tree, and the wasps aren't harmful to people either. In fact, like many insects, the wasps inside these galls are a beneficial source of food for our native wildlife, including many species of birds, as well as mammals such as opossums and raccoons.

What is oak gall used for?

Gall oak galls (QIG; Galla turcica) have been used in traditional medicine to treat diarrhea, hemorrhage, and skin disease. Some studies have shown it to be an effective anti-MRSA, antiviral, antifungal, larvicidal, and antioxidant.

What does an oak tree gall look like?

Shapes of galls vary from spherical to urn-shaped to star-shaped to fuzzy. Inside the galls are the eggs and larvae of the insects. Galls are made of plant material and vary in colors of yellow and green and turn tan-brown as the development continues. Galls will eventually brown and die once the adult insect emerges.

What do oak gall wasps look like?

Gall wasps are small, brown wasps with the abdomen flattened side to side. Many gall wasps develop for 2 or 3 years in woody galls on the twigs of oaks. Adults then emerge from the twig galls during the winter. They lay eggs in the buds and die.

Are oak galls the same as acorns?

When looking at an oak tree with small round balls hanging on the branches, you may have noticed it, much like acorns. These balls are known as galls and are not actually fruits. Galls are caused by parasitic insects and are actually growths. There are many species of gall wasps in North America that need oak trees.

Are galls bad for a tree?

In most cases, galls are unsightly but not damaging to the tree. Small plants may be stunted because the water and nutrient circulatory system of the plant may be damaged.

Are oak tree galls poisonous to dogs?

The galls can cause gastrointestinal upset if ingested in large quantities. The excess mucous is likely due to inflammation/irritation in the colon caused by the galls. Withhold food for 24 hours. Allow small amounts of water or unflavored PediaLyte.

How do you treat galls?

Why are there wasps on my oak tree?

An oak tree at Rend Lake infested with gouty oak galls. Gouty oak wasps lay their eggs on oak trees causing trees to secrete an enzyme that eventually forms these unsightly galls.

What is inside a gall?

A small cavity within each gall contains one or more small maggots, the larval stages of very small flies called midges. Female midges lay their eggs in very young leaflets during early spring. Gall formation begins soon after the eggs are laid. Specifics of the biology of this insect are not known.

Can gall wasps sting you?

They do not sting us and are generally unnoticed. Some do come to our attention because of the effects they have on plants. One such is a gall wasp which feeds on the acorns of oak trees.

What do you spray on oak galls?

Galls don't cause injury but if you allow enough to grow, they can indirectly cause “suffocation” and in the end, the tree can die as a result. If you're finding galls on your oaks, the best treatment is to use is PROTHOR by both systemic soil drenching AND foliage spray.

What is the difference between a burl and a gall?

Tumor growth in plants is commonly known as gall or burl. Galls contain knots, callus, ingrown bark and stains, whereas, burls are bark-covered and display wildly contorted grain. These tumors can occur on twigs, branches, trunks, roots, or leaves (like seen above) and might be numerous per host.

Do squirrels eat oak galls?

The gouty oak twig gall lacks the horns and has a smooth surface and can be found on pin, scarlet, red and black oaks. Squirrels have increasingly been found chewing on the galls causing much twig and leaf ground litter from the canopy above.

Can you eat oak apple gall?

Oak apples are not edible for people. They are caused by a small, stubby, harmless wasp that lives most of its life inside the gall (oak apple).

How big can oak galls get?

Twig and Stem Galls

The galls can grow to more than 2 inches in diameter. Horned oak galls can be found on pin, scrub, black, blackjack, and water oaks while gouty oak galls occur on scarlet, red, pin or black oak. These galls have a long and complex development that takes two or more years to develop.