Oak trees in the region have been getting attacked by the wasp gall, and recently, the effects have become very apparent. Chad Hansen from Hansen's Tree Service and arborist Skip Kincaid joined Marc Cox to discuss the situation, and how to address it.
"We have seen these large golf-ball sized galls on oak trees for, for years, primarily pin-oak and shingle oak," says Kincaid. "Our advice to people always was, 'don't worry about it, it just looks odd, it might prune back a twig or two, but not really an issue."
"Over the last five years, it has become, quite honestly, epidemic in St Louis," says Kincaid, "we're seeing it everywhere, its actually killing oak trees."
Kincaid says there is a three-year cycle for the bugs that attack the trees' leaves and twigs. Arborists are working with a pair of chemicals to help stop the galls, with some positive results.
"We now do this combo-treatment, and we're very honest with people, 'hey, the playbook hasn't been written on this, but we're gonna try this'," says Kincaid. "We're confident, but its not as confident as some of the other things we do, we need to very honest with people."
