The gall of them.

 To infest my oaks and cause me all this grief. 

The mess, the dog dilemma, the work.

When will it all stop?

My oaks are covered with galls, caused primarily by insects putting their eggs in the tree.  I’m sure last year’s mild winter, responsible for our over-abundance of insects is partially to blame.  One oak seems to have a terrible case of them this year.

According the Mr. Smarty Plants at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, they can also be caused by fungi, bacteria, nematodes and mites, which I didn’t know.

The most common insect wasp is Discholcapsis cinerosa, the mealy oak gall.  The females lay their eggs in leaf buds, causing the galls to form.

I know they’re not harmful to the trees, but they sure are annoying the heck out of me this year.

My dogs seem to have cut back on trying to eat all the pokie oak leaves with the galls on them.  (Thank goodness – they don’t digest well, so you can just imagine…)

And the deluge seems to be easing up a little.

What’s next?  Locusts?