Question of the Week
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What are these strange ball-like things on my oak tree?
Today's question comes from John in Elgin, so thanks to John! These weird-looking, orange balls on your tree are oak galls. There are other colors of galls, and often they are brown. These growths are actually a protection for the young insects inside. There's not much you can do about them. They don't really damage the tree, and next year when the new leaves come out, you most likely won't have that problem. They are kind of cyclical. They're not really something to worry about. The insect involved is a tiny wasp, and it's not something that you can treat for. The galls themselves are something that a pesticide would not be able to penetrate.
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