Ball Moss

[Phil]

I see quite a bit of Ball Moss on some of the Oak trees in our development. It looks like it is killing some of the trees. Is there any way to control/kill Ball Moss?

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Phil B.

[Oscar_Lives]

I usually stand facing the South and that prevents moss on my balls.

[JimR]

If you're referring to Spanish moss, it doesn't take any energy from the trees. Instead, the moss is an indication that the tree may have some other problem, so removing the moss won't save the tree. If you're in the southeast, especially Florida, your oaks lost a lot of foliage in the last two years due to the hurricanes, and this increased openness has encouraged growth of Spanish moss. As the trees recover, the moss coverage will balance out. Trying to control the Spanish moss is a misplaced effort.

Occasionally in our area (Central Florida) there are collection teams that come around and gather moss for resale. If you don't like the appearance the moss gives, you may be able to find collectors who gather, treat and resell, but I wouldn't spend any time trying to remove moss to save trees -- it's a symptom, not a cause. Regards --

[Jim]

The method I used was to simply knock those spherical things out of the tree. Then burn them to prevent spore, and fertilization again. Similar for heavy bark lichen infestations by cutting off the affected limbs, and burning the limbs. Both are normal on oak trees. Heavy infestation is a sign of a stressed tree by insects and/or disease. Find the cause of stress, and address that too.