Ball Moss Spray Removal
There are varied opinions as to whether ball moss can kill a tree. By itself probably not, but when ball moss invades trees already under prolonged stress, it becomes a serious problem because it adds additional stress to the trees.
Ball moss is not only aesthetically ugly, but it adds additional stress that can impact the health of the tree. It has become a major contributor to the spread of oak decline to the trees in our eco system, especially the oaks.
Additionally, ball moss adds to the drought stress currently affecting the oak population. Any stress adds demand on the root system to provide more water that may not be available. This is coupled with the fact that what water is available in the root zone area is not being tapped into efficiently. You can learn more about this in Root Inoculation Service.
A few facts about ball moss:
It is not a parasite, therefore it does not directly take water and nutrients from the tree. However, it is a stressor because as it populates on branches, shutting off sunlight and hindering the budding process. This also interferes with the photosynthesis process which in turn adds stress to the tree.
Ball moss is a plant that produces a flower after 2-3 years. It then pollinates, scattering hundreds of new seeds that reproduce new plants. The growth of ball moss is exponential and never ending and can reach a point where it completely takes over the tree.
Picking off the ball moss is a waste of time because for every plant removed there are seeds embedded in the bark and many smaller baby plants are often overlooked.
Ball moss takes in its moisture from the atmosphere, similar to an air plant. This explains its aggressive growth in an area like Canyon Lake because of the high relative humidity from the lake and river.
The only way to effectively mitigate ball moss is by shaping and balancing the tree, removing 80% of the ball moss. The canopy is then sprayed with baking soda which saturates the plant. The salt in the baking soda absorbs the moisture and kills the ball moss. It only takes a few weeks to kill the ball moss, then it can up to 2—3 years for the dead balls to deteriorate enough to fall to the ground. The spray immediately stops the reproduction cycle but the aesthetics is a longer process that involves nature, wind and rain to remove the dead balls. For optimal results a second spray is recommended along with our shape and balance cut that removes up to 70% of the ball moss in the underbelly area of the trees.
Ball Moss Spray Removal Service
Our service to spray the ball moss is $750 for a 100-gallon mix of 50 pounds of baking soda and water. A 100-gallon mix will cover 10-20 trees depending on their size and how infested they are.