Kincaid Tree Surgery showed up today for the annual tree spraying against pine beetles and spruce bud worms. Usually they come twice a summer because the spruce problem is early in the season and the pine beetles are later in the season, but this year (I think for their own purposes) they are here about half-way in between.

This year aphids are unusually bad and are attacking the spruce trees, particularly Colorado Blue Spruce. They form white egg sacs that resemble snow on the branches.



Also, the egg laying is causing the trees to form galls (those brighter green clumps) as a defense. These will eventually turn brown and shed off.



We already found a tree on the edge of the yard that had been killed by pine beetles and a couple of sick ones that were infected, but the spraying is meant to save the other pines. Good for us, we have a diverse mix of trees - firs, spruce, pine and deciduous - so losing a few trees isn't the end of the world, but we don't want the beetles to go marching up the hill and take out all the pines.