Ball Moss Removal

What is Ball Moss?

Ball Moss, despite it’s name, is actually not a type of moss but a small flowing plant belonging to the epiphytes or ‘air plants’ group. Epiphytes grow on the surfaces of other plants or trees and are normally harmless since they obtain their nutrients and moisture from the air, not the plant they are living on.

Ball Moss (Tillandsia Recurvata) is round with gray or green vines intertwined, and can range in size from 3′ to 12′ diameter. They are normally found clinging to trees, especially oaks, in the Southern US, and they will bloom with small blue to purple flowers during the spring.

Can Ball Moss Hurt my Trees?

In most cases, ball moss is harmless to your trees. However, if you see a very large infestation where the ball moss is covering the entire tree including the canopy, a removal is recommended. Some people may also want the ball moss removed before it gets out of hand if a tree is showing itself to be susceptible to ball moss. Numerous ball moss can hurt a tree by blocking sunlight from getting to it’s leaves and also prevent growth in the areas where it is attached.

How do you Remove Ball Moss?

If you have more ball moss than you are comfortable with, and/or you think your tree may be in danger because of it, there are a few different ways to remove ball moss.

You can hand pick them all off individually, which can be extremely tedious depending on how bad the infestation is.
The second option is removal via trimming or pruning. Just Trees can perform your ball moss removal service along side of a scheduled tree trimming appointment. A lot of the ball moss will be on deadwood limbs that need to be trimmed anyways.
The third option is a chemical treatment which will not harm the tree when properly applied. After the ball moss dies a week later, they will eventually fall off from wind, rain, or animals knocking them off.

Customer Reviews

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Called Just Trees to remove large Pecan in a very precarious location. Tree was taken down safely with no casualties to surrounding structures. Thanks to Just Trees! Denny
Dennis Schey
We had Just Trees remove two large Bradford Pear trees. I left for work in the morning, came back in the evening, the trees were gone, the stumps ground... read more
Holly S.
Just Trees removed a hackberry tree that was causing the oaks around it to grow outward and down rather than upward towards the sky. They trimmed all the trees in... read more
Robert Anderson
We had significant wind damage to several trees close to our house including one that broke and fell on our deck. Just trees removed all the limbs and trimmed... read more
Howard Kay
Just trees performers above and beyond other tree services. Their knowledge and customer service is exemplary. They are not only a tree service. They are a people service. They are... read more
Bill Bostick
Markus & Co. always deliver exceptionally professional service & information, at an extremely competetive price. Reliable and timely!
John Kolacki
Just Trees was excellent. Professional, understood exactly what needed to be done -- was selling the house so I wanted the trees to look good but because I... read more
Shannon Stewart
Just Trees is the best tree service in Austin, and I've used excellent tree services here for 20 years. Chris Poth is honest and knowledgeable and cares about keeping... read more
Agm Skinner
When you are trimming trees, you need an Arborist. These guys know what they are doing.
Michael White
They were able to come out at short notice and remove a large limb that had fallen right next to our home. They were fast and efficient as well as... read more cleaning up all debris afterwards.
Kim Smith