Question
I have two Douglas fur pine trees with what appears to be a seasonal fungus. I have noticed that since it has warmed up this April here in Southern California, I get a white furry fungus on the base of the needles and shaded side of the trees. I has a semi-sticky feel and is hard to get off. Can you help?

Answer
Sounds like Cooley spruce gall adelgid. The Cooley spruce gall adelgid overwinters as an immature female beneath bark scales on spruce or Douglas fir. In the spring they lay their eggs under a cottony, waxy covering which can be quite conspicuous. When the eggs hatch in the spring, the nymphs crawl to the developing buds and begin to feed. This feeding results in swelling of tissue, and eventually a gall will develop on the tips of Colorado blue spruce branches. The young adelgids will live in their individual cells within the gall until mid-summer, when winged adults emerge and migrate to other spruce or Douglas Fir. Many references incorrectly state that the Cooley spruce gall adelgid requires both Colorado blue spruce and Douglas Fir to complete its lifecycle--in fact, in the absence of the alternate host Douglas Fir, the spruce gall adelgid can complete its lifecycle on spruce.

I would use either a spray insecticide for small trees or a soil applied insecticide for larger tree. The soil applied will protect the tree for the season. I would recommend Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insect control--this is applied to the soil around the tree and the roots will carry the insecticide to the foliage and when the adelgids suck the plant juices they are killed, Here is a web link to this product--check with your local garden type store for this.

http://www.bayeradvanced.com/tree-shrub-care/products/12-month-tree-shrub-insect...