Spindle galls. an esthetic concern. Won't damage the health of your tree/bush.

Thanks! What's the best way to get rid of them? They're kind of gross looking and I don't like all the holes they make.

there are a number of ways to defoliate an otherwise healthy tree ..

napalm... flamethrower ...

poor transplant.. etc ...

there is nothing to do.. short of cutting every leaf off the plant...

perhaps you cold think of it as an extra.. HARMLESS .. show in the garden.. care of mother earth ... relish it for its oddity ...

google the name.. for a couple billion articles on the subject ...

ken

anna....what ken is trying to say (but who knows for SURE) is that you can't get rid of the galls, but that you need to stop worrying about them. They will not go away now that they have been created...there is no 'best way'.

Ha...got it. I'm not really too worried about it, I just wanted to make sure I didn't have some gross massive infestation. Is there anything I can do to prevent them from happening next year?

you can do some things by pruning the infected area before they mature or turn brown. if you see a whole in the leaf they have already matured. another thing you can use is insecticidal soap by using it in the spring when new growth appears.