Dead and dying branches should be removed to reduce attraction. Symptoms occur in midsummer with the needle turning yellow then purplish-brown in late winter. Small black fruiting bodies emerge from stomates in the spring. A round gall on the branches of the tree. The woody gall will produce masses of orange spores each spring.
Resistance varies from tree to tree.
The galls may be pruned from small infested trees but this treatment has very limited effectiveness. This is desiccation due to the needles transpiring due to warm, windy conditions but water uptake is limited by cold or frozen stems or soils. Plant susceptible plants such as yews in areas they will not be exposed to winter sun. Watering just before freeze-up is of limited benefit. The inner bark of twigs and branches also have brownish streaks.