Ahhh the smell of a real tree. Nothing beats it, unless of course you want a house full of bugs. Here's what to look for and how to avoid them!

 

Here's the tricky part. Bugs lay low when it's cold. So, you might not notice them until you have the tree all set up and are admiring your work with a hot toddy in your hand. That's when they could just be waking up.

According to an article at WMTW,

...there could be up to 25,000 bugs in one Christmas tree. Double yikes!

 

So, the article went on to say exactly what you should look for:

  • Aphids are little brown and black bugs with six legs — watch out, some have wings.
  • Adelgids produce little white masses that suck sap from spruce needles.
  • If you spot tiny red specks crawling on your tree, it's probably scale insects.
  • The name bark beetles says it all: These dark brown bugs burrow themselves into tree trunks.
  • Other insects include psocids (small, winged, gray creatures), praying mantises,mites and ticks when the weather is unseasonably warm outside. We probably don't have to worry to much about that last bunch!

 

Want the good not nightmare producing news? A lot of farms have mechanical tree shakers that take care of anything hanging on. Like bugs and eggs and of course loose pine needles.

And don't forget, before you tie it on to your car, shake that thing for all it's worth in the parking lot!

Check out your tree using a flashlight and then - DON'T bring it into your house immediately. Put it in your garage for a day before dragging it in.

To be super safe, vacuum the floor around the tree on a pretty regular basis.

The one thing you SHOULD NEVER DO is spray that tree with bug spray. Guess what is extremely flammable - bug spray. Bug spray + Christmas lights = FIRE! I think we all agree that a few bugs are better than setting your house on fire.

Christmas Tree
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Oh, and have a nice Christmas.

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