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Do Real Christmas Trees Carry Insects?

Dec 20, 2022

Christmas trees have been a beloved holiday tradition for hundreds of years. They symbolize festive joy and bring that amazing, fresh scent into your home. For a variety of reasons, many people choose to have a real Christmas tree for the holidays instead of an artificial one - and it’s not difficult to see why!

While Christmas trees live and grow outside, you may have wondered if they harbor any insects. Most people wouldn’t be happy to find critters crawling around their homes and invading their spaces. Mosquito Hero is here to give you the facts about what kinds of bugs can make their way indoors via your tree. 

Christmas tree

What Kind of Insects?

Evergreen trees commonly act as a host for aphids, which cling to them and lay eggs over the winter. When bringing these trees into your home, the warmth your home provides may cause these eggs to hatch.

Due to colder temperatures outside, many adult insects such as bark beetles and praying mantises will be dormant. However, these insects also tend to lay eggs in the trees, and once brought to warmer conditions, they may hatch. If this were to happen, you could, in theory, have hundreds of tiny insects crawling around your home in search of food.

Other insects commonly found on Christmas trees are spiders. Spiders won’t typically leave their habitats as they are predators of insects and are not dangerous to humans. If they do venture off the tree, it’s likely that they will weave small webs and inhabit someplace else. In this case, they are small enough that it’s easy to remove them with a vacuum cleaner.

 

Tips on Limiting Insects

·        When picking a tree, inspect the bark to see if you find any eggs laying on the branches

·        Check the trunk! Small holes are a sign of bark beetles

·        Shake the tree outside before bringing it into your home. This will help dislodge any loose eggs

·        Remove any bird nests

 

If small bugs keep you up at night, then a real Christmas tree may not be for you. Whatever you do, do NOT spray any aerosol pesticide products on your tree as they are flammable!

 

 Mosquito Hero is wishing you a fun and safe, happy holiday season!

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