People love freshly-cut evergreen Christmas trees in their homes during the holiday season. The evergreen makes your home smell pleasant, look beautiful, and help everyone get in the Christmas spirit. Did you know that there could be thousands of pests hibernating inside your real tree? According to the Huffington Post and Safer Brand, 25,000 pests can live in ONE Christmas Tree.
Type of Pests in a Real Christmas Tree
Here are a few of the types of pests that you can find in a real Christmas tree:
- Aphids
- Spiders and Mites
- Adelgids
- Praying Mantises
- Bark Beetles
- Sawflies
- Weevils
- Bark Lice
- Moths
- Webworms
- Pine Needle Scale
How to Prevent Insects From Coming Into Your Home?
Here are some ideas to prevent insects from coming into your home through your live Christmas tree.
- Inspect the tree branches and trunk for any signs of eggs or bugs. Norwegian pines are known for having the most bugs.
- Give your tree a good shake before bringing inside.
- Let the tree sit in your garage for at least 24 hours before decorating. This will help the tree to settle and allow the insects to leave the tree before you bring it into your home. If you see some insects, you can spray the tree with neem oil to kill any Christmas tree bugs in any stage, from eggs to adults.
- Vacuum up any insects on or around the tree before you bringing the tree into your home.
- If you notice a large number of bugs, take the tree back to the Christmas tree shop to trade it in for a new one (most shops will exchange if your tree is particularly buggy).
A lot of families have a beautiful holiday tradition of buying a living Christmas tree to enjoy the entire season. There is no reason your family cannot still enjoy this tradition.
Vinegar
Have you ever heard of using white vinegar applied to the Christmas tree leaves to remove pests? We don’t recommend it. Vinegar alone to eliminate pests is not enough to completely kill the entire tree, but killing the leaves prevents the tree from photosynthesizing and transferring carbohydrates to the roots, which can slowly destroy it.
As a precaution, after the Christmas season is over and your tree is removed from the home, contact a local pest control company to inspect your home for insects and have a treatment to ensure that your home is safe from any pests.
If you need any pest control assistance, contact Drive-Bye Exterminators by calling 727-787-2127 or booking an appointment.
Drive-Bye Exterminators offers home and commercial pest control services in Clearwater, Florida, and the surrounding areas. Family owned and operated for over 25 years, Drive-Bye Exterminators have state-certified inspectors, and exterminators provide roach, subterranean termite, dry wood termite, roaches, spider, ant, and flea services to both commercial and residential clients. Whether a business owner needs help getting rid of a termite infestation, or a homeowner wants to rid their kitchen of ants, Drive-Bye Exterminators offers each client the same level of professionalism and excellence.
Request a FREE Pest Control or Termite Inspection today with the Professionals of Drive-Bye Exterminators. Contact Us Today at 727-787-2127.
