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With 33 million real Christmas trees being sold in the USA every year, there could be up to 25,000 bugs living in your Christmas tree.

Some common pests hiding in your Christmas tree:

  • Mites
  • Sawfly
  • Aphids
  • Spiders
  • Adelgids
  • Bark Beetles
  • Praying Mantises
  • Pine Needle Scale

Pest Prevention:

  • Vigorously shake the tree before bringing it into your home.
  • Look out for bird nests, since they may contain parasites such as mites and lice.
  • Spruce spider mites appear as tiny red and brown dots when shaken out of Christmas trees.
  • Some Christmas tree hitchhikers are Spiders, Cinara Aphids, Bark Beetles, Mites & Psocids (Bark Lice).
  • Insects brought into the warmth of a home behave as though spring has come and become active again.
  • Cinara Aphids and their eggs are often hidden down inside the lower branches of Christmas trees where they are hard to find.
  • The Praying Mantis and Gypsy Moth will lay eggs in Christmas trees. Look for the walnut-sized tan egg masses. If you find any, remove them.