What Pests Are Hiding in Your Christmas Tree?

While it may be a tradition to purchase a live Christmas tree each year to create the perfect home for your wrapped gifts, they may be providing much more than a pleasant smell throughout the holiday season. A live Christmas tree is often a thriving ecosystem for a variety of insects and spiders and, once it is inside your home, countless species of bugs could be as well. If you are set on using a live Christmas tree for your home, here are some of the pests that may be hiding inside of it and some of the ways you can protect your home from them.

Common Christmas Tree Pests

Smoky Brown and American Cockroaches will often hide inside of evergreen trees because the thick branches provide superior harborage and an adequate supply of moisture for them to thrive. Unfortunately, once the tree is inside your home, they will inevitably begin searching for a new source of food and water. However, these aren’t the only pests that you should be concerned about.

One other pest that can quickly spread inside of a home during the holidays is the Christmas Tree Aphid. As you might have already guessed, these aphids live primarily on Christmas trees, such as conifers, and feed on the sap to facilitate rapid breeding and multiplying. Once the tree begins to die, these aphids will branch out in search of more food and water sources inside of your home. And, although they won’t live for long, you likely don’t want to spend a few weeks sharing your home with countless aphids.

One final Christmas tree pest that will commonly be found throughout the holidays is a variety of spiders. Since aphids and cockroaches are already inside of the tree, the spiders that inhabit them will often feed on them in the wild. However, once indoors, they may find they have access to even more food sources that they may not have known were available.

How Can You Protect Your Home from Christmas Tree Pests?

If you want to continue using a live Christmas tree for the holidays out of tradition, the good news is that you still can. However, it’s important to take a few extra steps to ensure that your home doesn’t have unexpected pest guests waiting to unwrap their present of a new home. Follow these steps before bringing your tree indoors.

1. Have the tree farm that you used shake the tree to try and jar pests out. Once home, do this again to try and get any pests that didn’t release before bringing the tree inside.
2. If your water hose is still connected and not removed to prevent freezing, spray down the tree gently to flush and pests out that may be inside. Once dry, you can continue the process.
3. Before putting decorations on your Christmas tree, check the branches for signs of aphids or other pests and remove them accordingly.

If you accidentally bring pests indoors with your live Christmas tree, the experts at Emtec Pest Control are here to help. With both preventative pest control plans available and standard targeted services, we are sure to have the right fit for your needs. Contact us today to find the perfect plan for your budget and needs this Christmas!