Christmas Tree Pests : A Present You Wouldn’t Want
If you’re up for buying a Christmas tree to liven up the room and fill it with Christmas spirit then that’s great, but it’s good to take precaution against the pests that might live in the tree.
During Christmas, there are many who’d put up a real Christmas tree inside of their house to get that Christmas spirit going around but sometimes these trees can contain pests and if you’re not careful enough, one might just stay inside your house. Luckily, there are ways you can know what those pests in these trees are. The pests in your Christmas tree could range from adelgids, aphids, bark beetles, bark lice, mites, pine needle scale, praying mantises, sawfly, scale insects, spiders, or others.
To be sure that your Christmas tree will be free from the gift of pests, here are some tips that you could use:
- Examine the tree you’re choosing. If you’re buying a tree then you shouldn’t get careless and check after you’ve bought the tree. Check the branches, the leaves, and the trunk and if you spot any movement or any insects then you’ll have to move on to the next tree.
- Isolate the Christmas tree. Once you’ve bought the Christmas tree, it’s best to isolate for a few days in your garage or an empty space. You can put the Christmas tree in a bucket of water to deprive the pests of any food sources.
- Shake it off. Shake the Christmas tree off, you can place a sheet underneath where you’ll shake the Christmas tree or not. Shaking it off will help the remaining dead pests in your tree get removed.
Vacuum up. Although the pests are dead, no one really wants to have them staying. Vacuum the places where you’ve shook the tree to get rid of the pest. - Spray or Dust. If you want to have that extra bit of protection if you’re not satisfied with what you’ve done, use a Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth and sprinkle it on the tree or spray it with some neem oil.
On a side note, even if the pests did get in your home they would likely die from the different environment, they aren’t much of a harm but they can cause some messed up marks if you accidentally splat them.