It is that time of year again!  The happiest time of the year!  That is true unless you are one of the unlucky ones who ends up bringing bugs into your home via your freshly cut Christmas tree.  Christmas tree bugs are no fun and can be a pain to get rid of once you have them.  Below are a few ideas on what to do about Christmas tree bugs and how to avoid having to deal with them. 

  1.  Many Christmas tree lots have mechanical tree shakers that will get rid of the bugs for you before they have the chance of entering your home.  There are some tree lots however that do not have these services.  If you get your tree from a tree farm that doesn’t have this type of mechanical tree shaker, just be sure to do the shaking yourself with the help of a few friends.  Shake the tree back and forth a few times as hard as you can and that should help to get rid of any bugs that might be attached.
  2. A good way to check to see if your new Christmas tree has bugs  is to look at it with a bright flashlight.  A few of the bugs that might be on the tree are the following:  mites, praying mantis, psocids, bark beetles, scale insects, adelgids, and aphids.
  3. One way that you do not need to try in order to get rid of Christmas tree bugs  is to use chemicals of any kind.  These types of things shouldn’t be in your home and also won’t work well with Christmas lights which can sometimes get hot.  You could be in for a disaster worse than the bugs if you try to kill them with chemicals. 
  4. If you find that you do have Christmas tree bugs your vacuum will become your best friend.  Be sure to vacuum around the bottom of the tree and anywhere you see that the bugs may have gone in your home.  This will help to eliminate them even if it is just a few at a time. 

Don’t worry yourself sick if you get home and find that your Christmas tree has bugs living in it.  They like the tree and much of nothing else so you don’t have to worry about them getting on you or your loved ones.  

Courtesy of Chester County PA Realtor Scott Darling.