Common Christmas Tree Bugs and How to Keep Your Evergreen Insect-Free
Many families prefer a real Christmas tree over a faux one thanks to the real one’s divine, fresh scent, the look of the pine needles, the natural variations in color and shape, and more. However, there is one major setback to taking home a real tree—it can bring Christmas tree bugs into your house.
Today, our experts in integrative pest management are here with yet another informative, educational post about pests in Alabama. This time, our featured pests are Christmas tree bugs. Keep reading to learn more!
Key Takeaways:
- Common Christmas tree bugs include spiders, pine needle scales, bark beetles, and aphids.
- There’s no better way to prevent Christmas tree bugs than opting for an artificial tree.
- You should shake the pests living in your Christmas tree out of it before bringing it into your house.
- Once a pest problem in your home becomes an infestation, you should consult a pest professional. DIY solutions are no match for a large, established population of pests.
Four Common Christmas Tree Bugs
Four common Christmas tree bugs include spiders, scale insects, bark beetles, and aphids. In the following subsections, we’ll highlight each Christmas tree bug.
#1: Spiders
Even though there are many types of harmless spiders, many people assume and consider all spiders to be pests. We can empathize with that fear, considering that some spiders—like brown recluses and black widows—harbor dangerous venom in their fangs that can severely hurt people and pets.
Luckily, you don’t need to worry about an infestation of brown recluses or black widows by bringing home a live Christmas tree because they are not tree dwellers.
You are likelier to find harmless spiders living in your tree—and on borrowed time. The types of spiders that live in Christmas trees aren’t cut out for indoor living, so they’ll perish quickly if they make it into your house on one.
The only real setback of having harmless spiders occupying your tree is that they can leave a mess of webs all over the branches. Still, you can easily clean them up with anything you can wrap the webs around (like twirling cotton candy onto a paper cone) before disposing of them.
#2: Pine Needle Scales
You don’t want to bring them in on your Christmas tree, but scale insects are fascinating creatures dissimilar to most other insects. They live inside waxy coatings on trees, and for most of their lives, they are completely immobile.
Scale insects are only mobile when they’re in their larval stage, and if they’re in your tree, they can become numerous, bothersome, and attract larger pests.
It is challenging to ensure you get all the scale insects out of your tree if they’re moving around because they are tiny and great at hiding.
However, the eggs in the waxy scales rarely hatch before you bring the tree harboring them inside your house because they are still overwintering outside. Also, the eggs usually can’t mature and hatch if they’re indoors.
To prevent them from entering your home, just in case, look for the white scales on the tree while inspecting it (before bringing it into your house). You’ll find the small, white, waxy scales (measuring up to an eighth of an inch at most) on the tree’s trunk and branches; knock or wipe them off before transferring the tree inside.
#3: Bark Beetles
The bark beetle is a type of black-colored weevil that’s about the size of your pinky toenail and usually dwells in the wood on dead trees. You don’t want to smuggle them indoors on your Christmas tree because their larva can create a mess of sawdust around your tree by tunneling through it. This can also lead to weakness in your ornament-bearing branches.
Fortunately, your wooden furniture is safe from bark beetles because they don’t like dry wood; they want the moisture your freshly cut tree offers.
#4: Aphids
If you know anyone who owns a garden, you know that aphids are the bane of their existence. Aphids also cause trouble in Christmas trees, so you’ll want to shake them off your tree before you bring it in (you’ll want to do that far away from your garden if you have one).
You don’t want aphids in your home. Bugs don’t belong in your home in general (unless they’re your pets), and aphids will slowly ruin your tree’s beautiful green needles. Besides that, aphids in your tree can be bad news if you also have houseplants since they’ll find those, too, and nibble on the leaves until they’re all gone.
Christmas Tree Bugs No More!
If Christmas tree bugs make it into your home but don’t quickly die off or their population gets higher than you know how to deal with, it’s time to call our pest professionals.
It doesn’t need to cost a fortune to get the help you need with Christmas tree bugs, so we keep our rates affordable for top-quality household insect defense services.
Birmingham’s Best in Controlling Pests
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For 40+ years, our team of integrative pest management professionals from Vulcan Termite & Pest Control has proudly aided hundreds of families in Birmingham and nearby communities by investigating and solving problems with pests on their property.
We’ll gladly perform a FREE evaluation and create and implement an effective strategy using our tried-and-true methods so you and your family can enjoy a pest-free home.
Are you curious to keep learning about common critters found in Alabama or how to safely and humanely deal with them when they show up on your property uninvited? Check out more of our weekly pest blogs for helpful tips, tricks, and educational content!