For many households in North America , having a cut evergreen plant tree in the house is a great way of life to celebrate the upcoming winter vacation . The amazing scent of a freshly cut Douglas fir is intoxicate , as the citrus - similar redolence satisfy the intact dwelling . tree can convey excitement to everyone in the household , particularly families with children and grandchild who thirstily expect the promise of gifts beneath the arm of the evergreen .
An Unexpected Gift In The Christmas Tree
One vacation surprise that homeowners may not expect are the worm that occasionally get in in your star sign on that fresh skip Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . Because your firs and pine tree were grow outdoors , they were exposed to a range of insects who sought tax shelter , food , and camouflage among the needles and offset of your tree . Because tree are cut in previous November , typically in cool or high - aggrandisement tree diagram farms , most of the insects that once utilized the Tree are now dead or overwintering elsewhere . However , there are two common exceptions that occasionally surprise the unwary homeowners : praying mantisesand Cinara aphid .
Both insect species lie in their ballock before the wintertime and when expose to the warmth of your home will hatch think that spring has arrived . This often result in a concourse of immature insects on your swing Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . While reader are certainly conversant with praying mantises , the Cinara aphid is another tarradiddle that lead to much confusion .
What Are Cinara Aphids?
Cinara aphids , aka conifer aphids , are some of the large native aphids in North America reaching up to 1/8 inch long , much bigger than the common plague aphids found in vegetable gardens . Colored dark brownness or black with longsighted leg , these big aphid are often misguided for ticks , lead to legion myth about ticks in Christmas trees . First , ticksdo not lay eggs in tree , and 2nd , you could distinguish aphids from ticks by count the legs — tick have eight leg while all aphid coinage have six .
There is no discourse needed for either of these louse . The beg mantis nymphs will die off quickly due to a lack of food sources and through cannibalism . They can not survive the cool weather , so there ’s not much you could do to stop their untimely death . employ a vacuity cleansing agent to lactate up the aphid , as they can sully carpets and floors when crushed . Do n’t use insect powder in or around your tree , as they can be major fire and wellness risk .
Reduce The Hitchhiker Risk
Not every Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree will have praying mantises or Cinara aphids thumb in it . Actually , it ’s quite rare to find insects on Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree at all , so I do n’t wish to deter you from purchasing unrecorded trees in favor the plasticized monster that fall under the label artificial tree . Just like cutting off Tree , unreal trees can be home to a wide chain of dirt ball and spider that they acquire while being store in you basement , closet , or attic for eleven month of the year .
The well design to lessen the insect burden in your evergreen plant is to knock the tree alfresco before bring in it . This will remove spiders and beetle that might be overwintering within . Next , closely scrutinise your tree offshoot , inside and out , removing any mantis egg masses or bird nest that might contain mites or lice . If you do encounter a implore mantid egg hoi polloi only trim the arm it attached to and leave it outdoors to let the ball concoct naturally once warm conditions go far .
