Radio Iowa, IA
12-05-06
Live tree may bring along some live guests
by Stella Shaffer
If you like the smell and appearance of a live Christmas tree, Iowa State
University entomologist Laura Jesse says it may come with a little something
extra. "Most people will get nothing," she says, "but if you're one of the lucky
ones, you might get a few insects coming in with your Christmas tree."
Jesse admits an entomologist might be the only one to take that view of the
guest bugs, but she says since trees are grown outdoors they're likely to have
outdoor extras like dust or bugs, but when they're brought inside and the dormant
insects become active, they're mostly small ones and she says most people don't
even notice them at all.
She explains sometimes the tree comes with tiny eggs that were laid back in
autumn by a spider. "They think it's spring, the poor things," Jesse says. "They
don't want to hatch in your house." But when they emerge to find themselves in a
house, which is too hot and dry for them, she says they usually die and dry out
pretty quickly.
Some people recommend a brisk shake to remove any dead needles or other
debris before bringing a tree into the house, and Jesse says that's enough. She
recommends you not use any bug spray, since it's not wise to spray a tree with
insecticide and then bring it into your home and have the family gathering around
it. She's even heard that people worry about ticks from a Christmas tree, but says
the idea that ticks drop onto people from trees is a long-held misconception and
they'd never be found in a tree of any kind.
"I guess if it's something that going to absolutely send you through the roof if an
insect climbs off the tree," she adds, you can always get an artificial tree and use
it again every year. She says as far as the likelihood of insect hitchhikers, there
won't be much difference between a farm-raised tree, one shipped in from a state
far away on a truck, or one you choose and cut yourself from a local tree farm.