Iowa, Immediately Throw Away Your Tree If You Find These Lumps

It feels like a lot of people have switched to using fake trees as their Christmas trees instead of real ones. But some people like to hold onto traditions or just like the smell of a fresh Christmas tree filling their home during the holidays. A real Christmas tree doesn't come without its risks though.

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If your family uses a real Christmas tree every year, you probably know by now the risks that come with it. No, I'm not talking about how flammable it is, I'm talking about invaders that live in the tree that you have no idea about.

With Christmas right around the corner, most people celebrating the holiday probably already have their trees up in their homes. The Weather Network wants to remind people that have real trees to give them a second look over for these brown lumps. No, they aren't pinecones or acorns, they are bug eggs and they could really cause a problem for you.

In 2017, Safer Brand found that an average real Christmas tree has about 25,000 bugs in it. That includes spiders, beetles, flies, and Praying Mantises.

What Are The Brown Lumps In My Christmas Tree?

The Praying Mantises are the ones that cause those not-so-obvious brown lumps in your tree.

As I said before, those brown lumps aren't acorns or pinecones, they are a sack of Praying Mantis eggs. Each sack contains about 180 eggs, according to The Weather Network.

What Do I Do If I See A Brown Lump?

There are a few action items to take:

1. Ruin Christmas altogether and get rid of the tree. You should invest in a fake tree. They don't have bugs
2. The Weather Network says to simply and carefully cut the brown lumps off and place them outside in a bush or shrub to keep them safe. Praying Mantises are good bugs that keep bad bugs away from your garden.
3. Leave the tree alone and wait for them to hatch. The Weather Network says that out of the 180 Praying Mantis eggs, most won't survive after hatching especially in a home where they can't find food. You'll just have to clean up the dead bugs.

What About The Other Bugs In My Tree?

Did it freak you out when Safer Brand found that an average real Christmas tree has about 25,000 bugs in it? Me too.

Here are a few tips from Safer Brand to help get rid of bugs in your tree before putting lights and ornaments on it:

• Examine the tree for bug and bird nests before buying it.
• Pre-treat your tree before bringing it into your home.
• Leave your tree in your garage for a few days.
• Shake the tree over a white sheet to get rid of the bugs.
• Vacuum up any bugs around the tree.

Again, we strongly suggest you just get a fake Christmas tree and candles that smell like fresh trees to compensate.

Happy holidays!