Are there really thousands of bugs living in your Christmas tree?

You may have heard stories (or even seen viral videos) about a family bringing home a natural Christmas tree, only to later find out was also home to thousands of bug eggs that hatched inside and unsuspectingly joined the family for the holiday.

The bugs experts at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House say it’s true that there are likely bugs that have hitched a ride on your Christmas tree, but there would have to be extreme circumstances to have thousands living there.

Usually, you won’t even notice these extra holiday guests.

A dull green insect which looks like a caterpillar hangs on a pine needle.

A European pine sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer) on pine tree (Pinus). European pine sawfly is the most common species of pine sawfly in Missouri. Photo by Missouri Botanical Garden.

In this blog, the bug experts will help us better understand why these bugs are in our trees, and what to do about it:

A volunteer smiles as they wrap holiday lights around an evergreen tree.

Missouri Botanical Garden staff volunteer to wrap the Frosted Forest trees in holiday lights for Garden Glow. Photo by Kristina DeYong/ Missouri Botanical Garden.

What kind of bugs are hiding in my Christmas tree?

Common bugs that might hitchhike on Christmas trees could be spiders, aphids, ladybugs, scale insects, mites, beetles, and even praying mantises in egg cases.

But the bug experts say they wouldn’t be shocked to find just about any native arthropod living in a Christmas tree. There should be no dangerous insects like stinging wasps or Brown Recluse Spiders on Christmas trees, so no one should worry they are potentially introducing a danger to themselves or pets.

Small white spots can be spotted on light green pine needles. These white dots are small insects.

Small, white pine needle scale (Chionaspis pinifoliae) sit on Austrian pine (Pinus nigra). Pine needle scale, Chionaspis pinifoliae, is a common insect pest of pines in Missouri. It is most frequently found on Mugo, Scotch (Scots), and Ponderosa pine. Photo by Missouri Botanical Garden.

Why are there bugs in my Christmas tree?

Japanese black pine needles are covered in snow.

Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) branches covered in snow. Photo by Suzann Gille / Missouri Botanical Garden.

Trees are amazing places for insects and other arthropods to live and hide, especially pine trees that keep their leaves year-round. Their dense needles are good at insulating against the cold and offering hiding places.

A small, tan bagworm hangs in what resembles a cocoon from a pine needle.

A bagworm (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis Haworth) hangs from the needle of a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Bagworms produce conspicuous spindle-shaped cocoons on trees and shrubs throughout the United States Photo by Missouri Botanical Garden.

First, if they were waiting out the cold until spring, the warmth of being inside a house will essentially end their hibernation and wake them up early.

Sometimes caterpillars will form cocoons or chrysalides on the tree, and the warmth speeds up the development of the pupa, and you have a moth or butterfly emerge in your living room months ahead of schedule.

Similarly, praying mantis egg cases naturally overwinter and hatch in the spring when prey is abundant, but egg cases brought inside that are attached to a branch have been known to ‘erupt’ with 100s of babies.

Secondly, if the insects were relying on the tree for food, now that it has been cut down and is rapidly dying they will have to eventually leave the tree and look for food elsewhere. Many small insects that live on trees like aphids or mites might warm up and start leaving the tree in search of a healthy food source, but inside a home they rarely get farther than the nearest windowsill.

How common is it to find bugs in your Christmas tree?

An artificial Christmas tree is decorated with red and gold ornaments in the Temporary Visitor Center. Photo by Claire Cohen / Missouri Botanical Garden.

You are almost certain to bring in some kind of living thing on a natural Christmas tree.

You may never know you have done so though. Most of the world’s arthropods, such as mites and scale insects, are microscopic or just a few millimeters long. Bugs such as these usually escape our notice.

Live trees can also house mantis egg cases, beetles, and other larger insects too. It’s hard to say how likely you are to encounter bugs you notice, but it would be nearly impossible to have a tree completely sterile to all lifeforms.

There are fewer bugs on the tree in the winter, and some may end up leaving the tree after it is cut or while it is being transported, so these factors also contribute to the insects you may bring into your home.

What should I do if I have bugs in my Christmas tree?

The first thing is to not panic or stress. It is a common occurrence and the bugs on the trees likely pose no real threat to you or your loved ones.

There are a few things you can do if you discover bugs in your tree:

Ignore them. Most arthropods that get brought inside early and have their hibernation interrupted are not likely to survive. Many are so small you won’t even notice them.
Use a cup or paper gently collect them and put them outside where they might have a chance to survive. Under a porch or in a leaf pile might give them the best chance.
Simply vacuum them up and dispose of them.
Bug lovers can collect the babies of hatched preying mantis eggs and raise them as pets until spring when they can be released.

If you find yourself with bugs that you’re not sure what to do with, you can contact the bug experts at The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House for guidance.

Can I get a bug-free Christmas tree?

Having insects on your Christmas tree is inevitable. The good news is that there is not really anything to fear about the insects that may hitch a ride indoors with the tree.

None of the insects likely to occur on Christmas trees would be likely to harm people, pets, indoor plants or your house. The most likely scenario for the arthropods that end up indoors is that they just simply die.

A woman holds a baby as they play with the artificial tree inside the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum. Photo by Margaret Schmidt / Missouri Botanical Garden.

Many of the smallest bugs might go completely unnoticed and get vacuumed up with the fallen pine needles at the end of the season. The tiny spiders, house centipedes and other small predators that live in most houses will be happy to offer their services of free pest control with the influx of small bugs suddenly waking up and leaving the tree.

The only way to completely avoid bringing in insects on a tree would be to switch to an artificial tree. However, be careful bringing that tree in from the attic or basement, because a cardboard box that has been in storage for 10 or 11 months is a pretty good place to find spiders and other arthropods, too!

Written by Jessika Eidson | Public Information Officer

Thank you to Tad Yankoski, Senior Entomologist, and Chris Hartley, Science Education Coordinator, of the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House for their expert information on this subject.

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