Before You Bring The Christmas Tree Inside, Check For Unwanted Guests

It's the most wonderful time of the year—that is, until you find a gazillion live baby praying mantises decorating your Christmas tree.

Andrea Coward recently shared photos of these very unwelcome visitors perched on the needles of her family Christmas tree. "Beware of real trees," she wrote, ending the message with #faketreenextyear.

The now-viral TikTok post has served as a good reminder that you should always check a live tree for pests before bringing it indoors. Coward told Good Morning America that the praying mantises arrived with a tree she purchased from a Christmas tree farm in 2018.

"I just wanted to bring awareness to what could be in your tree," Coward said.

Apparently, this isn't an unheard-of problem, based on comments on her post. People reported finding praying mantises, baby spiders, and even hornets living in Christmas trees they brought indoors.

The warmer temperatures inside your home can wake up all sorts of hibernating pests. Gavin Svenson, chief science officer at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, told Good Morning America that praying mantis eggs will eventually hatch when they are brought inside.

"The egg cases are tricked into believing that they had already gone through winter because [of] the warmer temperatures of the house," Svenson said. "They don't hatch right away. They develop over the course of a few weeks, and then surprise!"

Praying mantises won't hurt people, preferring to prey on other insects out in the garden. Experts recommend inspecting your tree for light brown egg cases, snipping them off, and leaving them outdoors. That sounds like a good rule of thumb for any other eggs you might find, too.

And maybe give that tree a good shake before you bring it indoors—just in case anything starts crawling.

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