Quick answer: Most bugs in Christmas tree branches are conifer aphids, small spiders, adelgids or mites that were dormant on the tree in the field and woke up in your warm living room. None of them can infest your home; they die within days without a living tree. Shake the tree hard before it comes inside, vacuum any stragglers and never spray a tree indoors.
Key takeaways
- Oregon farms cut more than 4.8 million Christmas trees in 2022, more than any other state, according to the USDA Census of Agriculture, so most valley trees go from field to living room within days.
- Conifer aphids, spiders, adelgids, mites and bark beetles are the usual riders; they feed only on conifers or on each other and cannot survive in a house or move to houseplants.
- A hard shake at the lot or in the driveway removes most hitchhikers. Vacuum anything that appears indoors and set a praying mantis egg case outside on a shrub.
- Never spray an aerosol insecticide on a Christmas tree; the sprays are flammable and are not labeled for that use.
What bugs come in on a real Christmas tree?
Usually nothing you will ever notice. When something does turn up, it is almost always one of six hitchhikers: conifer aphids, spiders, adelgids, mites, bark beetles or a praying mantis egg case. Penn State Extension describes each of them, and the table below is our field version.
| Hitchhiker | What it looks like | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Giant conifer aphids (Cinara) | Dark brown or black, up to 1/8 inch, long legs; often mistaken for ticks or small spiders, but soft-bodied with six legs | Vacuum them up; they feed only on conifers and die within days |
| Spiders | Small, pale or brown; may string a few webs near the tree or a window | Relocate or vacuum; they came in hunting the aphids |
| Adelgids | White cottony or woolly specks on needles and bark | Nothing; the insects and their wax stay put on the tree |
| Mites | Tiny moving specks, sometimes reddish, on needles or the tree skirt | Vacuum; they dry out quickly indoors |
| Bark beetles | Small cylindrical brown beetles; fine sawdust at the base of the trunk | Vacuum; Penn State notes house lumber is too dry for them to breed in |
| Praying mantis egg case | Tan, walnut-sized foam mass glued to a twig | Snip the twig and set it outside on a shrub; indoors it hatches dozens of tiny mantises that starve |
A bird nest hidden in the branches can carry bird mites, so it comes out at the lot too. Otherwise the list above covers what we get texted photos of every December, and the same cast rides in on firewood, which we cover in our guide to bugs in firewood.
Are bugs in Christmas tree branches dangerous to your home?
No. Every common tree hitchhiker feeds on conifers or on the insects that do, and Penn State Extension notes that the low humidity inside a heated home kills most of them within a short time. The aphids and adelgids do not bite, and none of them breed in furniture, carpet or walls.
Two worries come up every year. The first is houseplants: Penn State points out that conifer-feeding aphids are extremely host specific, so your fig and your ferns are of no interest to them. The second is wood: the bark and ambrosia beetles that occasionally emerge from a trunk need wood with high moisture content, and the framing and furniture in your house are far too dry. The spiders are the same small species already living in your garage, and our article on why spiders come inside in the fall explains how to handle them.
How do you get bugs out of a Christmas tree before it comes inside?
Inspect it at the lot, shake it hard, and give it a night in the garage before it comes into the living room. Ten minutes at the lot keeps bugs in Christmas tree branches from becoming bugs on the tree skirt.
- Look before you buy. Check the trunk and inner branches for clusters of dark aphids, white woolly patches, sawdust at the cut end, a bird nest or a tan foam egg case. Any of these can be brushed or snipped off on the spot.
- Use the shaker. Most lots and u-cut farms have a mechanical tree shaker. If not, hold the trunk and bounce the cut end on the driveway hard several times, then rap the trunk with the handle of a hammer.
- Park it overnight. A night in the garage or on a covered porch lets cold-stunned insects drop off before the tree warms up indoors, and it is the right time for the fresh cut and a bucket of water anyway.
- Vacuum, do not smash. Once the tree is up, run the vacuum over the tree skirt and nearby floor every day or two. Aphids and spiders that drop are gone in seconds, and nothing gets ground into the carpet.
- Vacuum again when the tree comes down. Empty the canister outside, and take the tree straight out rather than dragging it through the house dropping needles and stragglers.
Why you should never spray a Christmas tree indoors
Aerosol insecticides are flammable, and Penn State Extension states plainly that they are usually not labeled for indoor use and should not be sprayed on a Christmas tree. A drying fir next to warm lights plus a flammable propellant is a fire risk, and the residue lands on presents, the floor and the tree skirt where kids and pets spend the whole month.
Homemade sprays are not a good idea either. A wet tree drops needles faster, the water does nothing to the aphids tucked into the bark, and the insects die on their own within days regardless. The vacuum is the only tool this job needs.
What about an artificial tree from the attic?
An artificial tree that spent the year in a cardboard box in the attic or garage is a different story. That box can hold mouse droppings, spider egg sacs, silverfish and clusters of overwintering boxelder bugs, none of which came from a farm. Open it outdoors, shake out each section, vacuum the branches, and follow the cleanup rules in our guide to pests in holiday decoration boxes before the tree goes up.
Spider egg sacs in the box are worth taking seriously. Each one can release a whole crop of spiderlings in the spring, and if the garage corners are already full of webbing, our spider control service clears the egg sacs and the harborage before that happens.
Why Oregon-grown trees mean fresher trees and fewer surprises
Oregon is the biggest Christmas tree producer in the country. According to the USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, Oregon farms cut 4,823,877 trees from 48,433 acres in production that year, well ahead of second-place North Carolina. Many of those farms sit in the Willamette Valley foothills of Marion, Polk, Yamhill and Clackamas counties, growing the noble fir and Douglas-fir that fill the lots in Salem and Keizer, and families in our Dallas service area often cut their own within a few miles of home.
The upside is a tree that was standing in a field days before it came home. The trade-off is that whatever was dormant on it in the field is still on it. OSU Extension publication PNW 659, the Pacific Northwest growers’ guide, lists the pests farms watch for: conifer aphids (Cinara occidentalis and Cinara abietis), balsam woolly adelgid, Cooley spruce gall adelgid, spruce spider mite and the Douglas-fir twig weevil among them. Growers manage these in the field, which is why most trees arrive clean, but a few aphids or a mite colony can ride along and wake up within a day or two in a 68 F living room.
When to call a professional
Almost never for a live tree. Call when the tree bugs keep appearing after the tree is gone, because that points to something else: spiders coming up from the crawl space, carpet beetle larvae in the wool tree skirt, boxelder bugs in the south wall, or pantry moths near the cookie tins. Text us a photo first and we will tell you what you have.
A professional inspection identifies the insect, then looks for the real source in the crawl space, attic, garage and along the exterior. Treatment, when it is warranted, targets that source with EPA-registered products applied according to the label, and we tell you exactly what to expect, including any re-entry times. AAA Pest Exterminators has been family-owned and operated in Salem since 1997, we do not require long-term contracts, and every household pest on this page is covered by our residential pest control services.
Frequently asked questions
Can bugs from a Christmas tree infest my house?
No. Conifer aphids, adelgids and mites feed only on conifers, the spiders are there to hunt them, and Penn State Extension notes that the dry air inside a heated home kills most of them within a short time. Bark beetles need moist wood, and house lumber is too dry. When the tree goes out, the insects go with it.
What are the tiny brown bugs on my Christmas tree that look like ticks?
Almost certainly giant conifer aphids, known as Cinara aphids. They are dark, soft-bodied, up to about 1/8 inch long, with long legs, and they cluster on the trunk and inner branches of firs. Ticks have eight legs and a hard, flattened body; these aphids have six legs. Vacuum them up rather than squashing them on the carpet.
What should I do with a praying mantis egg case on my tree?
Snip off the twig and set the case outside on a shrub or fence, where it will hatch in spring. Indoors, the warmth can trigger hatching early, and Penn State Extension notes that dozens of baby mantises emerge with nothing to eat. They are not dangerous, just a surprise. Vacuum any that hatch.
Should I spray my Christmas tree for bugs before bringing it inside?
No. Aerosol insecticides are flammable and are not labeled for use on a Christmas tree, according to Penn State Extension, and a wet tree drops needles faster. Shake the tree hard, inspect the trunk and branches, cut off egg cases and nests, and vacuum anything that shows up indoors. The insects die on their own within days.
Pests in the nest? Don’t stress. Call the best.
Still finding bugs after the tree went out to the curb? Text us a photo and we will tell you what it is and where it came from. Family-owned and operated in Salem since 1997. No long-term contracts. Serving Salem, Keizer, Albany, Dallas, Woodburn and McMinnville.
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