JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Critters were known to cause some chaos during the classic movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. A Jacksonville Beach family had a “National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation” experience when an unwelcome critter hitchhiked on their tree.
Leigh Mabry, a Jacksonville Beach woman says she and her family got their live tree from a local tree farm the week after Thanksgiving.
“It was a huge tree, probably the biggest live Christmas tree we had,” Mabry said.
A week later after decorating the tree she saw little bugs on the ground underneath the tree.
She eventually found what she says was 20 to 30 bugs around the tree.
“We actually took all the ornaments off and drug it outside, all the lights and garland still on there. We called the pest people and sprayed the tree and sprayed the inside of the house. Since they came and sprayed the inside we haven’t seen any,” Mabry said.
In 22 years of having a live tree in her family’s home, Mabry says they’ve always been bug-free and never had any problems.
Pest control told her it was a “Christmas bug," formally known as an Aphid.
“Aphids are very harmless little bugs,” Tim O’Connor, Executive Director of the National Christmas Tree Association said.
“They’re not spiders that could bite you. They’re just a tiny little bug trying to find a green leaf to chew on,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor says tree farmers work with experts to keep bugs away from the tree crops.
Bugs like Aphids won’t harm your home, people, or pets, O’Connor says. If there are bugs in the tree, he says there are multiple ways to remove them.
“You can have often at a retail location, you can have a tree put on a shaker again, you can certainly bounce the tree up and down up and bit, people have used a hose and hose down the tree.”
O’Connor says not to worry if the tree has a critter.
Mabry is not bitter but knows what to do next Christmas.
“It’s kind of hard to go back to a real tree but we definitely will. After you have that kind of experience, in your mind it’s kind of gross to have bugs in your house,” Mabry said.
Entomologists recommend checking the trunk of the tree and where the branches meet the trunk to see if there are any bugs.
Entomologists at North Carolina State University say Aphids could also leave a stain on the carpet if they are crushed.
More details on their Christmas tree studies can be found here.
Mabry says she did get a full refund for her live tree and has a fake one, for now.