We love seeing natural Christmas trees decorated in all sorts of Kansas homes – especially when they come from Kansas tree farms. Do you inspect your Christmas tree thoroughly before putting it up and decorating it in your home? Are you sure you went over every limb this year? If not, you might be in for a crawly surprise from praying mantis eggs.
Imagine this: you are sitting in your living area, basking in the warmth and smell of your natural Christmas tree, enjoying a cup of coffee or hot cocoa. Suddenly, something happens.
Kristine Paulus/Flickr
Teeny tiny praying mantes flow from your tree like water. They’re hatching from something you may have overlooked when buying that natural Christmas tree, and the warmth of your home has woken them up as if it was springtime.
Mike Lewinski/Flickr
It’s true that this could happen to you, and most anyone in warmer climates who takes home a natural tree in the winter. Many overlook the walnut shaped ootheca (mantis eggsack) on their tree and are often surprised with the results crawling all over their tree and surrounding area.
Paul Eisenberg/Flickr
Keeping this from happening is as easy as checking over your tree for any walnut looking lumps. If you find one, there are two ways you should handle this.
Joshua Ganderson/Flickr
One thing you can do is to put it in a jar with sticks and twigs and tiny holes or mesh in the lid, perfect for hatching these miniature praying mantis babies and feeding them until you release them in the late spring or early summer. It’s a fun project for families with kids!
Lisa Brown/Flickr
Your second option is as easy as snipping off the branch with the ootheca and setting it outside in a tree, bush, garden area, or neighbor’s garden, even. Praying mantes eat many bugs that most people don’t appreciate in their spring gardens, so they’re a welcome presence.
Dhrm77/Wikimedia Commons
Whether you choose to raise them or set them safely outside, make sure to check your natural Christmas trees this year to keep yourself from a surprise! Chasing these around with a jar or vacuum cleaner isn’t how we want you to spend the holidays.
Lisa Brown/Flickr
For those of you still looking for a Christmas tree before the holidays or who might want to pick out where they’re getting one next year, you might check out this tree farm with a sleigh ride, or this country Christmas tree farm. If you have any Christmastime praying mantis stories, please share them in the comments!
Kristine Paulus/Flickr
Mike Lewinski/Flickr
Paul Eisenberg/Flickr
Joshua Ganderson/Flickr
Lisa Brown/Flickr
Dhrm77/Wikimedia Commons
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