During the holiday season many families like to opt for the natural look of a traditional Christmas tree in their home. The scent of a conifers tree along with lights and ornaments can provide for a beautiful setting for the holidays.
Many states and local governments are telling tree buyers to be wary when buying and bringing trees into your home due to the possibilities of insects hitching a ride. Pests entering your home via a tree can cause possible harm to your home and can cause harm to the local environment, warned citizens not to buy from tree vendors and from local farms to keep harmful species from being introduced into their homes
The insects such as "gypsy moth, the sirex woodwasp and the pine shoot beetle" can be harmful to the local area. Invasive species brought into new regions by trees have been an issue in the Christmas tree farming business for a long time, especially if the tree farm is in a quarantined zone. Christmas trees must be inspected for insects before being sent to places outside the market. The campaign give a few tips when decorating for the holidays:
- Cut your own tree (usually with a permit) from a forest within 10 to 20 miles of your house;
- Buy your trees and wreaths from an established local business, not from a fly-by-night operator selling on the side of the road; The Nature Conservancy also suggests recycling your tree instead of leaving it in a natural place to decompose, in case a pest happened to be within its branches.
