Do Not Bring Your Christmas Tree Indoors If You Discover This Growth On It

It might look like a pine cone, but it isn’t.

If you’ve ever encountered an unusual, walnut-sized growth on your Christmas tree, you might have pondered, “Is that a pine cone?” No, it’s not, and it isn’t a walnut either.

Avoid a Christmas surprise akin to Andrea Coward’s in 2018 by addressing this issue promptly. “That time our tree hatched a million friends,” Coward wrote in the caption of a TikTok video she posted about the incident. “Only a fake tree from now on.”

@andeekitty Beware of the real trees. 🤣 #realtree #christmastree #prayingmantis #prayingmantisoftiktok #christmastreefail #faketreenextyear ♬ It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Andy Williams

Yes, if you see one of those growths, you have to deal with it ASAP. Because it’s a praying mantis egg sack, or ootheca, and it could have hundreds of praying mantis eggs inside.

“If you happen to see a walnut sized/shaped egg mass, on your Christmas tree, don’t fret, clip the branch and put it in your garden. These are 100-200 preying mantis eggs!” Erie County, Ohio wrote in a Facebook post. “Don’t bring them inside they will hatch and starve!”

The spectacle of the mantises emerging from the egg sac is undeniably impressive, but you probably don’t want to have this Christmas surprise in your home, not even with some beautiful Christmas music on.

Mantises are generally harmless to humans, with their rare, venom-free bites, and they do not transmit diseases. Still, having them hatch indoors is not a good idea.

“Once in your warm house, the baby praying mantis can hatch from its egg and will likely then starve,” University of Illinois expert Chris Enroth told news outlet Kansas City. “Scout for mantis eggs before bringing the tree indoors. If you find one, cut off the branch it is attached to and place it in an evergreen outside.”

So, it’s definitely a better idea to admire these amazing animals in nature, where they belong, instead of your home.