Avoid Christmas Creepy-Crawlies: Tips From a Pest Professional

Ah, December. It's the holidays. It's the time when Jim McHale gets call after call from frantic homeowners stressing about insects and mice. The storage boxes, the wires and cords, plants and flowers, the Christmas tree — all are fair game for wee creatures.

So McHale, a Cornell entomologist and president of Cortlandt-based JP McHale Pest Management, offers these useful tips so that you can embrace your own traditions without the unintended consequences of live creatures in your home:

• Examine the tree: Look for any cotton ball-like egg sacks or silk masses around the base or interior limbs.
• Shake the tree: Vigorously shake the tree to dislodge any spiders, centipedes, lady bugs or a host of other transient creatures.
• Check for and remove any bird nests: Active or inactive bird nests can harbor lice and/or mites.
• Look before you grab: Spiders live in stored boxes that have not been moved in a while. Prior to taking holiday lights out of storage check the box for harboring spiders.
• Trim the tree: Using scissors or clippers, remove any egg masses identified on branches.
• Look before you light: Rodents have a habit of chewing wires in attics and basements. Before setting up your holiday lights examine the wires for bare spots.

And as a holiday gift, McHale reminds everyone of one non-pest-related essential:

• Keep the tree away from heat: Furnaces, radiators and baseboard heating equipment can dry out the tree creating a fire hazard. Be sure to place the tree away from any fire hazard.