Warning to remove 'small lumps' found on Christmas trees - as they could be insect eggs that hatch hundreds of bugs into your home
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With Christmas trees going up earlier than ever this year - in a bid to spread some festive cheer - people have been warned they may also be bringing a surge unwelcome guests into their homes.
People buying trees have been urged to look out for brown walnut-sized lumps, which look similar to pine cones, as it may actually be a sac of 100-200 praying mantis eggs.
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Hide AdExperts have said the temperature inside our homes could speed up the time it takes to hatch the eggs, meaning your living room could be crawling with bugs if you don't spot the eggs first.
A viral Facebook post from a previous Christmas is being re-shared as a warning, after a man found two of the clumps on his tree and advised others on the best way to deal with the problem.
Daniel Reed wrote : "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!
"We had two egg masses on our tree this year. Don’t bring them inside they will hatch and starve!"
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Hide AdThe post has been shared more than 181,000 times, and although it may be easy to dismiss the advice, many people left comments to say the same thing had happened to them.