Dispose of trees smartly

Decorating the house is a much-loved activity during the holidays. “But we don’t want to let those lovely greens bring trouble to our landscape,” says Lori Seele from the Duluth Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area. “Various pests that are not native to our region can hitch a ride on Christmas trees, wreaths, boughs, vines, and plants with colorful fruits and seeds.”

According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the disease dangers include elongate hemlock scale, boxwood blight, Oriental bittersweet, gypsy moth, brown marmorated stink bug, spotted lantern fly, and Japanese mapl...