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| Christmas tree aphids invade Nottingham couple's home | Christmas tree aphids invade Nottingham couple's home |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Thousands of tiny insects have invaded a couple's home after eggs hatched on their Christmas tree. | Thousands of tiny insects have invaded a couple's home after eggs hatched on their Christmas tree. |
| Andy and Stacey Sykes discovered the aphids all over their lounge floor, soon after bringing a fir tree home from Ikea in Nottingham. | Andy and Stacey Sykes discovered the aphids all over their lounge floor, soon after bringing a fir tree home from Ikea in Nottingham. |
| The pair, from Derby, have now had to chop up their tree just days before Christmas after Mrs Sykes said they made her feel "crawly". | |
| Ikea has offered customers who have found bugs in their trees a refund. | Ikea has offered customers who have found bugs in their trees a refund. |
| "When we came into the house it was fine, nothing there. Plugged the lights in, it was great," said Mrs Sykes. | "When we came into the house it was fine, nothing there. Plugged the lights in, it was great," said Mrs Sykes. |
| But later they discovered the floor was "covered" in insects. | But later they discovered the floor was "covered" in insects. |
| "I feel just all itchy and crawly now, it's not very nice." | "I feel just all itchy and crawly now, it's not very nice." |
| "There were hundreds of them. They weren't mobile, they were lying on their backs twitching their legs," Mr Sykes said. | "There were hundreds of them. They weren't mobile, they were lying on their backs twitching their legs," Mr Sykes said. |
| "I suppose it's a natural thing and it's lived outside for a long time but I've had live Christmas trees for five years. This is a new thing for me. | "I suppose it's a natural thing and it's lived outside for a long time but I've had live Christmas trees for five years. This is a new thing for me. |
| "At first I thought there were hundreds and hundreds of spiders on the floor," he said. | "At first I thought there were hundreds and hundreds of spiders on the floor," he said. |
| As they started to chop the tree, more and more insects appeared, so the couple began vacuuming them up. | |
| "The tree's going. I don't want it here anymore. I don't want to come into the lounge and find the room's full of insects again." | "The tree's going. I don't want it here anymore. I don't want to come into the lounge and find the room's full of insects again." |
| An Ikea spokesman said some customers had found insects on trees bought at their stores. They could bring them back for a refund, he said. | An Ikea spokesman said some customers had found insects on trees bought at their stores. They could bring them back for a refund, he said. |
| "Live plants and trees are a natural home for insects, however we understand it can be alarming for customers to find these in a tree in their home." | "Live plants and trees are a natural home for insects, however we understand it can be alarming for customers to find these in a tree in their home." |
| The bugs were likely to die within a couple of days, he added. | The bugs were likely to die within a couple of days, he added. |
| Aphid invasion | Aphid invasion |
| Aphids are harmless, according to principal lecturer in biosciences at Nottingham Trent University, Chris Terrell-Nield. | Aphids are harmless, according to principal lecturer in biosciences at Nottingham Trent University, Chris Terrell-Nield. |
| "I have seen the picture - I thought they looked a bit strange - they had more legs than they ought to but then I realised it was just such a dense colony, they were sitting on top of each other," he said. | "I have seen the picture - I thought they looked a bit strange - they had more legs than they ought to but then I realised it was just such a dense colony, they were sitting on top of each other," he said. |
| "Christmas trees are living things. They are grown outside in the big outdoors under forest conditions and they can be exposed to all sorts of inhabitants. | "Christmas trees are living things. They are grown outside in the big outdoors under forest conditions and they can be exposed to all sorts of inhabitants. |
| "The growers control the pests but the aphids are just eggs on the tree and you really can't see them unless you look really closely. | "The growers control the pests but the aphids are just eggs on the tree and you really can't see them unless you look really closely. |
| "You bring them in the house where it's nice and warm - they think it's spring and they start hatching. | "You bring them in the house where it's nice and warm - they think it's spring and they start hatching. |
| "Worse than that they are also parthenogenetic which means they can reproduce without mating." | "Worse than that they are also parthenogenetic which means they can reproduce without mating." |