Mum, dog stung by wasps inside Christmas tree bought outside Bunnings

A Melbourne mum got the fright of her life when the Christmas tree she bought from a Scouts group outside Bunnings Altona came with a serious sting in its tail. She’s warning others to check their fresh-cut trees carefully.

A small portion of wasps that came from a nest inside a family’s fresh Christmas tree.

A Melbourne family got more than they bargained for when their new Christmas tree came partially decorated – with a nest of wasps.

Bree Sturrock and her partner bought a tree from a Scouts group outside Bunnings Altona, and were busy dressing it in baubles and tinsel when they noticed some “odd” looking insects flying around it.

“My son was playing on the floor near the Christmas tree and suddenly my dog rushed to his side and yelped,” she says in a Facebook post.

The mother only found the wasps nest after the tree had been fully decorated inside her home. FILE PHOTO

Ms Sturrock said by the time she grabbed her nine-month-old son and dog and ran out of the room, at least 50 wasps were buzzing around.

“I finally noticed them coming out of the tree and saturated (it) in bug spray,” she said.

“I unfortunately got stung, along with my poor pooch.

“(It) could have been a potentially disastrous outcome for my family.”

The mother said they had since gotten rid of the tree and might not be able to get another before Christmas.

“I am thankful that one never stung my nine-month-year-old as I’m unsure as to whether he’s anaphylactic or not,” Ms Sturrock said.

“It was a very distressing time dealing with this and other families should be mindful about the potential of wasp nests lurking in their trees.”

Scouts Victoria Kariwara district commissioner John Wightwick said he apologised to the family and was “really saddened” by what had occurred.

“It’s an awful thing to have occurred, it’d be absolutely scary,” he said.

“I’ve offered to replace the tree which we’ll certainly check thoroughly.”

The Christmas trees, from Gippsland, are checked before they are made available to buy.

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Mr Wightwick said the trees came from Gippsland and he was surprised that no one had noticed the wasps nest earlier.

“I’m a little perplexed because they get a lot of handling, I’m surprised we didn’t dislodge them before the incident occurred,” he said.

The scout group has been selling Christmas trees for about 15 years, and to his knowledge, this has never happened before.

Bunnings Regional Operations Manager Tony Manzone said fresh Christmas trees available at some Bunnings stores were run by local Scout groups as a fundraising activity.

The Scouts Kariwara district includes scout groups from Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong.