ROCHESTER, Minn. -

The National Christmas Tree Association recommends owners do not place their real trees in the trash or on the curb.

Since the trees are biodegradable, they should be recycled or reused.

One resident in Rochester -- Tamera Christian -- has been using real Christmas trees for about 14 years and says she always takes it to a recycling center and warns decorators to look out for one surprise when taking down the tree.

"The tree places have this shaker machine that shakes the dead needles off but it doesn't shake out the mouse nest so you want to actually look up the center of the tree and make sure there's not a mouse nest in there because we had that a couple of years ago and we had little spots falling out all over the bottom of the tree and discovered a mouse nest," Christian said.

The National Christmas Tree Association also recommends having a non-profit pick up your tree or chopping it enough to fit into your waste container.