BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The Atlantic County town of Port Republic has decided there will be no “rockin’ around the Christmas tree” if you decide to steal one.

Anyone thinking of stealing one of their Christmas trees will need more than a car air freshener to get rid of the stench they will also take back with them.

A sign along the municipal tennis courts at Harry Bowen Memorial Field reads, “Warning: These trees have been sprayed with a chemical that when introduced to the heat of a home emits an obnoxious smell.”

Mayor Gary Giberson said, according to The Press of Atlantic City, “People have literally climbed 30-, 40-foot blue spruces just to cut the tops off. I’ve seen that in rural towns. It makes me sick.

Philly.com reported that the New Jersey Turnpike Authority used to spray their trees in the 1990s. They used a noxious hydrogen sulfite mixture that was intended to frighten away rodents and deer while keeping the tree's natural scent.

Giberson said he was uncertain what chemical was used to spray the trees. The chemical is said to smell like rotten eggs if the tree is brought inside a home.

According to an Associated Press report in The Trentonian, Giberson said that none of the trees at the community’s tennis courts and ice skating area has been taken.