People have been blown away after learning what Taylor Swift’s first ever job was - and it’s not for the faint of heart.

The iconic singer and songwriter, 34, has established herself as one of the most powerful and recognisable artists in the but before she achieved her legendary status and billion-dollar bank balance, she had a humble job.

Born in Pennsylvania, US, grew up on a tree farm - which served as inspiration for the festive song of the same name - and her job was to examine the sold trees for praying mantis egg sacs.

The insects often attach their egg sacs, which look like a brown, walnut-sized hard clump reminiscent of a pine cone, to the branches of Christmas trees for safe keeping. Unsuspecting families then take their tree home, decorate it, and risk waking up to 100-200 baby praying mantis’ in their homes.

Whenever her family sold a Christmas tree, Taylor had the job of carefully removing any of the egg sacs so they didn’t go home with the customers. In , originally published in 2014, she said: “It was such a place to grow up. But it has cemented in me this unnatural level of excitement about fall and then the holiday season. My friends are so sick of me talking about autumn coming. They're like, ‘What are you, an elf?’”

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She said her father's hobby was to tend to the farm outside his work as stockbroker for Merrill Lynch: “He'd get up four hours early to go mow the fields on his tractor," Taylor added. "We all had jobs. Mine was picking the praying-mantis pods off of the trees, collecting them so that the bugs wouldn't hatch inside people's houses.”

When asked how old she was when she did this, she answered: “From five to 10. The only reason that was my job was because I was too little to help lift trees.”

The information resurfaced after people shared footage of praying mantis egg sacs and warned others to be wary about potentially bringing them into their homes.

Under one video explaining what the sacs look like, a person commented: “Fun Fact! When Taylor Swift's family owned a Christmas tree farm it was her job to pick the Praying Mantis egg sacks of before people bought them!”

One person replied: “That’s what I was thinking," while a third simply penned: “She’s so strong” and another said: “I was looking for this comment."

One stunned person commented: “Help, this is so random,” while another added: “I never knew they actually owned a Christmas tree farm."

Taylor released a song titled Christmas Tree Farm in 2019. The lyrics are a nostalgic nod to her childhood experiences, combined with the uplifting joy associated with traditional festive tracks.

Praying mantis are popular because they keep other pests under control, as they eat a vast array of garden pests, including flies, moths, beetles, aphids, and caterpillars. They can be an effective and natural alternative to chemical pesticides.

If you’re concerned about finding an egg sac in your Christmas tree, then it’s worth noting the warning only applies to real Christmas trees. Finding clumps are rare, especially in the UK.