When Carving Halloween Pumpkins ... Play It Safe

A release from Stoneham Safety Officer Joseph Ponzo:

Now that summer is over, fall is here and with the fall season comes Halloween! With the holiday of
Halloween comes plenty of information for my safety article of the week. There is so much to write
about so I figured with this article, I will focus on safety regarding the carving and displaying of
pumpkins.

Carving and displaying pumpkins during the month of October is very popular and exciting. I
don’t want to tell anyone not to spend time with their children carving pumpkins, but I will tell you some
dangers involved. Obviously, buying already carved pumpkins is easier and safer, but if you’re like me
and have several children then here’s a few tips I would like you to remember this holiday season.
Whenever you carve pumpkins, I would recommend you do this task outside and preferably on your
lawn. Carving pumpkins is a messy business. The pulp from the pumpkins is messy, stains and
extremely slippery. If you carve inside or in your driveway slip hazards is a definite concern.

I don’t need to remind anyone of the dangers of using a knife when carving a pumpkin, but there are also tools that aren’t so dangerous to carve, which can be purchased through your local drug/hardware store.
Please don’t leave these tools lying around, since we all know that children are very curious. Once the pumpkins are carved (and most of the time if they’re not carved), these are magnets for insects, animals and rodents. The soft inner flesh of a pumpkin is a dinner delight to these creatures, so keep this in mind when deciding where to display these. Hornets or yellow jackets are especially attracted to jack-o’-lanterns and if your child is allergic to bee stings, this may be a factor in deciding where you want to display them. Remember that pumpkins rot quickly especially once they are carved, so if your pumpkin is rotting, I would suggest throwing it out and get a new one. Many people leave these rotting pumpkins on the front steps and they began to deteriorate making it extremely slippery for your family as well as other people. Don’t forget about your Amazon and postal delivery men.

If you are truly concerned about some of these issues, I would suggest getting a Halloween jack-o’-lantern from hard-shell gourds. Unlike pumpkins these style pumpkins do not rot, they’re permanent. I don’t have to spend much time explaining the dangers of a lit flame within a pumpkin, but luckily they have l.e.d and non-l.e.d lights that even change colors that run on batteries that illuminate the inside of a jack-o’-lantern just as well if not better than an open flame style light. If you cannot find these style lights try simple glow sticks which are very effective.

These are simply warnings or tips to be aware of. I would never want to persuade a parent/grandparent
from carving and displaying jack-o’-lanterns. One or more well-placed jack-o’-lanterns do wonders for a
Halloween landscape design. Please keep this in mind when displaying and carving your Halloween jack-
o’-lanterns.

Remember Safety First!