It's that time of the year, the week or so when Alan walks the streets and around the local park looking for conkers. This year while I was driving us home from visiting Mum, he spied a LOT of very large Horse Chestnut trees on the main road not too far out of town, so he has enjoyed a few walks and conker gathering trips over the past week as they are currently at their peak of perfection.
We now have them on all our windowsills and in the doorways, we have taken some to Mum's empty bungalow and distributed them evenly there too. The rest, of which there are many, are double wrapped in bags in both our freezers.
WHY?
Yes, I hear you asking. Well, Alan's Mum Jessie always had conkers as spider deterrents on all her windowsills. She explained it all to me in great detail many years ago, when I plucked up the courage to ask about her unusual window decorations. I sort of scoffed a little ... in private, never upset your future Mum-in-Law ... until I tried it for myself in our large spider infested farmhouse, which was situated in the centre of acres of farmland.
It worked, the spiders were vastly diminished, so I have done it myself every year since. It keeps her memory alive in a very special way and seems to keep the spiders away too.
You can also use conkers to make an eco liquid washing detergent. Nancy Birtwistle has a very good recipe for this. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Bdnn2aAGu/
I've never tried this, maybe I should.
https://youtu.be/4GaGw73LijM?si=w7K-apGtmTOKkbXr
Of course you could also do the traditional British thing of actually having a game of Conkers. 😄
Sue xx
They are called buckeyes in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very strange name for them, I have never heard that one before now. But they do have an 'eye' type mark on them don't they.
Delete🕸Please tell the spiders🕷 round here! The conkers do not seem to deter them at all. 🕸🕷
ReplyDeleteI'll send them a memo.
DeleteI had three huge spiders last week, and up to now I have had none this week. Of course that could just mean that three spiders were in residence, and now that they've been evicted they are spreading the word at how unwelcoming I am.
I remember you mentioning conkers to deter spiders, and the big tree up at the school needs to be investigated to see if I can find some. Catriona
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely worth a go, anything is worth a go to deter spiders in my opinion!!
DeleteThere's a shortage of conker trees in the village - I need to look further afield
ReplyDeleteWe had to look around a bit this year, but it is definitely a good year for them ... if you can find a tree.
DeleteMy Gran always did the same and swore they worked but the spiders in East Sussex seem oblivious to them and we still get a lot of spider visitors despite the conkers. I love the look of conkers regardless, such a glorious colour. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteThey do look lovely don't they, that's the reason I have some of mine in little dishes instead of just standing them individually on the windowsills.
DeleteWe're getting lots of spiders in the house at the moment and I have to keep a clear plastic cup and a sheet of paper to hand to scoop them up. Maybe we need to try a bowl of conkers too. I've only ever tried dotting one or two on the window sill so maybe I need more! The creatures make me shiver.
ReplyDeleteAngie
Yes, I use a plastic jug that I keep in the bathroom and a piece of pink cardboard, I can see them better on the pink. It's taken me until recent years to even be able to get them out of the house this way.
DeleteI love the look and feel of conkers. I don't think children are encouraged to play conkers these days - Elf and Safety, you know!
ReplyDeletePlaying 'Conkers' was banned from my eldest sons school after some boys had been throwing sticks up into the trees on the school driveway, and one poor boy had a stick fall on his head on the walk to school the next day.
DeleteTime to forage for the sweet chestnuts.
ReplyDeleteIt really is, a few more weeks and they will be mouldy and damp.
DeleteYou learn something new everyday- I’d never heard of this before. I’ve never seen any trees in Melbourne, maybe they’d grow somewhere cooler like Tasmania.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I doubt that they would work on Australian spiders. They would just play football with them!!
DeleteOur window sills currently have little collections of conkers in the corners - I'll try anything to keep the spider population down!
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Yep, I have them in corners, in bowls and in the inner part of the door frames. Better safe than sorry!!
DeleteJust wondered do you need to have a certain amount of conkers or do they need to be in a bowl on the windowsill? It's just I've tried putting them loose in the corners of windowsills but it didn't work but I'm thinking I need to put quite a few instead or do they need to be grouped in a bowl etc. what do you find works best for you? Also why freeze them? Thank you
ReplyDeleteI used to just use one in each corner of the window sill and door frame, but we have so many conkers this year that I can afford to be abundant with them. We freeze them so that when these start to wither and lose their effectiveness, we will have some fresh ones to thaw out and replace them.
DeletePs inspired by your post we've been on a conker hunt today 😀
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice excuse for an autumnal walk isn't it. :-)
DeleteMy mother used conkers to deter spiders. Clearly west sussex spiders are easier to scare than Norfolk or east Sussex ones?
ReplyDeleteThe Norfolk and East Sussex spiders must be made of sterner stuff than most. Conkers have worked for me in Cumbria, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, North Wales and Lancashire ... as well as over the Border in Scotland for Jessie. :-)
DeleteI shall show your post to OH who was scoffing at me about the spider deterrent. We picked up loads on Sunday and I'm now distributing them around the house. It was tough to stop collecting them, they are just so satisfying to touch.
ReplyDeleteI guess those aren't the type of chestnuts that you roast.
ReplyDelete