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momoese
10-01-2009, 04:05 PM
I've heard Conkers work great for keeping spiders out of the house. Is this true and where do I get them? Oh and what are they exactly?

bencelest
10-01-2009, 04:11 PM
yes. I am interested. I have lots of spiders inside my house.

damaclese
10-01-2009, 04:50 PM
Are you talking about Hedge Apples? they repel spiders and moths

momoese
10-01-2009, 04:52 PM
The only other term I have heard for them is Buckeye or Horse chestnuts, but they are not related to the Chestnuts like Harvey grows.

How do you use the Hedge Apple?

Richard
10-01-2009, 07:40 PM
In the Pacific Northwest, we kept a bowl of garlic fists in every room and ate garlic at least once per day.

Lagniappe
10-01-2009, 07:48 PM
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=24205&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=24205&ppuser=766)
Conker??? :ha::ha::ha:

Lagniappe
10-01-2009, 08:06 PM
Are you talking about California Buckeye (Aeschulus californica)?
We have a plant that we call a buckeye. Older people once kept the nuts in their pocket to prevent arthritis (An old wives tale).
I've found hundreds of these, and never over 3', with one stem, and fruit at the top.
They look like the pic here: Google Image Result for http://newell.myweb.uga.edu/images/buckeye.jpg (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://newell.myweb.uga.edu/images/buckeye.jpg&imgrefurl=http://newell.myweb.uga.edu/searhous.htm&usg=__oHWd5cQYyNe2waJeBgYcdkFg84E=&h=480&w=640&sz=27&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=dBKFMJcVxz6gCM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbuckeye%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLL_enUS305US305%26sa %3DN%26um%3D1)

and we were always told that they were poisonous.

momoese
10-01-2009, 08:20 PM
Hey, that must be them! Thanks Pete, any chance you could collect some for me? :ha:

Love the roll up conker! :ha:

Lagniappe
10-01-2009, 08:27 PM
I think the one we have is more of a weed. I can't find an I.D. on it yet, but it may be invasive.

harveyc
10-01-2009, 11:36 PM
In the Pacific Northwest, we kept a bowl of garlic fists in every room and ate garlic at least once per day.

Did eating them help keeping the spiders away?

Patty in Wisc
10-01-2009, 11:42 PM
Conkers? I thought you were talking about old rusty cars LOL. I have HUGE spiders outside my house, & am finding tiny daddy long legs in my basement that I've been swatting. I didn't use my side/back door in a few weeks till few days ago & went out & walked into a BIG web that wrapped around my head! I freaked & when I looked down, there was a huge spider crawling up his web attached to my hair. I freaked...did acrobats - bringing my foot up waist high to stomp the sucker to the ground. I had nothing nearby to swab it away, like a stick, so I used my foot! HUGE (just body was 1/2 - 3/4") but I got him!!! Oh, what a terrible feeling of a big web on you. I HATE spiders. How do they survive winters here????
I want a conker but till then, guess I'll use garlic(?).

island cassie
10-01-2009, 11:43 PM
Well - in England conkers are the seeds of the horse chestnut tree, a large glossy brown seed - great for contests but I never heard of them keeping spiders away! I don't know if they are what you call buckeye or hedge apples - but they grow on large beautifully shaped trees with wonderful flowers like candles in the spring.