Natural Spider Repellent?

The Amish living in Holmes County, Ohio, have a good thing going on.  And I am not simply talking about their huge furniture and bulk food stores.  I am talking about all natural spider repellent here.  Hedge apples.

I found some for sale while in Holmes County yesterday.

I later did some reading.

Hedge apples, according to University of Illinois Natural Resource Educator, Bob Frazee, are produced by the Osage-orange tree.  The Osage-orange is a member of the Mulberry Family.  This is a tough little number—able to withstand poor soils, extreme heat, and heavy winds.  The trees are commonly used for wind breaks and hedges.  That girl’s sister has a row growing along the access road to her house near Bowling Green, Ohio.  The wood produced is also quite heavy and hardy.

The fruit of the Osage-orange, hedge apples, is what most people find intriguing.  For a very long time, folk tales have held that hedge apples, if placed strategically around the basement or garage of a house, will repel spiders naturally and without harm to anyone or anything.

I very much like that idea.

Toxicologists from Iowa State University put this idea to test.  They did in fact find repellent compounds.  In their estimation, however, the natural concentration of repellents in the fruit was too low to be effective.

That girl said she placed hedge apples in the corners of her basement and never had problems with spiders.  I do believe I will take that girl’s testimony and run with it.

Some ideas are just too good to be wrong.

 

-- Mitchell Hegman