FAQ about Hedgeapples

with answers from the head hedgeapple himself, Mr Hedgeapple!
 

• Can you tell me if hedgeapples are toxic to pets?
  
  Hedgeapples are not toxic. They are similar to orange peels.  Although, many cattle have died from hedgeapples because they get lodge in their throats and they suffocate.  Your cat or dog will turn there nose away from hedgeapples.  For your verification on toxicity see the link below: http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/poison/poison8.html
  
  
  
• Am very interested in your product specifically to repel fleas. Is this as effective with fleas? Also, we have cats and was wondering if this product is harmful to them? We live on a farm and are prone to flea problems during the summer months.
  
  Please check the results from the hedgeapple.com survey. Most people have indicated success when they use hedgeapples for fleas. Mr. Hedgeapple has not had a flea problem. Started using hedgeapples 3 years ago. You can find the results from the survey at: http://hedgeapple.com/survey/re_table.htm . The data is in raw form just as I receive it. You will have to interpret it.  They will not bother your cats.      They are non-toxic and your cats wouldn't touch them as well.
  
   
• I have a question do they have an offensive odor to the human nose.
  
  Your question is a good one. I hadn't thought that many people who might purchase a hedgeapple don't know if they smell offensive. The answer is "NO". They have no odor, sometimes a slight orange peel smell. In fact after their period of usefulness, they will turn black and still not smell
  .
   
• I just saw a "Hedge Ball" for the first time today in a grocery store. They sell them to repel insects. I looked at your web page to find out what they are, and it states for insects and decorations. Besides these 2 uses, why are they grown? What is their original purpose? They are not edible I assume! Do animals eat them?
  
  The trees were not planted for the fruit. They were planted for wind breaks or for posts. No trees that I know were planted for the fruit. Hedgeapples are not edible for taste reasons only, they are listed as not toxic on publish toxin lists.   However, cattle eat them and sometimes choke and die from them.
  
   
• I am not sure what this apple is. Do you know if this the same thing that we call horse apples in Texas?
  
  They sure are. It seems Texas and Arkansas like to call them horse apples.  In Kansas we call horse apples the things you see smashed in the street after a parade.
  
   
• I was wondering if you could tell me if the hedgeapple would help control my box elder bug problem. I live in MN and we are experiencing mild temperatures. The bugs cover the outside of our house. Would placing some of these outside help our problem?
  
  I am afraid Hedgeapples will not totally solve box elder infestations. They grow in trees and migrate to the sunny side of houses. They get into houses because they crawl into the cracks looking for warm spots. It is too late to stop them at that stage. The box elders are not looking for food, just warmth.  Hedgeapples could be turning some away, but many still come into the house.   An good safe way to get rid of them is to spray the sunny side of your house with dish washing soapy water. They will not crawl into the cracks if the soap is there.
  
   
• Is it legal to ship hedgeapples, which contain seeds, to states that do not have native osage orange populations? Does this violate State or Federal Laws regarding the introduction of non-native species?
  
  I do not know officially the answer to your question. I do know that Osage Orange (hedgeapple trees) are native to United States and were planted across the nation for fences and wind breaks in the 1800's and early 1900's. It is inconceivable that I could ship anywhere in US where they were not introduce before. If you know of anything different, please let me know.
  
     
• We recently purchased about twenty acres of land that hasn't been touched in over thirty years, and it has been taken over completely by osage orange trees. They put holes in the tires of our four-wheelers not to mention what they do to our arms and legs when we accidently ride by one. They are everywhere and huge! After we cut them down, what can we do to keep them from growing back from the stump?
  
  You should spray them with round up. Spray the leaves, not the branches. This will kill the tree all the way to the roots.  However, you still have a problem.  Due to the preservative nature of hedge wood, dead hedgeapple trees will stand for a decade.  You might be able to find a wood cutter who would like the hedges for firewood or fence post. Hedge is highly sought after for wood stoves, and also wood cutters cut down to small branch diameters when high BTU Hedge is the wood.
  
   
• I was once informed by a reliable source that the seeds of the Osage Orange, not unlike some other seeds, are reluctant to sprout unless they pass through the digestive system of a bird or animal. I was told that early settlers propagated hedge trees by feeding the hedge balls to cattle and collecting the "processed" seeds in a basket affixed to the appropriate end of the cow.
  
  I think that is just a story. I planted hedge seeds from a slurry I let them freeze and thaw in a barrel during the winter (an old timer told me that is how they did it in the old days). I had about 300 seedlings sprout in about a 10 foot long hedge row. You can find this experiment at http://hedgeapple.com/seeds/
  
   
• How is your supply of hedgeapples during winter months?
  
  Hedgeapples are naturally available here until mid November.   I am experimenting this year on preservation of hedgeapples. I am trying refrigeration, vacuum bags and CO2 storage methods. I will post my results.
  
   
• I was curious when is the best time to pick hedgeapples in northern Missouri?
  
  The easiest time is to pick them from the ground after the first good frost. Some say those are the best Hedgeapples. My feeling is they will work to repel insects after they lose their spore styles (around 4 inches in dia, mid-July in Kansas).  The survey indicates equal success with hedgeapples July through November.
  
   
• Please tell me you can ship to California!!!! I have been looking for this and I need it. I also saw the article about catnip. We used to have a cat that was crazy for catnip. We never had a problem then. My cat dies and I got rid of the catnip. Now we have a pest problem. Please do let me know if you can ship to California.
  
  I have shipped to California. At the time of my first shipments to California, I was not sure the packages would make. I had no problem. I wrote on the UPS slip that the box contained hedgeapples so everything was up and up. The most they could do is confiscate the shipment, which hasn't happen yet. I will refund your money should that happen.
  
     
• Am interested in white tail deer and horse apple . Do whitetail deer eat them? .
  
  I can only speculate and that they do not. I have not heard of any reports other than squirrels, cattle and horses eating hedgeapples. A deer's mouth would seem to be to small for hedgeapples and they can't rip them apart like squirrels.   However once they freeze and thaw, the offensive taste disappears and they become soft enough for a deer's mouth.  In this condition, a squirrel will pass up a nut tree for hedgeapples.
  
   
• In most of the pictures the hedgeapples had stems on them. If you pick them off the ground or without the stem, will it affect their bug-repellant properties? Also (see, I knew there'd be more questions)...what sort of container should I put them in to put them in our home?
  
  Put them in a plastic container or on a plastic plate I leave the stems on (July thru Sept.) because the leakage stains the hedgeapples. A black spot develops where the stem is pull away from. The immediate effectiveness is enhanced by slicing or coring the Hedgeapple. They will last much longer if they are left untouched. However, some people claim they do not do as much good. My opinion is have two and do both methods. Picking them off the ground means they are almost ready to let their juice seep out. These juices that collect at the bottom of the tray are very effective when allowed to evaporate into the surrounding air. Remember, hedgeapples repel, they don't kill like raid. You will see insects move around until they find a hospitable location. Hopefully this is outside!
  
  Cracked FAQ about Hedgeapples
  with answers for you humans from the head hedgeapple himself, Mr Hedgeapple!
    Funny Q's and A's about hedgeapple's.
   
• Didn't I hear your band (The Hedgeapples) at Woodstock?
  The renown Hedgeapple band did not form until after Woodstock. You probably woke up stoned in a hedgerow at Woodstock  
• How many Belarusian rubles will a hedgeapple be worth on June 5, 2002?
  Be more specific, the all knowing Hedgeapple can not answer that question until you tell him what time of day on June 5, 2002?
• How do I enter my team in the Hedgeapple games?
  Sorry Charlie, the Hedgeapple games are only for top-notch athletes. Don't even think about bribery; this ain't the Olympics!
• Do you have any good recipes?
  Yes, start a 3 foot diameter caldron of water boiling, add a pinch of salt and jump in, you Hominid!
• What is the half-life of a hedgeapple?
  Rub it in, you long-lived humans!
• What time is the best time of year to order my hedgeapple Xmas ornaments?
  Ornaments are usually half priced after xmas, but you will never see the stylish hedgeapple on the shelves that long.
• Where is the nearest hedgeapple-golf course?
  Just look for the course that has a bunch of broken irons and woods lying around.
  
• Are there any hedgeapple bowling leagues nearby?
  There are many. However, I don't think you would want to go. Instead of pins we use you puny humans!
• Which wine goes best with a hedgeapple?
  The whine "I wiissh I didn'ttt eattt the whole thing!"
• On what holiday do you bob for hedgeapples?
  If you bob for this hedgeapple, it will be your last holiday!
• How many colors do your hedgeapple earrings come in?
  Color doesn't make any difference; they usually turn the color of blood once you hang them on your ears.
• I've heard of Cocklebur college. Is there a Hedgeapple High School?
  No, Hedgeapples don't need near as much schooling as those slow learning cocky cockleburs.
• Did Ben Franklin really invent the hedgeapple?
  Franklin was a fake and never invented anything. A hedgeapple flew that kite in the storm.
• Was it really a hedge-apple that fell on Isaac Newton's head?
  He would have become a vegetable if it had been a hedgeapple!
• Hedgeapple pie. Yum Yum!
  Hmmm Hmmm, human pot pie is better.
• Are hedgeapple shoes made by a hedgeapple cobbler?
  What are shoes? My webmaster has not found any shoes for me yet.
• Is there a hedgeapple support group?
  No, not since the Neanderthals exterminated themselves sniffing hedgeapples.
• Is the hedgeapple really the mascot of a Wall St.daytrader group?
  Sure enough, he has been their hedge against inflation.
• Do hedgeapples really repel lawyers?
  Yes they do and all other types of insects!

I took all of the above questions from the 2nd entry in the Hedgeapple Guestbook.
Thanks George Wayne! It appears you have almost as much time on your hands as this webmaster.

Would you like to see Mr. Hedgeapple's two holer? Click here
Be sure and view the picture from the top to the bottom!