Do Osage Oranges repel insects and spiders?
Many people believe that the fruit of the Osage Orange will keep insects out of the house. They will gather and place them around basement windows and other likely locations to discourage entry by crickets and other insects. Other people say this only works as long as the fruit is green. (Of course, by the time the fruit is dried up, there will no longer be any bugs trying to get inside!) Other people say it does not work at all. Research at Iowa State University has shown that there are chemical compounds in the fruit that repel cockroaches, although the fruit itself does not. One method that definitely works is to pick up the hedge apple and smash the offending bug with it. That is a sure thing! Many miles of hedgerows have been removed for various reasons over the last few decades. The remaining hedgerows on the Great Plains are habitat islands for those creatures that prefer the forest to the prairie. Along with the gallery forest found next to streams and rivers, hedgerows provide