Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
When collecting the hedge apples to use for cancer treatment, can you collect them from the tree or do you need to let them fall off first?
By Alharston from Scottsville, KY
Hedgeapples are not poisonous. However, Hedge apples have suffocated livestock by lodging in their esophagus. Very often a Hedge apple is incorrectly referred to as a Hedge Ball, Horse Apple, Green Brains, Monkey Balls or Mock Orange.
They are used in households to repel spiders. Each Hedge apple lasts about 2-3 months for this.
I do not know of any cancer use and in doing research did not come across any reference to that use.
Human consumption is not recommended and the contact with skin could bring various issues from itching, etc
We wait until they hit the ground. The thorns of the tree make it hard to actually pick them. They usually begin falling off in mid-September. We have two people we know of that have successfully used this for cancer treatment. The Amish suggested it first to a man with lymphoma. Another woman in Cartersville, GA has been told by her doctors that it is a miracle.
There are several pages on the Internet about the use of hedge apples for treating cancer.
I became very interested in this topic because we had a patient that was eating the hedge apple because of what he heard from the Amish. He is now bleeding throughout his lungs and may not live. He did not tell anyone that he was using the hedge apple but it has messed up his clotting cascade and may not live. Feel it is very important for anyone to tell their doctor or family they are using it, in the event some problem arises. Please be careful.
Do you cut the hedge apples in half before placing them around your house for pest control or leave them whole?
By Glenda from KS
You use them whole, but think long and hard before you do this! I did this as I don't like spiders and thought this method would be great as it doesn't involve chemicals.
What is a hedge apple good for?
Here are some facts about the Hedge Apple tree:
Basically the tree is only good for planting around your home if you have a lot of insects that enter your home. I personally wouldn't plant this tree in my yard or close to my home because of the throns, milky sap, skin irritations, and a possibility of a small child eating this fruit on the tree.
I want to put hedge apples in my basement to repel rodents, spiders, and other pests, but I don't know how many to place down there. Do I put them in groups or singly scatter? Do I need 5 or 50? We have a basement that is around 1000 square ft.
By ERK from eastern IA
I cut up squares of pantyhose-they don't have to be big and cut the hedge apple in about an inch pieces, gather corner to corner and tie in knots. Place where you know spiders are, like behind doors, corners, out of reach of children and pets. They really work!
I was told that hedge apples were good to use for cancer of the liver. Can people eat them?
I would not eat them--period. I have heard people who do, but I have also heard most people get quite the upset stomach and some even have very serious allergic reactions if they eat them, plus the juice can cause skin and serious throat irritation, so this, to me, is an all around AVOID consumption...no matter what the goal of using them is. Most animals don't even eat them...so you know that must be a pretty good sign that it is not fit for consumption.
Please talk to a doctor about any cancer fears and things that are good to help. I will send up lots of prayers for you or whomever is suffering. Blessings!
These things couldn't possibly make people more sick than chemotherapy... just saying
Yes, yes u can but them in stores. They are dried and make into pills. Please do real research. I know someone who cured their skin cancer by rubbing it on the cancer site and another curing lung cancer..stage 4!!!!! Being close minded is just ignorance. Please do not Ill inform people unless u know 100% wout a doubt that your answer is correct. People could be saving their lives w this fruit. Smh. Research people! Don't just believe what ur told! Cattle died from injesting them due to suffocating by swallowing them whole. They are not poisonous!
Wal-Mart carries them. Research is often best when dealing with hedge apples.
people get upset stomachs because the hedgeapple is cleaning out your digestive system. i have a few family members that have used it for cancer and a few other problems and it has helped them tremendously.
Was at grocery store last night(Wisconsin,)"hedgeballs $1.29 ea," well I'll be darn. I'm from the south(Texas), hedgeballs/horseapples are a sign of fall, cooler days ahead, I used them in fall decor. "Can't say I ever had roaches in my home."
Natural & organic, what a pleasant surprise to see this ate a grocery store.
Can you freeze hedge apples to use at a later date?
I guess my answer is why would you want to?? In my region they are a nuisance. They can be poisonous to horses and cattle. I would not want them in my freezer where I keep food. If hit with the mower, they can ruin the blades. They are not edible. Some say that they keep away spiders, but only certain types.
Winter is almost here Hedge Apples are just being put out what about summer
Sounds like u don't even know anything about hedge apples
Yes they are edible
They are not poisonous to horses. My horses loved them as a treat n my squirrels also loved them. People have been eating these by freezing or dehydrating them for medicinal use.
Is a crab apple the same thing as a hedge apple? I noticed in one of the comments someone mentioned crab apple. As a youngster in south Mississippi I remember crab apples. I want to remember that kids ate them, but I may be remembering wrong.
By Betty
They are not the same. Crab apples literally look like tiny apples on a tree. The hedge apples are big and greenish in color.
Crab apples are NOT the same. I make jelly from crab apples every year. Yes, it does require a lot of sugar. Its the only jelly my grandson will eat.
Crab apples are small apples about the size of a 50 cent piece and tart you can make jelly from them.
Hedge apples are the size of a grapefruit greenish yellow in color. And resembles cauliflower.
Crab apples are about the size of cherries. We had them up in Ohio when I was little.
If you ask me, the fruit off this Osage Orange looks almost the same as a Sycamore Tree "Fruit."
I was told these could be used daily to treat COPD. Can this be possible or is this something to avoid? I am just looking for a cure.
I dont think there is any truth to this. You can contact the Lancaster County Cooperative Extension here lancaster.unl.edu/
Hedge Apples- are good for around your foundation/basement of your home to get rid of pest like,roaches,spiders,and other crawlers,Careful!
If you have a doctor who knows about homeopathic treatments, I would ask. I would not go down the path of trying them just based on internet reports and comments on social media.
While they are not poisonous in small quantities, in large quantities they can cause issues like gastric distress and some people have allergies to them. Add to that I am told they taste HORRIBLE. You don't see them in most stores being sold in the food section for those reasons. You sometimes see them sold for pest control...as supposedly spiders and other creepy crawlies are repelled by the scent.
There are many new treatments and good existing treatments to manage COPD. Your doctor should work with you to find something that keeps your situation in control as best as possible.
Sending prayers for healing.
I do not think this is a safe treatment at all and can be very dangerous for your health. I would not try this. I know my mom eneded up with COPD and she never smoked a day in her life. I believe she got it when she was in the hospital from a chest infection she was being treated for. I know this is bad and I would go with other natural herb treatments and stay away from hedge apples all together.
I know I read that hedge apples last 2 to 3 mo., how can you make them last all year?
I read somewhere that if you do not cut them, they will not rot. They will merely dry up. Some people also freeze them. Drying any kind of fruit, whether in the sun or with a dehydrator, will also preserve it.
I did not know about this fascinating fruit. Apparently it repels insects, mice, etc. I will have to be on the lookout for this now.
You can freeze them or dry them whole. Don't cut them or they will rot.
My forward thinking parents built a treehouse in our giant Osage Orange, also called a Beaudarc (pronounced BOW dark) tree. It was an old tree so it had no thorns. It sure had a crop of horse apples. It was far from our house, only threatening the back fence and cows. I have heard the poisonous story, but I never knew of any cow that died from eating one. I have never heard of anti carcinogenic claims, I would like to see more evidence on this claim! They are stinky, extremely hard, sticky when cut, and smelled resinous, like pine tar, and frankly smelled awful to us as kids, I honestly would never consider eating one at any age! Yuk! The only use we found for them was in civil war reenactments in the back yard! They are as big and nearly as heavy as a cannonball. There is a saying in Texas, when you are skeptical about a belief, "well I think it's horse apples." It is the equivalent of saying that you think it is snake oil being sold to you.
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There are no chemicals involved so I guess it's a green tip. If you have a problem with roaches, ants, mice, or other pests inside the house, gather some crab apples and place them around your basement, crawl space, and foundation of your house. My in-laws have done this for years and haven't even seen a trace of a pest or rodent.
By Tammy from Cookeville, TN
This is a page about using hedge apples to repel spiders. Hedge apples have a long standing reputation as a spider repellent.
This is a page about whether you can eat hedge apples. Hedge apples are generally not considered edible. The juice inside the fruit and stem is a skin irritant. They do however make an interesting addition to home decor.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Does anyone have any ideas for Hedge Apples? I picked a bunch from some trees in the country. I've heard they will repel spiders. Any craft ideas? Are they poisonous? Excited to find out.
Thanks!
Sharon from Stockham, NE
Also known as OSAGE ORANGE. (10/13/2008)
By Diana
I love the color and texture of hedge apples and want a few to put in a bowl or basket for decoration. I didn't know deer fed on them - that's a new one, but I knew they rot. (10/13/2008)
I've learned at the University of Washington Burke Museum site and elsewhere, that neither osage orange nor horse chestnuts can 'repel' spiders, which have no sense of smell anyway. The spiders in houses were nearly all born there. (10/13/2008)
By P
They are really not good for much of anything. They are inedible for humans. Not poisonous, but so fibrous that they can clog the throat and cause choking. The "juice" is irritating to the skin of some people and can cause burning and itching.
I tried slicing some and drying them in the oven for using in natural dried flower arrangements. I have to agree it is not worth the trouble. On the other hand, I like the bright green color and interesting texture. To maybe put in a bright orange bowl for a temporary, unusual centerpiece. (10/13/2008)
Well, they've always helped keep the spider population in my house almost non-existent. When we moved in, over three years ago, I had constantly battled daddy-long legs in the basement. After three years of placing hedge apples around the basement every fall, I rarely see a spider. They work for me! (10/14/2008)
They do repel spiders BUT when they start turning brown you need to throw them away because they start smelling worse than a skunk spraying. (10/14/2008)
By carolcoen
I know the wood from the tree is sometimes used in making bows. (10/22/2008)
By Barb
This will come as a major surprise to the medical community, but I have personal knowledge that the hedge-apple is an alternative cancer treatment. I personally know 3 people who are now cancer free after using 1 teaspoon per day for only 1 month. It isn't poisonous. In my opinion, it's a miracle from GOD. (11/07/2008)
By Judy M.
I just heard about them stopping cancer, too. A friend personally knows 3 people who had 3 different types of cancer - all cured. One was skin cancer so they rubbed the hedge apple on their skin. And yes, they make excellent bows. My father has carved many, many bows from the wood. He calls them bowdark trees. (12/14/2008)
By anne
Does anyone know what Hedge Apples are good for? I thought they were a spider deterrent?
Thanks,
Mary from LeRoy, IL
Answer:
Mostly they are good to feed squirrels and other wild animals. Deer will eat them if they are starving.
There are some that swear by them as bug deterrents, but it takes a lot of them. They get in the way, and as they are an organic material, they will rot. Kids like to throw them at each other.
I saw a craft once using sliced hedge apples that were dried then painted, but it was hard to cut them and they weren't pretty enough to go to the trouble. (09/28/2006)
By Carla B
