to pick up ALL the conkers?

[littlepollyflinders]

Ok the squirrels may go hungry and small boys may go without a sport but they do look nice in a bowl on the kitchen table

YABU, because they don't stay looking nice for long enough to make up for depriving the animals and children.

Put 'em back as soon as that lovely gloss starts to fade.

Not sure the squirrels would like them coated in hairspray...

I always think this...

Same with blackberries. I leave some.

Are conkers not available to buy from Boden or The White Company?

yes, I don't know what to do with them all. Dd is a collecting fanatic, collects everything, including stones and even bricks

She came home with 33 conkers today. Am at a bit of a loss tbh

maybe I can convince her to lay them in a pile in a basket of leaves forthe squirrels.. Don't need a bowl of conkers in my home really, I have all dd's lego concoctions on every available surface as it is.

Apparently spiders don't like the smell of conkers. I think you are supposed to put them in the corners of your rooms to keep the little blighters away.

my house is now covered in conkers...whilst hormonesnomore is sniggering to herself

No sniggers from me CloudDragon - we're currently plagued by mouse-sized spiders.

Must go & get myself some magic spider-repelling conkers forthwith.

My mum and MIL have conkers in the corners of all their rooms to keep the spiders away. They are convinced it works!

I found the remains of a conker on my deck the other day and have a horrible feeling it was eaten by a mouse. So you can either have mice or spiders...

I always tell my DC to leave a few conkers for the squirrels' breakfast and for other children. Seems a bit mean otherwise.

There are hundreds upon hundreds of conkers in Brussels - all over the pavements at this time of year. It astounded me the first autumn we were here, as when I was growing up conkers were a prize! The lucky squirrels must get the lot! I don't think I'll be the one to introduce the game to dd's school though.....

My dh ridiculously introduced conkers to dd when we first moved to Switzerland. They did all the usual soaking in vinegar, baking in oven etc. She tried to introduce the game to her classmates without sucess. I played with her a couple of times but she wasn't any good at aiming and my hands suffered. She put them away in a kitchen drawer (the Idon'tknowwheretoputthissoI'llputitinthedrawerdrawer) and I keep coming across wizened stinky conkers. We won't be collecting any this year.

oh pleeeeease pick em all up littlepollyflinders- they put 10 minutes on every walk to school as my dds insist on picking them all up. Then I have to carry the buggers home cos the school caretaker won't allow them on the premises

...also we have two dogs, and conkers are apparently v v bad for them, and they chew everything they see, so am always terrified I'll miss one, and one of the dogs will eat it, and die, and I'll never forgive myself...

...so there you go. Pick them up. you might save a dog's life

This irritated me last yr, DS wanted some but the 3 boys who had huge carrier bags full of them had cleared the tree. DS was inconsolable (he has SN so a little tricky to explain there may be more the next day).

So, like others have said, please have a little consideration and leave a few for others.

Conkers are a good substitute for mothballs. And no nasty smell.

can't move for conkers round here, horse chestnut trees are everywhere

YANBU - the squirrels are too lazy to store nuts and conkers etc. these days, they just thieve from my bins, little sods.

I don't think the squirrel are all that arsed with conkers, tbh. Round our way they're all over the acorns but the conkers are being pointedly ignored