We’re now officially in autumn –a time for pumpkin spice lattes, cosy weather and snuggly coats.
But it’s not all calm and quaint – autumn also marks the start of conker season – the name given to the seeds that fall from horse chestnut trees – and playgrounds across the country turn into intense battlegrounds as friends try to conquer one another’s conker in a traditional game played by children.
When is conker season in the UK, what can you do with conkers and can they really keep spiders away?
Conker season is thought to start around August, September, October, however, this can be affected by the climate and environmental factors.
Conkers are ready when they have fallen from the tree as this is when they’ve hardened and ripened in the middle.
The Woodland Trust states that a conker is ready pretty much as soon as you pick it up off the floor – often the sooner the better. Left on the ground for too long, conkers can become weaker and soggier.
You cannot eat conkers, whether they’re raw or roasted. Conkers contain a poisonous chemical called aesculin.
Eating a conker is unlikely to be fatal, but it can make you ill.
Conkers are poisonous to most animals too, including dogs, but some species such as deer and wild boar can eat them.
The confusion around whether you can cook conkers might come from their close appearance to chestnuts – the kind that are often roasting on an open fire around Christmas time – and because conkers fall from horse chestnut trees.
Sweet chestnut trees and horse chestnut trees are not actually related, but their seeds are similar.
Both come in green shells, but conker cases have short, stumpy spikes all over.
There’s an old wives’ tale that placing conkers around your windowsill or near doorframes will stop spiders from inviting themselves into your home.
Unfortunately, there’s no proof this is true.
Though the oft-shared story goes that conkers contain a noxious chemical that repels spiders, it’s never been scientifically proven.
In fact, Science Focus reports that a 2010 study by pupils at a primary school in Cornwall won an award for a study that showed spiders were unphased by conkers.
In the study, the kids placed spiders in boxes with conkers and found the arachnids climbed over the seeds.
The most common use of conkers is for the game, also called Conkers.
This involves placing a hole through the middle of your conker, and threading in some string. Then you and your friends would take turns swinging at one another’s conker, with the first conker to crack and break the loser.
If you’re not the competitive kind and you want to use your conker for love and not war, many will use conkers for decorative purposes throughout autumn and winter.
Paint them or cover them in glitter and hang them off Christmas trees, thread them through a string and make a friendship bracelet or even fill a vase with them to make a perfect feature for your coffee table this autumn.
MORE: How to make a Pumpkin Spice Latte at home
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