Your bumper harvest of acorns will religiously arrive in late summer and you know what that means- a maddening eyesore in your garden.
Plus, an invasion by all sorts of animals that find them delicious.
And unless you do something about them, your yard will soon become the laughing stock in the neighborhood.
‘So, what can I do with fallen acorns?’ you ask.
Here are the best ways to pick up acorns and restore your yard’s immaculate looks.
Best way to pick up acorns
Yeah, you can eat them (I haven’t tried yet) and we will come to that shortly.
Here is what else you can try:
1. Rake them
The first and perhaps the most straightforward solution for many homeowners is to use a rake for acorns to trap and drag the annoying acorns away from the ground.
This works amazingly well for both tiny and the rather large acorns.
The major downside for a rake is the tendency to pick up rocks, leaves, sticks, and even grass which brings more work.
As a result, it can take you an awful length of time to clean the mess in bigger yards.
2. Gather them with a Small Nut Gatherer
A gatherer like this works wonderfully for small acorns, buckeyes, nuts, and a variety of similar-sized objects.
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You simply roll it over the surface in a back-and-forth style until the entire area is cleared.
There’s no bending so this saves your back!
It also suits seniors since you don’t need to apply too much force.
3. Vacuum the acorns
Rather than let pesky squirrels and other foragers camp in your yard munching on the acorns (becoming another nuisance), get a shop vac and vacuum the hell out of the acorns.
You can even hire a yard vacuum for acorns from a local rental service or buy it cheaply at an auction if unable to access a suitable wet-dry shop vacuum for the job.
A good quality vac suck up lots of crap and you should be through with the task in no time.
Best lawn vacuum for acorns reviews
4. Sweep the acorns
Another answer would be sweeping the acorns off with a lawn sweeper.
It works in a similar way to a spinning rake and will sweep the acorns and other debris into a collection bag.
The best part? A sweeper won’t pick up rocks, pine cones, or other unwanted materials.
To give you a better idea of how these work, look at this example.
I should add that you should buy/hire a lawn sweeper attachment for riding mower if you have larger tracts of land.
5. Blow them
A robust leaf blower can be all you need to get rid of the unsightly acorns on the yard.
You just engage its full blow force and it will drive the acorns off of the lawn with little hassle.
Backpack models such as Husqvarna 2-Cycle Gas Backpack Blower come with a handy waist belt to help alleviate some of the equipment’s weight for a smoother operation.
You also have the option of picking a lighter, handheld model like this Hitachi leaf blower, if your budget doesn’t allow the backpack type.
Both make quick work of the acorn cleanup tasks.
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What can I do with fallen acorns?
They say that you should make lemonade out of lemons and perhaps the best way of resolving the repeated acorn inundation is by putting them to a better use.
Here are some ideas:
1. Make a delicacy out of the acorns
Can you eat acorns?
Well, the debate rumbles on but nutrition experts have repeatedly opined that acorns are safe to eat.
Even our ancestors were apparently happy to make nutritious flour out of the nasty acorns and later prepare mouthwatering pastries from the flour.
They have, however, warned that you must be careful with raw acorns since they contain higher-than-normal amounts of harmful Tannins (they impede absorption of critical nutrients).
Fortunately, you can overcome this issue by first soaking acorns in water then boiling them before proceeding to make them your lunchtime meal.
And what do acorns taste like?
Well, they’re not exactly sweet – some say they’re more like boiled potatoes- unless you dip them in honey.
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2. Make a flower vase from acorns
Look at your acorn influx in new light and create a cute flower vase for your sitting room.
There are tons of examples of DIY acorn vase projects on YouTube and you can start there.
3. Send them to the bird feeder
If you keep turkeys or mallards or you’re often visited by birds like chickadees, treat them with a tasty serving of acorns- they’ll be happy with your kind gesture.
Remember to smash the acorns as they may be difficult to crack for some birds.
You can go out of the way too and roll the acorns in peanut butter before placing the ‘meal’ on the feeder.
4. Call the Zoo!
Research if there are zoos or related animal organizations that would be interested in getting your acorns.
Most use them as part of the animal feeds and will absolutely welcome your surprise gift.
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While this guide has concentrated on answering the question of what I can do with fallen acorns, there are measures you can take to get ahead of the menace in the first place.
The one we find quite easy is to lay out tarps on the area surrounding the tree trunk then shaking the oak tree vigorously until all acorns drop onto the tarps.
Continue shaking it – even tie a rope and shake the branches as if your life depended on it- until everything comes raining down.
All that remains now is for you to dispose the piles of acorns as you deem fit.
You can as well spread fine netting just before the ‘falling’ season arrives to trap the acorns as soon as they start dropping.