By Debra Maslowski
Pine needles are very useful so don’t throw the needles from your real tree out! Here’s a list of 15 cool ways to use your pine needles.
The holidays are over and if you have a real tree it may be starting to dry out and drop needles. Some years I put it outside for the birds to find some shelter from the cold and wind, but in the years when the winter is mild, I use my pine needles in other ways.
15 Ways to Use Pine Needles
1. Make homemade natural soap with pine essential oil and pine needles. Pine is naturally antibacterial and smells great! You can leave the needles at their full length or you can grind them to a powder.
2. Place pine needles under acid-loving plants such as holly, azalea, or rhododendron. Don’t forget the blueberry plants. They love acid too!
3. Make a “tea” with pine needles. Strain and use the liquid to spray on countertops or floors to clean them and leave a fresh pine scent. Pine-Sol was originally made this way.
4. Pine needles, especially longer ones, tend to “knit” themselves together. Use them in a thick layer on a hill for mulch – they won’t tend to blow away or be washed away like other mulches.
5. Place some pine needles in your winter garden to keep moles and voles out. This works well to deter cats and dogs from getting into your garden too. You will need to replace them often as the scent dissipates quickly.
6. If you didn’t use a preservative you can make tea from the pine needles and drink it. The needles contain a lot of Vitamin C. This is true of all the pines – spruce, fir, and hemlock trees. Hemlock is safe if you use the pine type variety and not the poisonous hemlock, which is a water-loving plant that is in the carrot family. (Note: Some Christmas tree farms spray green paint on trees to enhance appearance. If you’re not 100% sure whether your tree was sprayed you may want to call the tree farm to ask before making a tea from your needles.)
7. You can also make a tincture from pine needles. Take a pint jar and fill it halfway with dried needles. Cover the needles with vodka and place them in a sunny spot for a few weeks. Shake daily to release more of the oils from the needles. I use 40% vodka which works very well for tinctures. After a few weeks, you can strain the liquid. To use, take 5-15 drops a day for an extra Vitamin C boost.
8. Make a foot bath. Take a handful of pine needles and throw them into a basin of warm water. Soak your feet in this for at least 15 minutes. The naturally antibacterial action of the pine will help to get rid of anything that may be lingering, such as athletes foot.
9. Longer pine needles can be soaked in warm water to make them pliable. Then they can be used to weave baskets. Many Native American tribes use pine needles in basketry.
10. Ground needles can be used to make a soft green dye for cotton and other natural fibers. (See our article on How to Dye Fabrics Using Natural Materials for full instructions.)
11. You can add them to chicken’s nest boxes to help keep bugs out. They work very well on the floor of the hen house too. Mix them with pine or aspen shavings as they are not very absorbent on their own.
12. Use pine needles as a cover for your paths instead of rock or mulch. They don’t decompose quickly, so they don’t need to be replaced as often as mulch would.
13. Pine needles make great fire starters. Place a handful of needles in a muffin paper and add a bit of melted wax. This works really well if you place the muffin papers in an old muffin tin first. Let the wax harden and place in a large jar. To use, build your fire as you normally would, but then place a fire starter under the sticks. Light it and watch the flames come to life.
14. You can also sprinkle some pine needles on fire just for the smell. Be careful not to use too many. They contain a lot of sap and can contribute to creosote.
15. Make your own incense! Grind up pine needles and place a small mound in a fireproof bowl. Light the needles and enjoy the scent.
Have you used pine needles in an unusual way? Tell us about it!
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Hello Sandra,
I’m sorry you feel that way, but some of your information is incorrect. In small amounts, such as with firestarters, pines do not build up significant creosote. And most all pines and firs, including Western and Carolina Hemlock, are safe, and even beneficial. You can refer to this article for more information.
Which Pine Needles are safe for tea? The Eastern White Pine makes a great tea, but any variety of pine, spruce, or hemlock tree can be used. Avoid using needles from any Cypress or Yew tree as they can be toxic.Feb 19, 2018
Pine Needle Tea – The Sophisticated Caveman
And this article:
https://www.growforagecookferment.com/conifer-needle-tea/
and this article:
https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-to-know-pine-needle-tea
Dried pine needles are great for starting a fire when you don’t have many options around, not as fuel for the fire to use instead of wood. Sandra, trust me, I’ve researched more on pine needle tea than you suppose, and there is not just one pine type that can be used to make pine needle tea, but several of them. I would like to give you a link where you can read more about it. If Debra allows me to post it, I leave it here https://www.mynaturaltreatment.com/health-benefits-of-pine-needles-uses/
Some Stupid Comments here…Pine gives off creosote so please don’t put this in your woodstove as creosote build up will cause a chimney fire…Also When making tea make sure it’s White pine needles as other pines are poisonous,do your research on that first..
I didn’t know that you could use pine needles to start a fire or weave a basket, thanks for these wonderful tips. I recently learned that pine needle tea is an awesome remedy for very many health conditions, such as cold and flu, and inflammations of the respiratory tract and pine needle baths are great for sore muscles, joint pain, and even chronic fatigue. But even more, they contain something called shikimic acid (shikimate), an important biochemical metabolite that has powerful anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, as well as anti-blood clotting, and antithrombotic properties. Many blessings! ?
We heat our home with a wood stove. I make my own fire starters. I have a friend who saves her cardboard egg cartons & dryer lint for me. I stuff the compartments with the dryer lint & whatever flammable material I can find – cut up bits of cotton yarn from worn out handmade dishcloths, pine cones, pine needles, sawdust, shredded paper… you get the idea – then fill each one with wax (friends save old candles for me too). I use 1-3 compartments to start a fire. My parents sell them in their campground store too – they work great for campfires too.
Good ideas,some I’ve used others I will try.Thanks.
FYI spruce and firs are not pines. Only pines are pines. And only they have pine needles.
However all are conifers. 🙂