What to do with pine needles?

As previously mentioned, I live in a 128 year old home. The great thing about an old house is that they come with mature trees. One of those trees, however, distributes needles all over my deck and patio. Not that either are in great condition, but everyone wants their space to look as good as it can, right?

So here I am, sweeping up needles, to the point where I end up with an entire bin of them.

I started to wonder what I could possibly do with them.
To the Google machine!!



Fun Uses and Facts About Pine Needles:

1. Compost them: Apparently acid loving plants will be appreciative of this kind of compost. Composting

2. Use it for mulch: Looks great for landscaping under the trees that spread them. Not to mention that pine needles have a waxy cover that resists bacteria and fungi.  Pine Needle Mulch

3. Make bowls out of them: This very clever dealer on Etsy has made lots of them. Needles to Baskets

4. Tea! Although, this only works for fresh-cut needles. Not exactly appropriate for the dry dirty ones I have... lol Pine needle tea

5. Go camping, and make a pine duff mattress! Old Skool Camping Techniques

6. Cure scurvy! Arrrrrrr..... Apparently people throughout the centuries have cured themselves of scurvy by drinking needle tea.

7. Repel lice and fleas: Many cultures used to stuff their mattresses with pine needles to do this, but today, Scandinavians use the mattresses to help with rheumatism.

8. Up your vitamin C: Pine needles have five times the amount of vitamin C than a lemon.

I am sure you in the blog-o-sphere can come up with even more uses. If so, let me know!