Acorn insulation ?

I was looking at various options and projects for the winter and noticed that many of them included Polystyrene . OK OK I know we are supposed to be recylcing stuff but I am not a fan of this material and have been looking alturnatives both as an insulator and as a protective .
Do folks think that Acorns would work instead? Ok they are hard and not squashy like P'styrene but they would capture air, move about to fill up the space , cheap and very enviormentally friendly .

David

I would think that acorns are too good a food source to be wasting them as insulation. Don't you have pigs or chickens that can benefit from those nutritious acorns?

And lest you think that polystyrene is not recyclable, we have a thread on just that topic.

Chickens are planned for the spring and pigs not sure have to overcome the reluctance of GF never mind the LL . I can collect acorns in the local park no problem . The projects I am thinking of are a hay box and maybe other small works .
I worry about using polystyrene out gassing and its use in food products .
I wasnt thinking about the whole house unless it works particularly well .

David

One of my wood class professors had a great story of how a CA cabin was torn apart by a lowly moth (or other insect). A woodpecker stashed acorns into the top of the wall cavity or some other hole in the wall. They apparently do this because the acorns harbor larvae that feast upon the acorns. The clever bird comes back along and in turn feasts upon the larvae or moth. As if that wasnt problem enough, a hungry bear came along and liked what he smelled in the wall cavity.

I know thats not your situation but like to tell that story when there is a chance to.

While your project might not attract a bear, the point is that acorns are a food source for a lot of different critters and I think they'd be quite likely to attract something or other. The grubs are often in the acorns as they fall from the tree and then later on they bore out, looking for a way to get into the soil and pupate. So you will have them, and whatever is attracted to feed on them. And then there are rodents. I would think that gathering dry leaves and using them instead is a safer way to cheap insulation.