Our neighbors festooned a tree with bags of treats and an invitation to trick-or-treaters to take one.
I’ve been seeing cars full of kids pull up all afternoon, and by 4:00 it had been stripped bare.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Over here (the UK) that tree might be interpreted somewhat differently, thanks to the habit of inconsiderate dog walkers of bagging their dog’s shit and then just hanging the bag on the nearest tree or bush for somebody else to deal with…
Admittedly they don’t usually also leave behind signs referring to the bags as treats :)
We’ve set up a spider web on our front porch with candy bars and signs. So far, no takers, but Halloween stuff usually starts around 5 or 5:30 PT out here.
In my area of Chiwaukee, the T&T time was 2-5pm. I couldn’t see a way for me to feel safe handing out one bit of candy per treater, so I decided to not to do anything, as all ideas, like your neighbors, led to the conclusion that teenagers would strip it bare. I usually get 200-300 treaters, but I didn’t see much foot traffic whenever I looked out.
I see your local climate is warmer than ours.
Hmm… If the weather keeps you indoors, you can just watch arthropod-themed horror films like “Phase IV” (1974) or “Hidden” with [wossname from Twin Peaks] chasing an arachnid alien parasite that takes over human hosts.
I have a bowl of candy on my front porch right now, with a sign that says, “Boo! Take Two!”
So far, though, only one group of kids has come by.
Surely the trick element requires bear traps to be scattered around the base of the tree?
I like the bear trap idea!
Our spider web / socially distanced trick or treat facility was a success. We had 36 kids, down about 75% from a normal year. It was mainly families who drove to our block, which is known for good treating, and made the rounds. It was mainly little kids. Only a few teenagers, usually with the rest of the family. It wasn’t the usual madhouse, but it was fun anyway, and probably about as safe as one can get.
PZ: Thanks for all the spider stuff. Once we got the idea for the web, it wasn’t all that hard to execute.