Sterilize rotting branches?

[Jazz B]

Hello!

I found some Sycamore branches (sticks really) that are already rotting with fungus. I haven't been able to find much rotting wood and am excited to provide these for my 'pedes. However, I know most people here sterilize by oven cooking before adding things into the habitat. If i sterilize it, won't that stop the rotting process for a while? Should I sterilize via oven or not if this is wood for them to munch on?

Thanks!

 

[Polenth]

The main reason I bake is to remove unwanted invertebrates. It's almost guaranteed that the rotting wood and leaf litter will have woodlice in it, which can potentially eat moulting millipedes and their eggs. If it has any native millipedes in it, they may have parasites that could transfer. Centipedes and spiders like a little millipede snack too. I've found all of those and more in the wild stuff I've gathered. Sometimes I keep them as pets, but not in the same tank as my millipedes.

Though it's true that baking will kill some fungi and bacteria, it's not really going to sterilise it. Also, the ones living in your tank will move into the wood in no time. As long as I feel the tank has a healthy community of microorganisms, I don't worry about adding small quantities of baked material.

 

[SFA]

For sure, bake it. You don’t want mites and all the other critters mentioned by @Polenth

 

[Nightstalker47]

If they are already rotting, they aren't good to use. Look for dryer wood.

 

[SFA]

If they are already rotting, they aren't good to use. Look for dryer wood.

Rotting wood is exactly what you want to use for millipedes The softer the better. If you can tear it apart with your hands it’s perfect.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Rotting wood is exactly what you want to use for millipedes The softer the better. If you can tear it apart with your hands it’s perfect.

I thought we were talking centipedes, ll be honest I have no idea about millipede care. Never kept any.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

If you want to sterilise it and kill any larger pests like mites and isopods then I’d just stick it in the freezer for a while, the fungus will remain mostly intact which the millipedes will eat

 

[StampFan]

If you want to sterilise it and kill any larger pests like mites and isopods then I’d just stick it in the freezer for a while, the fungus will remain mostly intact which the millipedes will eat

Freezing does not sterilize anything. It may kill off larger critters, but it doesn't sterilize.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

Freezing does not sterilize anything. It may kill off larger critters, but it doesn't sterilize.

I know, but does it really need to be sterilised? From what I’ve heard millipedes generally enjoy wood with edible fungi on it. If you’re just trying to get rid of parasites and pests it should work

 

[Polenth]

I know, but does it really need to be sterilised? From what I’ve heard millipedes generally enjoy wood with edible fungi on it. If you’re just trying to get rid of parasites and pests it should work

This doesn't work as well in temperate climates. Some animals will die, but some won't. Baking is faster and more reliable.

 

[chanda]

I usually bake mine in the oven - or sometimes soak it in water, then throw it in the microwave for a few minutes. Either way, it kills off any unwelcome hitchhikers. (I also do this with cork bark or other wood that I am transferring from one enclosure to another.)

 

[The Snark]

Place in hyperbaric chamber @200 atmospheres, expose to EO for 48 hours, place in autoclave @272 F saturated steam for 15 minutes then soak in gasoline and set on fire.
Or just do what @chanda said. Your target is 170 F full penetration of the material for 15 minutes for complete kill. Think baking a turkey so about 450 degrees for one half hour for every inch of thickness.

 

[Galapoheros]

I'd just drop them in and wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Ratmosphere]

I bake but if I don't want the house to smell I boil them in hot water.

 

[The Mantis Menagerie]

I want to elaborate on some topics in this thread. First, baking can easily sterilize, but the wood must be dried and heated to around 375-degrees Fahrenheit. I have done this before, and some types of wood are fine, such as oak mulch, others char and smoke (particularly wood that is already rotten). I personally wrap my wood tightly in aluminum foil to restrict the oxygen flow and prevent burning. As mentioned by StampFan, freezing does not sterilize, but if you get it cold enough for a long enough period of time, then pests will be killed. I typically set my freezer to its coldest setting and leave the wood in their for a few weeks. Polenth pointed out that freezing is not effective on pests from temperate climates, but I think freezing does quite a good job as many temperate pests need special conditions to trigger their body to prepare for freezing temperatures. If the weather is warm, and you put the wood in the freezer, then the life stages of the pests that are adapted to warm weather should be killed. Regardless, I live in a temperate climate, and I have not had any of the types of pests Polenth mentioned survive freezing. If you really want to make sure there are no hitchhikers on your wood, then use a pressure cooker. No known organism can survive a good autoclaving.

 

[The Snark]

First, baking can easily sterilize, but the wood must be dried and heated to around 375-degrees Fahrenheit.

It's the moisture that transmits the heat into the material. The drier it is, the higher the heat required. Autoclaves and pressure cookers utilize saturated steam.

 

[The Mantis Menagerie]

Wet wood cannot get as hot due to a property known as the heat of vaporization. All of the energy flowing into the wood is used to change the moisture in the wood into steam, and therefore, the temperature does not rise above 212-degrees Fahrenheit while the water evaporates. There are several species of extremophiles that can survive boiling temperatures. The pressure in an autoclave allows the temperature to increase above water's boiling point without all the water having to evaporate first.