Baking wood

[Doezsha]

I have three pieces of wood that I want to use in some terrariums that I'm setting up for my two C.fasciatums. Two pieces are plum Wood from my old tree and one is unidentified. my question is after baking the woo and 350 for about 15 - 20 min in oven would that not only kill any unwanted critters, would it prevent the wood from molding. any info is deeply appreciated...Thanks

 

[Talkenlate04]

Kill all unwanteds yes,
Prevent mold..... for the most part yes. Your going to be using them in a setup that does not need tons of moisture so the wood should be fine.

 

[Doezsha]

saweet thanks for the feed back

 

[Spyder 1.0]

id torch the bottom of the wood what will be going into or sitting ontop of the wet soil. another way is to put sand down where you are placingthe wood to prevent rotting.

 

[Thoth]

15-20 minutes isn't enough (it will kill vegatative cells but not enough to eliminate all spores, dry heat is not as effective) I would do an hour, also all you need is 250 degrees F hot enough to sterilize but poses little fire risk.

To definitely make sure it does not mold, even in humid conditions, is to seal the wood. I suggest tung oil to seal it, it penetrates the wood, is water resistant and not toxic, completely safe once polymerized.

 

[Nerri1029]

I've done this in the past:

coat with melted parafin wax. almost zero "cure" time seals well and most definately non toxic.

a small torch will melt it into the wood with no cloudy effect.

 

[Arachnobrian]

I used some dead black walnut branches. Instead of baking them, I boiled them in a big stock pot, then set them in the hot sun to dry.

Never had any problems.

 

[Thoth]

I used some dead black walnut branches. Instead of baking them, I boiled them in a big stock pot, then set them in the hot sun to dry.

Never had any problems.

Boiling (or steaming in a pressure cooker) works well moist heat is a better at killing spores (bacterial and fungal) than dry heat.

Never would have thought of parrafin wax, thanks for the idea Nerri. I just always have tung oil on hand (what I use to seal my carvings).