Moss: to bleach or not to bleach?

[ThatSquareChick]

I’m making terrarium style jumping spider enclosures with springtails, moss and maybe a couple of isopods.
How do I kill bad stuff in my moss without killing the moss? Using dead moss sucks because it gets moldy so quickly. I have gotten some moss to grow and in some terrariums that don’t have any pets in them so I know I can get it to survive but I really don’t want to put my two expensive, non-native spiders in with some moss that might have a mite or nematode that will infect my spiders.
My wild caught spiders I would feel really bad about since I am fully responsible for their care without their consent, if I captured them, I owe them a better life than they had outside as much as possible.
So how do I kill the nematodes and stuff while still allowing the moss to live?
I’ve heard of washing it in bleach, quarantines, drying, it all seems like the general attitude is “<edit>your outside moss, you shouldn’t have gathered it but bleach it 1:10 in really hot water then dry it for a couple days and re-wet it when planting time comes. It’s such a mystery, all I know is the moss I have I gathered from the sidewalk so all I have to do is chuck it on some fresh dirt and keep it moist and it will stay alive. It’s pretty compact moss too.

 

[Spoodfood]

I’m making terrarium style jumping spider enclosures with springtails, moss and maybe a couple of isopods.
How do I kill bad stuff in my moss without killing the moss? Using dead moss sucks because it gets moldy so quickly. I have gotten some moss to grow and in some terrariums that don’t have any pets in them so I know I can get it to survive but I really don’t want to put my two expensive, non-native spiders in with some moss that might have a mite or nematode that will infect my spiders.
My wild caught spiders I would feel really bad about since I am fully responsible for their care without their consent, if I captured them, I owe them a better life than they had outside as much as possible.
So how do I kill the nematodes and stuff while still allowing the moss to live?
I’ve heard of washing it in bleach, quarantines, drying, it all seems like the general attitude is <edit>your outside moss, you shouldn’t have gathered it but bleach it 1:10 in really hot water then dry it for a couple days and re-wet it when planting time comes. It’s such a mystery, all I know is the moss I have I gathered from the sidewalk so all I have to do is chuck it on some fresh dirt and keep it moist and it will stay alive. It’s pretty compact moss too. View attachment 402196 View attachment 402197 View attachment 402198 View attachment 402199 View attachment 402200

I would not put any kind of bleach solution on anything my spiders will come into contact with.

 

[KaroKoenig]

Just use it. Especially with a jumping spider - it's almost never gonna get into physical contact with the substrate and moss. And eve if it does: in your neck of the woods, the chances that anything which can endanger your spider lives in the moss are minimal.
As long as you're reasonably sure that there are no pesticides around, there is no need whatsoever to treat the moss.

 

[RezonantVoid]

I don't get why there's such a massive emphasis on killing bacteria and and whatnot, I've used 100% wild soil, moss and decor, most of the time barely even washed, to get as natural looking setups as possible, and not once had issues. If anything, you'll have considerably better bioactivity from not trying to disinfect everything

 

[The Snark]

If you really need to bleach something, use hydrogen peroxide. No toxic residues. Keep in mind oxidization plays unholy hell with the connective tissues or whatever they are called and the bleached object often quickly disintergrates.

But moss is way out there in hyperactive organism country. Got healthy moss and associated organisms that help keep it healthy, it's not a terrarium, it's a micro B science project.

 

[Scp682]

Don't. I don't know why you'd consider this seeing as moss is a living thing. If you're worried there's probably nothing to be worried about in moss but you can just rinse it well with water if you want.

 

[ThatSquareChick]

I don't get why there's such a massive emphasis on killing bacteria and and whatnot, I've used 100% wild soil, moss and decor, most of the time barely even washed, to get as natural looking setups as possible, and not once had issues. If anything, you'll have considerably better bioactivity from not trying to disinfect everything
View attachment 402355

Because in some groups if you mention that you’re putting anything wild in with your jumper, it will immediately be stricken with seizures, attacked by nematodes and infected with parasites.
I completely understand, I took a wild thing just minding its own business and put it in a box where I now decide how it lives and if I can’t promise it I can provide it a better life then it was irresponsible of me not to take all the measures I could to prevent that from happening even if that means something as weird and inane as sanitizing moss and sticks.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Give it a good soak and flush in water to dislodge any unwanted visitors, and call it a day. Sterilizing everything more often than not just leads to mould overgrowth.

 

[darkness975]

No bleach