Should you sanitize wood for bess beetles?

Salmon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 25, 2017
Messages
46
Is it advisable to bake/otherwise sanitize rotting deadfall before providing it to captive bess beetles? I know they can't digest cellulose without microfauna present in rotting wood, but I'm concerned about parasites attacking them or my other inverts through accidental cross-contamination.
 

Nephila Edulis

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 27, 2017
Messages
201
They should be fine. If you're too worried you could always buy some wood mix online. A lot of micro organisms have a beneficial relationship with the beetles and you'll find beneficial mites all over the beetles. I'd be more worried about pesticides that could kill the beetles or termites in the wood. As long as neither are present your beetles will be happy and healthy
 

Salmon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 25, 2017
Messages
46
They should be fine. If you're too worried you could always buy some wood mix online. A lot of micro organisms have a beneficial relationship with the beetles and you'll find beneficial mites all over the beetles. I'd be more worried about pesticides that could kill the beetles or termites in the wood. As long as neither are present your beetles will be happy and healthy
Do you think freezing would get rid of termites and leave the beneficial bacteria/protists in place?
 

shutout2000

Arachnoknight
Joined
Nov 12, 2016
Messages
162
Do you think freezing would get rid of termites and leave the beneficial bacteria/protists in place?
Not necessarily. Some species are capable of surviving it. I actually completely submerge mine in a bucket of water and leave it there 24-48 hours.
 

Salmon

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 25, 2017
Messages
46
Not necessarily. Some species are capable of surviving it. I actually completely submerge mine in a bucket of water and leave it there 24-48 hours.
oh that's a really clever idea!!! thank you so much
 

VaejovisCarolineanusSDS

Arachnoknight
Joined
Aug 4, 2017
Messages
248
I just took some wood from the forest where I found them. I looked them over to make sure they didn't have anything like ants and then just put the wood in the enclosure. I ended up finding a little millipede but that wasn't an issue for me so it's still in there. I also house cryptocercus punctalatus with the bess beetles. They both are doing fine. (Besides the random death to one of my beetles)
 

Sassinator

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 2, 2017
Messages
2
My concern is that Bess beetles have a symbiotic relationship with many microorganizisms. They need it to digest the wood. This why Bess beetles lay their eggs in piles of their own poop and feed it to their larva so that their babies can get colonized with the microorganisms.

I would just be careful not to do anything that might kill off or reduce the microorganisms in the wood like baking it.
 
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