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Just spread the soil out on a very large black plastic garbage bag, moisten it up, then let it sit out in full sunlight till its bone dry. The bugs (most importantly ants. I HATE ANTS!!!!) will go running leaving behind a very nice still biologically active soil.
Jsin. - 'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.'
- Abraham Lincoln, (attributed)
16th president of US (1809 - 1865)
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| I would still suggest steralizing the soil, there many eggs & things that can come to life after it is moist again. Over at jsin's house (666 Hellsgates Dr.) it is plenty hot & sterile lol. Peace & Love, Peace & Love.
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| Both sides in this argument have their points. Jsin has rock-solid evidence that his method works, by the simple fact that he has successfully raised and bred animals with his methods for years. You can't deny that his ways work. But, I am a person that believes it is better to be safe than sorry, so I personally would sterilize (in a ten percent bleach solution) products from outside, just to be safe.
0.1 Eublepharis macularias
1.0.1 Rhacodactylus ciliatus
0.0.4 Terrapene carolina
0.0.1 Theloderma corticale
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jsinhardcore (10/30/2009)
Just spread the soil out on a very large black plastic garbage bag, moisten it up, then let it sit out in full sunlight till its bone dry. The bugs (most importantly ants. I HATE ANTS!!!!) will go running leaving behind a very nice still biologically active soil. I assume that the black plastic would generate very high heat. Aside from detering insects, wouldn't it also kill any insect eggs and larva? I don't think I would be trying the dirt thing any time soon. Maybe in the future sometime.
1 albino reverse stripe leopard gecko Yoshi 1 silver miniature poodle Midnight
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I sterilize because all of my animals are CB animals that are not used to being exposed to the same things as their WC counterparts. Also, they spray for bugs and fertilize regularly around my area, so I wanna make sure those things are out of the decor that I am using. Why risk potentially harming your animal(s) with things that may be harmful in the decor/substrate that you get from outside? The stuff in the fauna/dirts around people's houses generally aren't the same as found in the animal's natural habitat.
1.0.0 Russian Tortoise: Sketer
0.0.1 Rhinocerous Iguana: Spike
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For my monitors, I don't sterilize. It's difficult to treat 1000 pounds of soil/sand and 6 to 8 foot long tree limbs. Any small buggies or bacteria get handled by their natural defenses, provided the basking spots are hot enough.
For my other snakes and lizards, I soak the cage furniture in a watered down bleach solution and let air dry for a period of almost a week, to make sure no harmful residue is left. I also treat their substrate with Provent A Mite. I've had too many bad experiences of substrates from pet stores or mulch from Home Depot coming equipped with little wood mites.
Hope that helps.
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| I found some really nice small branches in a wooded area behind my subdivision. First, I removed the bark (which was hiding numerous bugs) and scrubbed the wood thoroughly under the outdoor faucet. Next, I soaked them in a bucket of diluted bleach for several hours. They have been sitting outside in the sun for several days now. I am going to check the branches today. If I see any more bugs coming out of the wood, I will throw them in the oven. Thanks for the tips!
1 albino reverse stripe leopard gecko Yoshi 1 silver miniature poodle Midnight
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| Put aluminum foil under it in case there is anything in it, then it will fall onto it.
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