Driftwood

I'm getting tired of the same old store bought drift wood and specially the prices of it, so I thought I would goto the local lake and gather some up. Couple questions here:

What is the proper baking temp to rid of bacteria, parasites, etc etc?

Is there anyone that has done this, if so what methods where used?

Thanks any input is helpful!!

That's a good question, and I'll be sitting on the sidelines watching this one.

Also, how does one bake a piece of driftwood that is too large to stick in the oven?

I too will be waiting to see where this goes as I will need to get a bigger enclosure for Hissy to live in for life once she outgrows this one (& yes, I plan on having empty tank syndrome but I doubt that i will be able to talk nanci into lettin me fill it with anything for a good long time) & I will want to get her some different things to toy around with. This little girl is like short attention span city! She was staying in her hides for a couple weeks so I bought her a large vine from Exxo Terra & some fake leaves. When I did her tank cleaning this saturday I put the new stuff in. She spent the next 24 hours exploring. Since then she has gone back to just hangin out in her hides ALL DAY! LOL!! Gotta keep things fresh frequently to keep this one stimulated!

These are things I've read from multiple sources, but have not tried myself:

Bake wood in the oven at 200*F for about an hour.

If the wood is too big, and/or you want more security than simply baking it, you can try covering it in several coats of some clear acrylic (after you've baked it, if you do). This serves two purposes...it kills whatever is in the wood and keeps it from getting out...and it makes the wood easier to clean later.

Also, you can try removing the top oven rack and moving the bottom rack to the lowest setting, then putting the pieces in diagonally (so that they do not come in contact with heating elements!). Most driftwood that will fit in standard enclosure sizes will fit in this way. You can also try bribing your buddy who works at a local pizza restaurant to cook your driftwood before opening or after closing one day. :)

not like anyone has done that before :roll:

JLC thanks I heard/read anywhere from 200-300 I'll try that out

Marla ummm the local pizza joint already tastes like that or maybe cardboard .lolo..

But all in all I'm determined to try this out and pass the info on.

Am baking a piece right now at 250. Water boils at around 212 depending on where you are sea level wise. You can kill most crawlies by boiling for 20 minutes so baking for about an hour should do the trick. I rinsed off the wood real good with hot water and put it in the oven. Has been 35 minutes and is almost completely dry. I figure when it's dry it's done.

Welp I guess store bought drift was meant to be, I just couldn't get rid of the wood barrowing critters. After soaking them in water for a day thinking this would drown them ......NOT.......and get this even after baking teh wood @ 200-225 for 1 hr ....yup they still left little sawdust tracks..so if anyone can give me better instructions this method is out the door. thanks!!

Once you've soaked them in the bleach water and done the baking, you can dry it thoroughly then coat it with shellac to suffocate any critters inside and prevent their escape.