Using Sticks from Outside

[youbeyouibei]

You could douse them in a bleach/water solution with a ratio of 1:10 (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) and then bake them on LOW heat in the oven to kill off any eggs or anything that might have been laid in the interior of the branches or under the bark. You might want to strip the bark off too, to be sure that you're exposing as much of the wood as possible to the bleach/water and to keep it (the bark) from flaking off later on. Let them dry from the bleach/water first and then just bake them for a half hour or so on low heat in the oven to kill off any nasties that might be living in the wood still.

[SpartaDog]

Okay, thanks. I shaved the bark off and have it sitting in the bleach solution now. Unfortunately they don't fit in my oven either, so I'm just going to let it sit in the bleach a little longer.