Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have read that some put cypress mulch in the oven or microwave to kill bugs... but what if you have a ton of the stuff? Must you be patient as each load of mulch is fried, or is there a quick way for large loads?

Also, I plan on getting a nice large branch from the woods out back, but it would be WAY to big to de-bug in an oven. How can I kill bugs inside and out on a large branch?

Thanks!
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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

other than perhaps termites, what bugs would you be worried about, that you'd need to 'de-bug' them? I think that people worry too much about trivial and unimportant things like this..

I personally would not worry about de bugging the branches, as i do not see a potential risk/threat to the monitor; but that's just me...
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Treemonitors.com

Hmm... I'm no expert on native bugs, but I thought the monitor might pick up some kind of parasite if their substrate and furniture wasn't sterile. Are there any precautions I should take after I pluck my branch from the woods and pick up my cypress mulch from the lawn & garden store?
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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

What most people fail to realize is that most parasites are host-specific, having 'coevolved' with a particular host. While transmittance may occur between related taxa, this is not usually the case. Unless you have wild monitors running around your backyard, or local forest, I don't see what you have to worry about.

If anything, the only thing I would possibly worry about is taking termites into my house.. If you choose healthy wood, that will eliminate most risks of having your house chewed down...

I honestly would not worry about it.
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Treemonitors.com

Thank you, I did not realize that. This definetely makes things easier!
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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

"a ton of this stuff"
if this is for an out door enclosure, which it sounds like, there is no need to bake anything. Just remember large mulch piles can get stinky

Perhaps I over exaggerated with "a ton of this stuff". I've just never needed the amount of substrate that a monitor requres before, so it seems like "a ton" to me. As for stinkiness... I haven;t heard that about cypress mulch... how large of a pile gets stinky? (I definetely don't want a nice decomp smell in my living room!)
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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

I was using a mixture of dirt and cypress mulch for my Argus/Flavi adult pair. I had some cypress mulch left over from some other projects. Even with an air purifier running at maximum output, I could still smell the cypress mulch as I entered the basement. It was a damp, metallic odor that was unpleasing. I have since used just dirt and have still been pleased with the humidity levels and absence of odor. I have since discarded cypress mulch and removed it from all my enclosures, from 4x4x8 cages on down. Even in small enclosures, the cypress mulch is quite odorous. Stick with dirt.
As for cleaning what cage items you may introduce, I sometimes soak them in hot water and scrub them down in a utility sink, but most of the time I don't worry about it.
Good luck!

Wow, thanks... I never heard of cyprees smelling so bad before. As for the dirt, do you guys just dig it up somewhere? Is there a special soil that is best?

Sorry for all the newbie questions... I really appreciate all your help and patience!
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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)