Should sticks from outside be cleaned

[Daniel Martin]

Hello everyone. I was wondering if sticks from outside should be cleaned. Mine are to big for the oven but look very clean and have no fungi or anything on them. Should I still clean them and if so, how? Thanks.

 

[Virgil1972]

Water works good for cleaning.

 

[gotwqqd]

Put in tub with bleached water

 

[jajeanpierre]

I usually don't do anything as long as the branches came from somewhere that hasn't been contaminated by other lizards or birds. I rarely hose them off. I leave on all the bark an lichen.

 

[FlChamMom]

I put them straight from the yard into the cage.

 

[KapitalJ]

Not sure if necessary, but I give mine a hot bath with some soapy water, and scrub a little... Then I soak them in hot water 2 times, and rinse..

 

[Carlton]

All I do is give them a scrub with a 1 part bleach to 10 part hot water solution to remove flaky rotting bark, surface dirt, bird poop etc. Rinse until I can't smell the bleach, and let dry.

 

[kiwilulu]

I rinse with 1:10 bleach, and bake if they fit in the oven, 350 deg for 30 minutes.
Probably an overkill...

On the other hand a member posted recently a termite that came with branches for his enclosure, so, you decide in which end of the spectrum you want to fall.