# cleaning leaf litter?



## rizacks (Jan 16, 2014)

i know of a pesticide free area where I can collect leaf litter.

is there an easy way to clean it without degrading it? would boiling it be safe?


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## brog32 (Oct 28, 2005)

I just rinse the leaves off and let them dry out for a few months. A thorough dry out period tends to take care of most pests.


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## ngeno626 (Nov 14, 2013)

i just boil them for 1 beers time (about 10 mins) 
then put them on a towel to dry out for a day


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## frogworld1990 (Feb 27, 2014)

I collect oak leafs from the wild and I just washed with warm water, then I let them dry and put them in the viv floor...never had a pest problem


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## Fantastica (May 5, 2013)

I microwave mine in a ceramic bowl after giving them a spray of sink water.

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## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

I`ve been doing this for a few years now and have yet to buy litter. There`s no reason not to collect it yourself as long as it`s far enough away from any homes and roads and it`s properly cleaned. I do this with moss as well and I`ve found the only moss I can keep alive 
is what I get from a forest.
It`s all out there people, get off the couch and help yourselves.


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## randommind (Sep 14, 2010)

Enlightened Rogue said:


> I`ve been doing this for a few years now and have yet to buy litter...


Same here...and then I moved to the desert.


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## Reef_Haven (Jan 19, 2011)

randommind said:


> Same here...and then I moved to the desert.


Maybe you should raise Scorpions and Gila Monsters


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## BR5 (Dec 7, 2009)

ngeno626 said:


> i just boil them for 1 beers time (about 10 mins)
> then put them on a towel to dry out for a day


I find that it can take up to 3 beers if you have alot of leaves.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Keep in mind that any form of heat treatment will reduce the useful life of your leaf litter. It causes it to break down faster.

Here is how I treat my pesticide free, Pin Oak leaf litter that I collect from my back yard:

For my vivariums: Rake it up. Rough sort it if necessary, so that I have a good 95% "target material". A bit of dried grass and small twigs doesn't bother me. Some twigs, and of course acorns, are great to incorporate in your leaf litter. It builds voids. 
Stick it in a bag and age it for 6 months. That's it. Dump it in your viv.

For my microfauna cultures: Rake it up, rough sort it, stick it a laundry bag (my wife says it is a "delicates bag"), and drop it in my pressure cooker. I mix in about 1/4 or 1/3 coco fiber at this point for my microfauna substrate recipe. Process at 15 PSI for 15 minutes. 
Now that is some mite free "bugstrate"!


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

I boil the leaves for 20 minutes (about three beers for me). Twigs and acorns are good, very decorative. 
The water's boiling, diluted with tap water and RO water, is my tadpole tea.


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## Bighurt (Jun 18, 2011)

Pumilo said:


> drop it in my pressure cooker


So now we need a pressure cooker for leaves, and a blender for sphagnum. 

You know someone shopping at a big box store for all their frog supplies would have a really interesting collection at the register.

- Blender
- Pressure cooker
- drylok
- 5" x 24" type b duct
- silicone
- screen kit
- coffee filters
- hinge/pulls and hardware
- glass
- hardwood lump charcoal
- peat
- Titebond II or III
- vanity light
- CFL bulbs
- plastic putty knife
- orchid bark
- landscape fabric
- light diffuser
- caulk gun
- 3/4" schedule 40 pvc
- dimensional lumber
- shredded aspen
- sphagnum moss
- 3" tropical plants
- 3/8" tubing
- barb fittings
- floral mounting wire
- Great stuff
- razor scrapper
- tooth picks
- rock/gravel/hydroton

Cheers

I'm surprised someone didn't say bake them for the leaves...


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## ppenguin8 (Aug 28, 2012)

You left out the beer on the shopping list. All good things start with a quality micro.

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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

What about your leaf shredder the size of a 30 gallon trash can? Everybody else has one of those for your bugs, right?


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