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Baking a log? (Again, sorry)

Jupiter

Jupiter

New member
So I've got another log from outside, it's NOT cedar, or Pine, we suspect it to be some sort of poplar, I can't find anyone who says poplar is bad for snakes at all. It is however, very veryy wet. And that's bad, I know, wetness=bacteria (potentially). So to dry it I should, bake it in the oven? For how long, how hot of a temp? It won't burst into flames, right?! Lol. Sorry for te noob questions, just want to have all my bases covered, and I've literally found every different combo of answers on the Internet. Any help would be much appreciated!
 
I don't know what is the 'right' answer..

But if it were mine, I would start by washing it off with soap and water, (scrubbing off any dirt) and then rinse it off well. If I really suspected something bad, I might also do a diluted bleach soak and rinse.

I would then leave it in a corner far away from my snakes for several days to air dry, preferably someplace where if there were any nasties to crawl out. they could be dealt with... Most bug critters don't survive sustained exposure to heat, so I would set my oven between 150 and 200 degrees and then bake that stick for at least 3-4 hours, this should kill any insects or insect eggs in or on the stick as well as driving off extra moisture.

If you think about it.. paper and wood burn around 451 farenheight, so you can get the stick pretty warm before you risk burning (water boils around 216 degrees). the trick is to get things warm enough, long enough, so that Dangerous organisms can't survive.
 
Nancy, thank you! For the awesome answer! I have set up a weird aluminum foil enclosure on the roof and am gonna let it dry up there today and tomorrow while it is nice, I already washed it with hot water and soap, and am going to do a nice long bake in the oven, the day after tomorrow. Then there are some tweaks I'm going to be making with sanding paper and knives then I'll post pics here maybe, maybe somewhere else. Thanks again!
 
you are very welcome.. Just a thought: Depending on how much moisture is left in the stick (and how recently it left the tree it grew on) you may get some odor and steam as it bakes.. I don't think it would be very strong but it may be there.. don't panic if you look in and see the stick 'smoking' it's whole length, Just check that it is steam.
When the 'cook' time is up, I would shut off the oven and let it cool down on its own before handling it.

Oh and be aware if the stick touches the heater element or the cover over the burner in the stove, it might scorch or burn there, that area gets a lot hotter than the rest of the oven.
 
Thanks again! Yea, it's pretty dead right now, we found it already cut on the ground, it's dead, but not rotten, not soft yet. Also, should I just put it on the grates inside the oven, or should I put it on some sort of baking sheet or something?
 
Baking sheet or the rack/shelf is up to you... Go with the baking sheet if you think any bits of bark or anything might fall/foam (water or sap) off the stick down into the oven - You would have to pick it out later and it might land on the heat source and burn.

I think natural wood is pretty inoffensive, but make sure anyone else who uses the oven is ok with it too. I can't see it contaminating the oven with anything.
 
btw the roof is a great idea.. the sun beating down on a roof generates a LOT of heat, people don't always realize just how hot shingles can get...

I read all sorts of DIW and I've heard of people seasoning wood for bow staves (archery) by leaving them in an attic or roof crawl space.. Another guy 'speed dries' his firewood in a sort of mini shed made from a truck bed cap on top of his mower shed roof.
 
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