Diy - perch inquiry

[Booyeah]

hi guys

Went to a private garden/ park and picked up couple of Beech tree branch. Soaked them in bleach yesterday and peeled the first layer of the bark.

Today i sanded down 2 of them and noticed some black spots and some small holes on the other branches. Not so sure if the private garden uses pesticide on the trees.. Just wanted to ask if its still bird safe?

Plan on sun baking them for the next couple of weeks, probly baking in te oven and spraying f10 and water every couple of days.





Tia.

 

[Mizzely]

If unsure of the pesticide use, I would personally not use them. The white is likely from the bleach going into bug holes, not sure what the black would be except for mold or something like moss dying from the bleach exposure.

 

[Shezbug]

The white looks like some sort of fungus to me but I am not sure and the more I enlarge the picture the more difficult it is to get a good look at it. Not sure of what the black could be either.

I’d be uncomfortable using them unless I was certain there were no pesticides used.

 

[Booyeah]

Thanks.. just emailed the horticulture director of the garden.. crossing my fingers..

But incase they confirm that the trees were untreated, the white and black marks should be safe after more cleaning right?

 

[Mizzely]

It depends on what they are... Mold and fungus I certainly wouldn't want in my home! So you'd have to identify what that stuff is.

 

[JLcribber]

Take those branches to a car wash with a high pressure hose and blast the crap out of them and cook em in the sun again. Then look at them again. Then I'd use them. After all you've done already there certainly aren't any bugs on them.

 

[Begone]

The white is made from beetles worms that is inside the tree. Boiling water and 75% alcohol will kill them.
I never use bleach. Beacuse the tree soak it and it's poison.

 

[Booyeah]

already did power wash them before sun baking... but will do it again for good measure... also planning on baking them and pour boil water just to be 100% sure..

the horticulture from the garden just got back to me and said. "We don’t use chemical sprays on the linden trees. There is an organic oil spray done early in the season and then a beneficial insect release is done each year to help control pest populations."..

guess its safe to assume no toxic chemicals on the branches and would be safe for birds... hard to do an actual background check on the branches as the dont do ancestry on trees.

 

[Begone]

Btw, they are beautiful, and your birds will love them.
If you have neighbors with apple or pear tree you can use them with the bark on. They love that.