Coir blocks

[Gary Pomeroy]

Hi
I get mine from Poundland, 2 blocks for £1.

Gary

[Neil Ashby]

what is it called at poundland Gary ?

[Gary Pomeroy]

Bloom peat
that's all it has on the packaging...

[Neil Ashby]

Thanks all !!

i did get some in the end , off the net but im sorted now thankyou !!

[Sonny Howdle]

I have found with coir blocks that are bort from diy shops that they are NOT sterile and they grow lots of nastys. only coir blocks made for inverts are safe to use in my opinion. i used to use coir blocks from my pet shop speshially for T's and they cost 55p each, the only problem is that they dry out quick and arnt that good for humid spids.
aunti mary started me using b&q 100% peat for all my spids bedding. I have used b&q 100% peat now for over 2 years. it comes in a huge bag of 55 liters and costs £4.99 and lasts for ages and does not dry out and does not grow nastys.

[Richard Goram]

Hi Sonny, do you sterilise the peat in the microwave or oven before you use it as when I have used peat without sterilising it I found lots of tiny bugs crawling around the tank.

[Rich.Harrington]

JUst a question on sterilising. I don't have a microwave anyone had any luck trying to use an oven?

[Colin D Wilson]

Ovens work ok Rich,
I find it best to heat the oven to around 200 with the tray of substrate in, then switch off and leave to cool down overnight.
The only inconvenience i have found is the amount of condensation that sometimes is left, and the musty smell.
microwaves are better at this as the mould spores, mite eggs etc etc are zapped rather than heated to expiration, giving a quicker end result.

[Rich.Harrington]

Ovens work ok Rich,
I find it best to heat the oven to around 200 with the tray of substrate in, then switch off and leave to cool down overnight.
The only inconvenience i have found is the amount of condensation that sometimes is left, and the musty smell.
microwaves are better at this as the mould spores, mite eggs etc etc are zapped rather than heated to expiration, giving a quicker end result.

How about using an oven on peat that is near dry already? with obviously a close eye kept incase of smoke.

[Neil Ashby]

Colin

do you have to microwave the coir ! if so , how long for ?

i bought some from a place called Wiggly Wigglers who supply it for worms !

[Colin D Wilson]

How about using an oven on peat that is near dry already? with obviously a close eye kept incase of smoke.

Cant really see a problem with that, i would pre heat the oven and then give the substrate about 15 - 20 mins on full (keeping an eye of course)
this should be enough time to kill off anything detramental.

[Colin D Wilson]

Colin

do you have to microwave the coir ! if so , how long for ?

I tend to microwave everything, (20 - 30 seconds, i'm starting to conclude, is enough) just to be on the safe side. Sonny mentioned that he had nastys (fungus or spores i would pressume) growing from blocks bought at DIY shops, whilst not particularly a problem for the spider they will encourage other little beasties to occupy the enclosure.
I would think that the buzzing around of little flies etc would send the tactile senses of a spider into overdrive...not good for stress levels in my opinion.
I tend to hope that the blocks prepared for "invert" use would be more appropriately steralised than those made for horticultural useage.

I'd still zap it for a while, like i said...just to make sure.