sanitizing?

[Mesquite]

i have been using this stuff called Microban Disinfectant Spray, link down low to the website. i have been using this stuff for a month or so to sanitize my pruners, loppers, and chainsaw chains, and knifes in between trees. it goes on easy and takes off all the sap and all the other stuff that is sticking to the blades. i usually let it sit about a minute with the blades pointing down so that way it doesnt get into where the grease is because it will mess with the grease. the bottle says 60 seconds kills the bacteria and 5 minutes kills viruses and a couple types of fungi. the spray usually drys before the 5 minute mark. if there is fungi on the tree i will continue to re spray the tools untill the 5 minute time is up.

with a quick look at the microban does it look like it worth using or should i use bleach? is there anything that is better? what do you use to sterilize your tools?

how do you sanitize your chainsaw chain? do you wash it off afterwards? or just cut into a piece of wood that is coming off the tree anyways to get any chemical off the chain? does it matter? what is your take on it?

Sanitizing Spray Citrus | Microban24

Explore the features and benefits of Microban 24 Hour Sanitizing Spray with Citrus scent.

www.microban24.com

thank you for your time

 

[GregManning]

i have been using this stuff called Microban Disinfectant Spray, link down low to the website. i have been using this stuff for a month or so to sanitize my pruners, loppers, and chainsaw chains, and knifes in between trees. it goes on easy and takes off all the sap and all the other stuff that is sticking to the blades. i usually let it sit about a minute with the blades pointing down so that way it doesnt get into where the grease is because it will mess with the grease. the bottle says 60 seconds kills the bacteria and 5 minutes kills viruses and a couple types of fungi. the spray usually drys before the 5 minute mark. if there is fungi on the tree i will continue to re spray the tools untill the 5 minute time is up.

with a quick look at the microban does it look like it worth using or should i use bleach? is there anything that is better? what do you use to sterilize your tools?

how do you sanitize your chainsaw chain? do you wash it off afterwards? or just cut into a piece of wood that is coming off the tree anyways to get any chemical off the chain? does it matter? what is your take on it?

Sanitizing Spray Citrus | Microban24

Explore the features and benefits of Microban 24 Hour Sanitizing Spray with Citrus scent.

www.microban24.com

thank you for your time

Check out the search function on this website.
You sound to be 95% more diligent than most on this very difficult topic.
Chemical effectiveness.
Time to react.
Penetration into the debris.
etc.

 

[Rusticus]

Our main concern where I'm at is oak wilt, and sometimes fire blight. Lysol has been our main sanitizer for saws and pruners. I've found a bleach mixture rusts some of the saws and hand pruners more than I'd like. We don't take the lysol off after we spray, either; just start cutting. I haven't found too much of a gunking issue after using Lysol. Some other brands have started rusting the tools and gunking up the saw teeth. We need like a disinfectant WD-40.

When you use your stuff on knives, are you speaking of chipper knives?

 

[Mesquite]

something just clicked in my brain and i just remembered that bleach and chlorine the kind that you put in pools have the same active ingredient, sodium hypochlorite. just in different amounts. hypochlorite has a high PH and is corrosive to metal, thus the rust.

i have a knife that i use to cut the mistletoe out of trees. its meant for light grafting and pruning. we have a real problem around here with mistletoe and if you can get it all off completely flush it will not come back on the area its removed from

this knife, felco tools are the best tools of there kind

3.90 60

Grafting and pruning knife. Small, strong tool. Red nylon handle with standard alloy lining. Stainless steel blade, bevelled on one side and very curved. Right-handed tool, 57 mm blade. Suitable for corner or whip and tongue grafting.

felco.com

 

[rhodesg3]

My plant pathologist wife recommended the stuff she uses at work to me. Zerotol (hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid) at a 1:50 dilution, 70% ethanol or isopropanol, and/or 0.5% to 10% bleach to disinfect tools. Which disinfectant works best (and treatment times) are pathogen specific. Generically 15 minutes in 70% alcohol is my favorite because it's less corrosive to metal (I just need to properly oil afterwards).

For oak wilt 70% alcohol would be appropriate (I don't have any personal experience with fire blight but a quick search did list 70% alcohol as an option).

 

[JD3000]

Careful with the Zerotol, it can burn skin like a bastard when pouring it to mix

 

[ATH]

One of the leading experts on Oak Wilt is Jennifer Juzwik at the USFS. Somewhere along the way I heard her state that tool sanitization is not necessary/beneficial for Oak Wilt. But maybe I'm attributing a statement that she never said - I did a quick search and didn't find that. I do know that the oak wilt pathogen doesn't live well outside of the host. It can be hard to get positive culture tests from known positive samples because it dies pretty quick, so that may be on factor.

I suspect it is helpful with some other pests. For Fireblight, we try to concentrate that pruning later in the year when spread is less likely - but we are almost always getting calls after the tree is ravaged. If you are dealing with trees/clients where it is caught right away and you can prune out infections ASAP, that is a different game. I do either Lysol or alcohol swab after pruning suspected verticillium trees.

I suspect the Microban you posted @Mesquite is a great alternative. I'd certainly use that over bleach.

@KTSmith - any thoughts on this?

 

[Reach]

I will preface my remarks by saying that we do not sanitize our saws on a regular basis, in this area, and in our market, we do not need to.

Personally, I do not like Microban. It has too long of a half life, and from what I have read (I do not remember where) it will stay in groundwater for a long time, meaning that what you put on your saw today will end up in your well water tomorrow. Makes me wonder what it does to all the good microorganisms in the world. Maybe that’s not true, but I prefer to trust good old fashioned bleach or alcohol over a synthetic biocide.

 

[Rusticus]

One of the leading experts on Oak Wilt is Jennifer Juzwik at the USFS. Somewhere along the way I heard her state that tool sanitization is not necessary/beneficial for Oak Wilt. But maybe I'm attributing a statement that she never said - I did a quick search and didn't find that. I do know that the oak wilt pathogen doesn't live well outside of the host. It can be hard to get positive culture tests from known positive samples because it does pretty quick, so that may be on factor.

I suspect it is helpful with some other pests. For Fireblight, we try to concentrate that pruning later in the year when spread is less likely - but we are almost always getting calls after the tree is ravaged. If you are dealing with trees/clients where it is caught right away and you can prune out infections ASAP, that is a different game. I do either Lysol or alcohol swab after pruning suspected verticillium trees.

I suspect the Microban you posted @Mesquite is a great alternative. I'd certainly use that over bleach.

@KTSmith - any thoughts on this?

Specifically for oak wilt, I've heard the heavy hitters at the Texas forest service say that they see no biological reason for the fungus to survive on pruning tools and the friction alone is likely to "sanitize" the equipment enough. Though it still a widely accepted mitigation practice, it's more of a "can't hurt" kind of thing...for oak wilt. Makes me feel better when I forget.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

One of the leading experts on Oak Wilt is Jennifer Juzwik at the USFS. Somewhere along the way I heard her state that tool sanitization is not necessary/beneficial for Oak Wilt.

For about 8 years I did the climbing for Dr Juzwik's oak wilt research. During the growing season I'd meet her or her team weekly or bi-weekly to empty traps or take samples.

While doing that I got to earn sooooooo much. Including that tool sanitizing doesn't hurt but really doesn't matter. The pathogen has a very narrow criteria for where it will live. Quite fragile.

 

[Mesquite]

reach i would personally like to thank you for ruining all disinfectants including microban and Lysol. i only looked up the active chemicals in them so im sure more disinfectants have it in them. quaternary ammonium compounds aka Quats is a group of major harmful ingredients that are used as antibacterials. there is also a laundry list of other chemicals. are they good and kill bacteria or are they harmful to humans and BAD, i guess it all depends what side of the isle you stand on.

in one study the mice stopped producing offspring even months after they stopped using quats. its also can induce asthma, birth defects. i also had to look into bleach aka sodium hypochlorite and that isn't any better, inhaling chorine fumes can kill you, its corrosive and also a by produce of it causes cancer. some sources say its okay for bleach to go into water sources because its okay for the water. but it is poisonous to the animals in the water.

the only positive i could find is that the quats are registered with the EPA as a pesticide. that means to get rid of pests we can just spray disinfectants, we can kill two birds with one stone. hehe

conclusion
i am going to slow down on using disinfectants/ sanitizing chemicals and just wipe off sap or any other residue left from tree to tree. im going to look into soap or something to use when i am pruning a known tree with fungi or disease.

i have heard this stuff works good( https://www.stihlusa.com/products/oils--lubricants-and-fuels/oils-and-lubricants/bladecleaner/ ) now i just need to look into solvents. LOL down another rabbit hole, the never ending!
its been a real eye opener. thanks reach

 

[ATH]

Simple Green is supposed to be readily biodegradable and "safe". It does a great job getting sap off of saws. It is not a disinfectant... However, I suspect, if we clean equipment transmission of any tree pathogens would be extremely low to non-existent.

 

[ghostice]

Cross post to an older thread on sterilization/ disinfection of tools.

My feeling is good luck trying to sterilize or even disinfect a chainsaw . . . especially fungal spores like black knot on Prunus

 

[evo]

If I recall wd-40 has some disinfectant properties

 

[JD3000]

Simple Green is supposed to be readily biodegradable and "safe". It does a great job getting sap off of saws. It is not a disinfectant... However, I suspect, if we clean equipment transmission of any tree pathogens would be extremely low to non-existent.

Surprisingly good cleaner

 

[JD3000]

If I recall wd-40 has some disinfectant properties

And toxic to other cells as well, plants included?

 

[evo]

And toxic to other cells as well, plants included?

Aren’t most petroleum products? I’m pretty certain I’ve seen wilting on cuts with ‘wet’ wd-40, but I always give it a good wipe now.
But most all anti microbials are toxic to most cells.