Baking Pine Cones To Kill Bugs
To thoroughly clean your pine cones you will need to first soak them in a water vinegar solution.
Baking pine cones to kill bugs. Here s how to get rid of those gross bugs. Get rid of the bugs in your pinecones by baking them in the oven. We suggest for five. This will kill any possible bugs dead at 140 the mold dead at 140 mildew cannot thrive above 115 and anything else that may be growing in there.
The solution will help kill bugs as well as loosen and remove any dirt and debris. Place the pine cones in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cones are fully opened and the sap has melted. Once they are finished soaking they will be ready to bake. Spread just the pine cones on a baking sheet seriously you have to remove any leaves or needles or things are gonna get ugly.
The other way to remove the sap although a little more difficult and and not as effective is to scrub them with a brush after soaking them and water and vinegar. The amount of water and vinegar you ll need depends on how many pine cones you want to clean at one time. So baking them doesn t exactly remove the sap but it melts it into the pine cone and leaves it smooth and shiny and not at all sticky. Bake your pine cones for an hour to an hour and a half or until they have re opened.
There will be a natural sheen or gloss from the melted sap. Then let your pine cones air dry for two to three days. To ensure the pine cones are fully submerged place something heavy on top of them like a dinner plate. Mix two parts warm water with one part regular white vinegar and place pine cones in the solution for about 20 30 minutes.
And i am too impatient to. I tried soaking them for only 10 minutes and they hadn t closed up too much but as soon as i put them in the oven they closed completely. I have been trying to sanitize pine cones but using the vinegar and water method soaking them for 30 minutes followed by baking them anywhere from 200 to 300 degrees for up to an hour and a half. With this easy hack safely baking pinecones in the oven gets rid of critters that might be living in them and helps them open a.
A quick dunk in some warm water mixed with vinegar should also do the trick to keep pesky bugs out of your pine cone projects this season. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 200. Place pine cones on tray and bake for 90 minutes. Bake for about 1 5 to 2 hours with the oven door open i know i know.
Remove from oven and let them rest for a couple days before cutting or using in crafts. Do not leave the oven unsupervised during this time be alert for smoke or fire.