# General Topics > Vivarium, Terrarium & Enclosure Discussion >  DIY Leaf Litter?

## elly

I have a live oak tree in my yard and I wonder whether I could make the leaves terrarium safe. Anyone have any experience soaking and baking them, getting them hot enough to kill parasites without setting them on fire? I'm also not entirely sure a frog wouldn't try to eat the leaves.

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## Eli

I really think you are just better off buying the leaf litter. You don't save that much money by making your own and its just a hassle. I wouldn't take the risk

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## bill

I agree with Eli. It is possible to process it yourself, but for a few bucks you can get leaf litter that is already processed and safe.  :Smile: 


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

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## MatthewM1

Idk I say go for it personally. I ordered leaf litter from a reputable supplier and it quite literally looked like they were just scooping it off the ground and sending it off. It was full of insects, a spider or 2. Acorns, sticks, couple small rocks. Nothing terrible but still was a bit thrown off when I opened the packaging and found all that.

Boil the leaves/ soak in hot water. Bake @ 250 for 20-30 minutes.

If done this with leaf litter and wood/bark from out doors with no issues.

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## Amy

I have done the same as Matthew.  However...I bought leaf litter last time when making an order of other stuff.  It was much more efficient to do it that way and I will do it that way from now on.

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## s6t6nic6l

fill a large bowl with leaves, microwave for two minutes, empty contents into fresh cold water to rinse, top up viv floor.

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## Paul

> fill a large bowl with leaves, microwave for two minutes, empty contents into fresh cold water to rinse, top up viv floor.


I don't recommend this as a valid processing solution. 

If insecticides are sprayed in your area that there might be trace amounts of it on or in the leaves. My city sprays for mosquitos regularly. So using leaves from my big oak is out of the question as far as I am concerned.

If you gather some leafs up from outside and want to use them you should boil them in plain ole tap water for 30 mins to an hour. Stir occasionally lol. Then you can either put them in a bag to air dry for a few days to a week or you can speed things along and bake the leaves in the oven at 225 for 45 mins to an hour. This has the added benefit of making your whole house smell like a hot muggy forest  :Smile: 


If you bought leaves from a reputable site and it had acorns, spiders, and other bugs than I think calling them reputable comes into question. If that were me I would return the order to them and demand a full refund. Josh's Frogs, Neherp, and Black Jungle all have great leave liter and it is very very cheap to get a ton of it. Yes I feel silly for paying for leaves. No I am not willing to risk my $1000 in frogs to save $20.

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## MatthewM1

> I don't recommend this as a valid processing solution. 
> 
> If insecticides are sprayed in your area that there might be trace amounts of it on or in the leaves. My city sprays for mosquitos regularly. So using leaves from my big oak is out of the question as far as I am concerned.
> 
> If you gather some leafs up from outside and want to use them you should boil them in plain ole tap water for 30 mins to an hour. Stir occasionally lol. Then you can either put them in a bag to air dry for a few days to a week or you can speed things along and bake the leaves in the oven at 225 for 45 mins to an hour. This has the added benefit of making your whole house smell like a hot muggy forest 
> 
> 
> If you bought leaves from a reputable site and it had acorns, spiders, and other bugs than I think calling them reputable comes into question. If that were me I would return the order to them and demand a full refund. Josh's Frogs, Neherp, and Black Jungle all have great leave liter and it is very very cheap to get a ton of it. Yes I feel silly for paying for leaves. No I am not willing to risk my $1000 in frogs to save $20.



the seller is in that list  :Wink: 

I just picked through it myself. I was happy with one type of litter I ordered but disappointed with the one I described above. I absolutely agree if you live in an area that sprays for mosquitos that it would not be worth it to collect it yourself.

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## s6t6nic6l

my routine isn't "a valid processing routine", it is my way of killing the "attachees" on the leaves then cleaning them. I have the sense, like most I would assume, to collect leaf litter from woods away from pesticides/traffic/dog walkers etc.

I would not even contemplate going through any processing suggestions that have been given with leaves from a city as that would be irresponsible.

I have leaf munchers in my viv, so my methods account for this.

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## Brian

I collect magnolia leaves fresh off the ground when they fall, rinse them off outside** then boil them for 20-30 minutes. I then let them air dry for a few weeks to avoid accidentally igniting them in the oven. They last for years stored in a dry cardboard box, so I've just been processing a big batch every few years as needed.

As a bonus, having a big pile on hand gives me 'fall coloured' leaves year round to use as photo props/backdrops.


**they often harbour spiders and such that it doesn't seem fair to toss them straight into the boiling pot

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