# Sticks or Wood



## FeralWolf

Are sticks ok to place in a mouse house? I feel like bugs from outside on the stick might not be the best idea, but I always see you guys using them, and they look fun.

How can I make sure there are no bugs?

Are some woods/sticks better?

Are some sticks poisonous?

Thanks


----------



## Stina

Hardwoods are fine...avoid woods like pine and cedar that have harmful oils. Just bake the wood at 200 degrees for a couple hours and that should kill any nasties


----------



## zany_toon

One of the members on here suggested when I asked this to check what woods are safe for birds (parrots etc) as the same woods are safe for mice. Lilac wood is apparently safe for birds so I'm going to use some of that when our lilac tree gets trimmed  One thing to check though is that no chemicals or pesticides have been used near the trees.


----------



## Anne

i use branches from an appletree, and pour them over with boiling wather a couple of times before giving them to the mice.

Does anyone know if it is ok to give those to the mice with lefes on?


----------



## geordiesmice

No Leaves off Apple wont harm Mice Ann washing them is fine,when I put branches in for the Spinys I normally strip off the leaves only because they make a mess, I dont collect them from the road side because of the traffic fumes theres a couple of Bramleys grow wild near me and I use the branches too.I used too have 5 over 80 year old apple trees in my garden with over a 4ft diameter trunk I would be using the twigs for my mice.Wild mice can kill young apple trees if they chew the bark of the trees its called ring barking (thats how you kill a tree if you dont like it lol)


----------



## Cait

I've used hazel and apple for the harvest mice and both are safe. The apple is good for chewing apparently, whereas hazel is good for climbing :lol: I think the woods from trees whose fruit has stones are NOT safe though - I'm sure a quick Google will confirm.


----------



## geordiesmice

Are Harvest Mice easy too breed MouseBreeder?
I found this list of safe and toxic woods, You are indeed right about the stone fruits MouseBreeder.I was surprised that Birch is a toxic wood.

Safe woods:

•apple 
•arbutus 
•ash 
•aspen 
•bamboo 
•blackberrry 
•blackcurrant 
•cholla 
•cottonwood 
•crabapple 
•dogwood 
•elm 
•grapevine 
•hawthorn 
•hazelnut 
•kiwi 
•magnolia 
•manzanita 
•mulberry 
•pear 
•pecan 
•pine - kiln-dried white 
•poplar 
•quince 
•rose hip 
•sycamore 
•willow (but not white willow)

Toxic Woods

•almond 
•apricot 
•beech 
•birch 
•black locust 
•black lotus 
•blackwood 
•box elder 
•buckthorn 
•cashew 
•cedar 
•cherry 
•chesnut 
•china berry Chinese snake tree chokeberry 
•citrus woods - orange, lemon, grapefruit, etc. 
•cypress 
•ebony 
•elderberry 
•eucalyptus 
•fir 
•ginkgo 
•hemlock 
•holly 
•honey locust 
•hydrangea 
•juniper 
•kumquat 
•laurel 
•mahogany 
•mango 
•manufactured/glued woods like plywood or fiberboard 
•maple 
•mesquite 
•myrtle 
•nectarine 
•oak 
•oleander 
•peach 
•pine - fresh, pressure treated, red -- kiln dried is thought to be safe 
•pinecones 
•pistachio 
•plum 
•redwood 
•sandalwood 
•sequoia 
•spruce 
•teak 
•walnut 
•weeping fig 
•white willow 
•yew


----------



## FeralWolf

Thanks! This helps alot. I have 8 young apple trees in my front yard, so I am good to go!


----------



## geordiesmice

Dont prune the blossom buds off though


----------



## Cait

geordiesmice said:


> Are Harvest Mice easy to breed MouseBreeder?


I have found them easy to breed whereas others have found them very difficult. I think it depends on getting the set up right for them - once you've done that you're well away  They are definitely entertaining to watch.


----------



## Anne

Being from denmark I dont know what this sort is in english, but in latin it is Corylus avellana L. var. contorta Bean (maybe you can google it for pictures?). Is that safe? I think they would find it fun.


----------



## geordiesmice

Corylus Anne is Hazel the var you mention has the contorted branches twisted Hazel is the common name and it should be fine with mice.Dormice live in Hazel and it is a true mouse.


----------



## Anne

cool thank you  My mum has some of these bushes and they look like they could be very fun for the mice!


----------

