cross contamination

[imagineero]

Had a lady ask me about my cleaning routine on my saws today (hand and chainsaws) as she said she'd had a guy once use a saw on a diseased tree then use it on another tree and the tree caught the disease.

I had to admit I didn't pay any particular attention to it, unless the saw is really dirty, and she said she didn't want me working on her trees. Does anybody out there actually do this? Is it true you can spread diseases this way, or was this lady winding me up?

Thanks,
SHaun

 

[DangerTree]

What did the idiot tell the lady ` I just used my saw on a diseased tree sorry Your tree has Herpes.

 

[DangerTree]

Ànd yes you can spread fungus and spores on filthy tools and to a lesser extent on hands.

 

[imagineero]

both the trees were in her yard - one in the front and one in the back. She thinks it jumped the gap via his saw. I guess its not out of the question... but seems more probable that it moved via water, birds, insects etc. I dont really know enough about it to have an opinion.

Shaun

 

[DangerTree]

The question is what moved spores from conk travel by air but could be transported by a saw or a bee or a squirrel. Fungi can be spread by anything but require proper conditions to grow. The (disease type ) will influence the likely vector. So unless the lady knows what transported then who is irrelevant. But if you are doing tree maintenance and fruit tree pruning you should use alcohol on you tools periodically to prevent being a vector.

 

[imagineero]

thanks DT,
I was wondering what to use. Wiping down a silky with alcohol shouldn't be difficult and will give that extra little bit of assurance. Do you keep a chain aside for use specially on pruning also? I guess it could be left in a jar of alcohol without any trouble, and the alcohol might come in handy after a long days work

Shaun

 

[derwoodii]

A bit of info on a bad Oz pathogen here.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=153497

My experience down here with a similar nasty http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/plant_i...laria_root_rot is to wipe ya tools with or put your saw bar in a bucket of metho spirits..

Its the disposal of the tree debris or our chip mulch that left a great hole in the hygiene process. Yes we had clean tools however then carried contaminate tree mulch away to other sites with it blowin in the wind and then would dump it in a stock pile or parkland. In the end I found a dump site that was isolated and no reuse.

 

[DangerTree]

Yep Armillaria and many other types of ailment can be transported by damn near anything that moves. let`s not forget pests and insects. Burning is the best form of disposal and alcohol is the industry standard for sterilization.

 

[sgreanbeans]

When I am working on a tree that is infected, I do clean my gear, don't want to bring it home to my trees! is it effective, who knows, but why take the risk.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

10% bleach solution is the standard we use. Yeah, it's rough on steel, but it's rougher on viral and bacterial pathogens. Spray it on, liberally, and wait ten to thirty minutes. Hose down with clean water, and you're good to go. If your ropes are contaminated, you can get anti-viral/bacterial wipes and use them, although I chuck any ropes or rope segments that I feel are contaminated through contact with new cuts in diseased trees. That doesn't happen often. Alcohol will not kill hardier pathogens that bleach will knock out.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

Yep Armillaria and many other types of ailment can be transported by damn near anything that moves. let`s not forget pests and insects. Burning is the best form of disposal and alcohol is the industry standard for sterilization.

Alcohol is not a sterilization medium.

 

[treeclimber101]

10% bleach solution is the standard we use. Yeah, it's rough on steel, but it's rougher on viral and bacterial pathogens. Spray it on, liberally, and wait ten to thirty minutes. Hose down with clean water, and you're good to go. If your ropes are contaminated, you can get anti-viral/bacterial wipes and use them, although I chuck any ropes or rope segments that I feel are contaminated through contact with new cuts in diseased trees. That doesn't happen often. Alcohol will not kill hardier pathogens that bleach will knock out.

Alright fine you sometimes discard your ropes , do you charge the client for new gear... Seems like boots lanyards and pants would have to go aswell , you can't feel confident stopping with the rope , I mean where does it end the saw , the bar kerf can carry dirty chips ...

 

[pdqdl]

The question is what moved spores from conk travel by air but could be transported by a saw or a bee or a squirrel. Fungi can be spread by anything but require proper conditions to grow. The (disease type ) will influence the likely vector. So unless the lady knows what transported then who is irrelevant. But if you are doing tree maintenance and fruit tree pruning you should use alcohol on you tools periodically to prevent being a vector.

My understanding is that clorox is a vastly better disinfectant for fungi & bacterial pathogens than alcohol. Cheaper, too.

 

[DangerTree]

Yes bleach is much better I do use it for bulk cleaning but for fruit trees I use alcohol it's less nasty.

 

[ATH]

Lysol works too.

The times I have the greatest need for sanitation are:
1) After pruning elm (infected or not...when I'm done, I wipe the saws down as much as I can)
2) When pruning phytophtora-infected (or suspected) maple. Depending on the circumstance, I'll prune between each cut. Definitely when moving from one tree to the next.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

Alright fine you sometimes discard your ropes ,do you charge the client for new gear... Seems like boots lanyards and pants would have to go aswell , you can't feel confident stopping with the rope , I mean where does it end the saw , the bar kerf can carry dirty chips ...

The cost of doing business is always included in my price.

Boots get hosed down and disinfected if I'm on a sick-tree job, pants get washed. My lanyard gets wiped down with anti-viral wipes, although it rarely contacts a new cut. The sawdust is cleaned off before the wipe-down. The bar gets the 10% bleach.

 

[Nailsbeats]

I get the going through the motions of sterilization, but the actual effectiveness I find to be laughable. Kind of like Al Gore and global warming, a legendary myth designed to get people to spend money based on anxiety.

Like 101 said, where does it end. Unless you send all your equipment to a lab to get certified sterile then you haven't done enough. Oh yeah, that 14' tall Spruce over there, that'll now cost $3,000, cleaned up of course.

Smoke and mirrors my friends. The Liberal American way.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

I get the going through the motions of sterilization, but the actual effectiveness I find to be laughable. Kind of like Al Gore and global warming, a legendary myth designed to get people to spend money based on anxiety.

Like 101 said, where does it end. Unless you send all your equipment to a lab to get certified sterile then you haven't done enough. Oh yeah, that 14' tall Spruce over there, that'll now cost $3,000, cleaned up of course.

Smoke and mirrors my friends. The Liberal American way.

Sorry to say, but you are wrong. 10% bleach has proven kill-power on bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens. Go ahead and laugh, but hopefully you won't be working on diseased trees and then laugh your way to some healthy ones only to pass on spores, cells or viral particles that subsequently infect those trees.

 

[DangerTree]

He is right bleach kills all but you are kinda right too. Many of the bad things are spread through the soil and air and no matter what we do trees will still be infected. With birch conck is a natural thing anyway. It is part of the normal biological process as in many other trees. But like we fight disease in people so we do with trees.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

He is right bleach kills all but you are kinda right too. Many of the bad things are spread through the soil and air and no matter what we do trees will still be infected. With birch conck is a natural thing anyway. It is part of the normal biological process as in many other trees. But like we fight disease in people so we do with trees.

There is no denying that natural infective processes will always be with us via airborne pathogen dispersal by the wind, living vectors, root grafting, etc. What is inexcusable is to not try and limit being a vector, yourself, by not taking care to disinfect your tools after working on an infected tree and before starting on healthy ones. Every little bit helps, as it's been said.