Wood chip issue

[Ruralhideaway]

So my wood chip got brought me a load of chips yesterday, earlier than I'd expected. After shoveling a huge snow plow pile out of the way I was happy to be getting it for, oh about a hundred projects.

As the nice fresh bright chips dumped, boom giant black MOLD cloud rolls out along with some dark gray chips that are clearly not fresh and have molded. Not what I needed to breathe. But sadly they are all over the top layer of my chips.

Can I just carefully remove the moldy ones and use them where it won't matter, salvaging the rest for my run? I appreciate any advice here as I'm pretty mold paranoid.

These are maple if it matters. Thanks!

 

[tigger19687]

I hope you didn't pay for it ??!!

i hate mold, and if I paid for it I would have made them take it back only because i would have no where to put it

 

[Ruralhideaway]

They were deeply discounted. If I'd known about the mold I'd have passed. Was a little bit at the front of the truck only so I couldn't see it. I can use it in some mud holes so that's ok. Just wondering if the rest will be safe.

 

[TalkALittle]

A couple of things about mold.
Not all black-colored mold is "black mold" (the one you hear scary stories about).

The reason Stachybotrys black mold (the bad one) is so bad is that it can produce mycotoxins in large quantities that cause allergies and respiratory inflammation.

But other molds produce mycotoxins, too, most at lower amounts than black mold.

Stachybotrys grows best in high cellulose/low nitrogen environments which is great news for chicken owners using wood chips. Chicken poop tends to make the environment inhospitable for black mold.

Personally, I'd scoop out the obvious moldy chips and use it in an area far from the coop that gets direct sunlight. Then I'd go ahead and use the rest with no worries.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

A couple of things about mold.
Not all black-colored mold is "black mold" (the one you hear scary stories about).

The reason Stachybotrys black mold (the bad one) is so bad is that it can produce mycotoxins in large quantities that cause allergies and respiratory inflammation.

But other molds produce mycotoxins, too, most at lower amounts than black mold.

Stachybotrys grows best in high cellulose/low nitrogen environments which is great news for chicken owners using wood chips. Chicken poop tends to make the environment inhospitable for black mold.

Personally, I'd scoop out the obvious moldy chips and use it in an area far from the coop that gets direct sunlight. Then I'd go ahead and use the rest with no worries.

Thanks for the info. I spread the stuff that I could separate in a spot with sun and no chickens. I also kind of spread the top layer that was so so around in the sun a bit, thinking the direct sun and air might kill the remainder.