I have some soil i used to grow a plant and there were bugs in it, what can I do ahead of time to get rid of these bugs? Should i bake it in the oven? Or pour boiling water through it a few times? I dont want to make the soil useless, but most soils have bugs in them from the start and I want to take care of this quickly.
Heat kills everything in food, soil anything. 165 kills any known food pathogen....dunno for soil though.
I recently bought a batch of infested fox farm soil. I would recommend finding a big dinner plate and spreading out the soil and microwaving it for a few minutes. This also kills any nutrients that are in it though if it is organic soil. But that was okay for seedlings because some say FF can be too hot for seedlings. So yea, I microwaved mine, then I froze it over night and I think 99.99999% of everything in there was dead, and still nothing after a good week later. Really though, I went out and got a new fresh bag of soil, and it is sooo much better and easier. The 12 bucks I paid will keep me set for a while, and it is fresh and clean.
Microwaving and baking your soil is often ineffective and can be quite stinky. Cooked soil produces a smell that can linger in your home and possessions. Take your soil outside in a waterproof container and apply boiling water. Just add enough to get the soil damp. Then seal the container tightly. I suggest a plastic bin of some sort. Smaller = better because the secondary process you are creating is steam sterilization. Shake the container around a bit to help the process along. If you use a round container (like a 5 gallon bucket with a secure lock-lid) you can roll the container around. But to be honest, quality soil should not contain bugs or impurities such as weed seeds and biological waste products. If you bought quality product that was infected, it may have happened in the store due to being shelved near less-quality goods. I'd buy from a different store next time, just to see if it helps. I'd invest in a new bag from your local garden center or hydro store. Get something from an organics line, and if the nutrient mix is good you may not even need that many fertilizers. It is less work and will probrably produce better results compared to what you have been working with. I would never recommend soil from outdoors in your garden. There are many varieties of fungal infections that can devastate your plant(s) in a short amount of time.