Do yourself a favor, purchase a set of API rapid rails or something similar and throw away those steps. They are very dangerous.

I agree use the strap on steps better for the tree and safer.

After having a few fold up steps break on me I quit using them and went to  cordless drill and 3/8in bolts and love the system along with my tree hopper belt.  Very easy and quick to install the bolts and hang a stand, but mostly now I use stick ladders since my landowner does not like holes in his trees, but when drilling a tree is not a problem I will quickly use the drill/bolt system and can drill/step and hang a stand in about 10mins or so.
I gave away or threw away all my left over screw in steps!

I have used hundreds and hundreds over the years and I have had one that was in a giant oak snap after being in the tree for about 8 years, never had any other problems. It is hard to say, could of happened after two days, was it a fluke? No clue, still using trees with steps that have been in 15 or more years and some are just a stub about 3"s sticking out. I now use sky-hook lags and hang on steps. I take them out and re-screw back in every 2 years as I would not be able to get them out if left in longer than that. It is up to you in the end and do what makes you feel safe. Shawn

I take the steps out of the tree at the end of the season. I also don't screw them into the same holes the next season. I use Cranford EZY Climb steps because the points are sharper for easier installation and the steel is stronger than other brands.

buy a nice climber and use a harness. no tree damage and no stolen stands.

Also, if you leave a step in the tree and can't get it out, you're costing the logger/mill a bunch of money on their saw blades, or worse...

don't drive, screw or hammer ANYTHING into a tree you don't own. the end result can never be good.

I worked in a sawmill when I was a teen and have seen first hand what metal objects left in trees can do.

my opinion, there should be a nationwide law against putting (and or) leaving  objects in trees you don't own.

I always get permission from landowners to use tree steps and to prune limbs. The private properites I hunt aren't cut for anything but firewood, with the exception of black walnut logs, so I don't use walnut trees for hanging stands. The screw holes heal up quickly. I don't think I've killed a tree in the 35 years or so I've been using screw in steps. I believe sugar maples are tapped year after year to make syrup without killing the trees. I have rope-on steps for a tree where I really want to hang a stand, but I don't have landowner permission to use screw-in steps.  

I avoid treestand theft by using EZY Climb detachable steps for the bottom 6 steps. I carry the 6 steps in my fanny pack and attach them to the pre-installed screws as I climb up to my stand.

Ive been using screw in steps for years, buy them by the case. I leave them in the tree's for years. On my last sit of the season, I turn them out 1.5 turns on hard wood, 2.5 turns on soft wood. I leave em upside down and that lets me know I have adjusted them when I go out in the spring to scout. Anybody "throwing out" screw in steps, pm me.   :D