Polyurethane

[DawnSuiter]

Do you think that polyurethane would protect wood from bug infestations, like mites?

My Lowe's has a clearance on some Cabothane for floors (Cabot brand) for $11 a gallon.......

 

[dichotomymom]

It might but I'd be more inclined to use linseed oil. Safe for chickens and is a natural protectant.

 

[gsim]

If it is the floor, why not clean and dry it and glue down linoleum? Works well for me with 24 chooks. If other wood, yes, to seal it would likely help. So too would caulking it at all seams. I caulked my seams all around the edge of the floor, even tho I put linoleum down before I framed the side walls. Figured no hiding place for bugs and also seals out water if I hose out the coop before replacing litter.

 

[DawnSuiter]

Thanks gsim, I'm referring to perches though and some walls/posts etc.

My coops don't really have walls, well one does have partial walls, that same one is the only one with a "floor" in it.

we'll be putting down concrete in the permanent coops this summer... well a rock/chip version anyway. Then we can also hose/bleach

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Mites don't infest wood as such, though roost mites (specifically, and *only* roost mites) do hide in cracks and crevices in the coop during daytime so if you have a roost mite problem it is valuable to seal up any little roughnesses and cracks in the wood. Polyurethane is not a wonderful crack/crevice filler, but enough coats will do it if you need to. (my preference would be a program of sanding rough spots, caulking/spackling large voids, then priming *well* on dry wood followed by any additional paint coats you might need to seal cracks. Eventually the paint may flake or peel and re-create hidey holes for roost mites, but if you've done it right in the first place this should not be for a very loooong time)

Mostly what polyurethane will do is improve wood's resistance to dampness and rot, which in some circumstances is quite valuable and in other circumstances not so essential (or better done with paint)

If you are trying to treat an existing mite problem, slapping polyurethane all over everything would probably help kill things hiding in crevices, although not necessarily any better than some other options e.g. oil.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[DawnSuiter]

Thank you Pat, your always one of the voices of reason around here

I had images of these mites, chewing into the wood somehow and residing deep within the grain.

I can handle cracks & crevices no problem.

I'm trying to keep the Northern Fowl Mites GONE from my coops, two of them seem to get re-infested. There is also a mouse/rat problem in those coops, and I believe my original infestation came from suddenly killing hundreds of mice over the late summer with poison. I assume the mites just moved to a new host and my chickens were right there. We're working on the mouse population without poison now and wanted to do all we could with the coops too.

I'll stick with the normal treatments, and try some linseed oil if I can find it.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Northern Fowl mites are not going to have been living on mice, though. They cannot complete their life cycle except with *bird* blood to eat (drink? whatever). It is probably coincidence, IMO.

Likeliest there are crevices that you've not quite gotten to, and a thorough slathering with "something" should do the trick -- don't forget to remove all the bedding and do the floor and nestbox floor and walls too, and personally I would not put that bedding back in the coop as there may well be a few mites in *it* as well.

I had a reinfestation problem with northern fowl mites for a long time, myself, and finally came to the conclusion that they were escaping in the roo's tailfeathers which (being long) I was not really treating well when dusting. Since I started dusting the whole length of his (and everyone else's) tailfeathers, not just the base of the feathers and the skin, I have -- knock wood -- not seen any mites back. Worth trying anyhow.

Finally, wild birds can also carry northern fowl mites; sorry, I forget the details of your setup, is it possible for sparrows or whatever to get into those two coops' runs?

Good luck, have fun (well, insofar as mites are fun

),

Pat

 

[DawnSuiter]

Well, thanks again. I got that bright idea from all the NFM literature... it says that they can live on the mice & rats and since the incidents coincided, it seemed logical to me. So.. maybe, but maybe NOT is all I can really gather.

But it's important to know the truth on those topics, or at least realize that there is some room for error in all the obvious conclusions.

It's entirely possible they are interacting with wild birds, it's quite populated here in that regard, and all the chickens get to go out in the yards at some point each week. It's also possible they are coming into the coops as NONE are protected in that regard. All the coops are close to the house so we see everything all the time, no one has tried to make a nest or move into the coops, but that doesn't exclude occasional visits or perhaps RECON missions to check the place out.

Also... when the infestation happened, we were not prepared nor doing ANYTHING preventative in that regard either. BUT NOW... NOW, I have an arsenal at my disposal...

Premise Spray for EVERYTHING walls, sand etc, .25% powder for the chickens & nests, 5% powder for the ground/sand, perches & poop boards
Eprinex for the obvious, internal/external parasites, flea bath (permethrin) for quick kill & a spray (pyrethrin, the natural stuff) to alternate and not leave toxic residue.

I am one of those who has the OPEN coops... 4 posts & chicken wire walls FOR THE MOST PART. I also use course sand or river sand in all my coops as bedding. We will be adding chip concrete floors to the dirt runs this spring/summer for easier cleaning & hosing down.