Wood and mites; any WOODWORKERS out there?

[6chickens in St. Charles]

I have an old rocker chair which I adore, it lives outside by the chickens. For a few years we've treated the chickens with dust for mites and had actually washed the chickens with Adams Flea and Tick dog shampoo, and we sprinkle the poison dust in the chicken's favorite dustbathing spots, and we have clean healthy chickens.

But this being mid-Illinois between a wooded creek and a river, this property has always had mites. My favorite chair has mites and they itch.

If I wash the old wooden chair with the Adams Flea and Tick dog shampoo, will the old wood be OK? I have rubbed the powder permethrin dust into it, but it washes away. I don't want to paint the chair because I can't stand peely paint, the chair is outside, it is very weathered. It has lasted longer, in its naked wood state, than every plastic and nylon chair we have ever had.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[chicmom]

Why don't you stain the chair.....No peeling and you can see the nice grain of the wood, plus I'm sure mites won't like the stain.....

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

I wonder if any stain or oil is naturally mite resistant? Things that make me go hmmmmm........

 

[chicmom]

6chickens in St. Charles :

I wonder if any stain or oil is naturally mite resistant? Things that make me go hmmmmm........

I wish I knew the answer to that......

hmmmmmmm​

 

[chicmom]

The reason why I mentioned staining the chair, is because I just powerwashed my deck on the front of my house, then I stained it. IT LOOKS FANTASTIC! Seriously, the deck was faded looking from the sun, and it looked kind of like some areas had a green moss or mildew growing on it. I was afraid it was starting to rot.

Well, once I power washed it, I was truly amazed. Hey, maybe you can power wash your chair. That would literally blow the mites and their eggs right off. We just used a home powerwasher that a friend gave us.

Then I stained it the color "redwood" with stain I bought from Lowes. I am sooo sooo happy with the results. The wood looks new again, and I didn't realize how dirty it had gotten. It's no where near getting ready to rot....OH HAPPY DAY!

I'll bet if you power wash that chair and stain it, you'll be shocked at how pretty it looks!

Sharon

 

[Lollipop]

Stain probably will kill them, but spraying with WD40 will also. Just depends on how much work ya wanna put into it. Either way you`re gonna see them come back after the chair weathers a bit more, so you`ll hafta do it again.......Pop

 

[flyboy129]

If you are in a dry spell, 2-3 days would work. Make sure the wood is dried good, and brush(liberally) boiled lindseed oil on it. A day in the sun and it will soak in great. I'm guessing since it is used to repel wood munching bugs, it would probably drown the mites. Wipe off any excess with a clean lint-free rag at the end of the day.

 

[ladycutter]

I wonder if you could rub Diatomaceous Earth on the chair then let it sit for a day or so and then wipe it off?

It will kill most mites and lice (I use it on my chickens, goats, dogs and under the bedding as well) and it is great for killing fleas as it both dehydrates them and pokes holes in anything soft bodied (most mites and lice but not all - pig lice are hard)and it will stay in the cracks and crevices as well, hopefully keeping them from returning.

..just be sure and use it carefully, you don't want to inhale the powder and it can get dusty very quickly so move slowly with it and wipe it on with a paper towel or rag, etc. also I would get food grade since it will dust up some and it is much safer than the kind they sell for pools. Then once it rubbed off a bit you could use the boiled linseed oil to give the wood the moisture it probably needs after all this time in the elements.

Also, the DE will kill worms in your soil so don't apply it over your garden area but near the chicken coop the worms are probably mostly gone already!!! It is safe if chickens eat it (food grade only!) and many people eat it and feed it to pets and livestock as a natural wormer also.

Just a thought...

 

[hydroswiftrob]

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This would be my vote as well.

 

[duckinnut]

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