BlackDragon Posted February 3, 2008 (edited) Hey'all. Just wondering if anyone out there knows of a wood tratement (or recipe of) to help repel white ants and preserve hardwood sleepers? Ie natural oils ect... Ive just had a load delivered (not easy to get hardwood sleepers these days) and want to treat them if possible. I couldnt bare to make garden bed from CCA treated pine, that stuff is nasty, so i opted for hardwood. Our backyard hasnt had much of a white ant infestation(next door is riddled) but as we live in a creek-line Im a little concerened that the little buggers may make house in my sleepers. Any thoughts from people with experience in the subject would be greatly appreciated. Bd. Edited February 3, 2008 by BlackDragon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Øskorei Posted February 4, 2008 A mate of mine treats his sleepers with spray-on degreaser which stops regular ants from making their way into his plants. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted February 4, 2008 regular ants are white-ant antagonists. i have no idea what organics you could use but i don't think CCA is too bad unless you are touching it all the time? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackDragon Posted February 4, 2008 After much searching i found a few products:) Tung oil would ave been my prefered natural protection. Cant find it anywhere as pure tung oil, not mixed with resins, solvents ect. I found a brand called "Organoil" but no one in the area stocked the particular product i needed. It was a blend of tung oil, citrus oils and some other pine oil i think.. I was then put onto a new Diggers product called "Eco In-Ground Timber Protection". Its a replacement for the ol creasote, man that stuff was nasty! and its quite good. Its non-toxic, organic certified and easy to apply. I found it quite good. No nasty skin reactions or stinking like diesel for a day... Yippee!! Bd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted February 4, 2008 'stinking like diesel' now that's a bit kind don't you think? i remember getting creosote in my eye, it was great. what is creosote made from anyway? glad you found this product, do they guarantee any particular termite-free duration? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlackDragon Posted February 4, 2008 I think creosote was a type of bitumus hydrocarbon, plus other volotile nasties. Check wiki here I had a very bad run with creosote as a kid. We had many houses with back or front yards that always needed retaining walls put in (or my dad was obsessed with sleeper retaining walls, either way!) I was the designated "creosoter" painting the crap onto the sleepers. Bloody dozens if not hundereds of them. It used to give me massive headaches, really reactive skin alergies when it got on your skin and your would feel like was burning for days after. Nasty stuff. This new product doesnt really say much about ant/termite resistance, i remember how well creosote worked, and this prod seems similar just no where near as nasty. I cant find any info on the web of from Diggers. In the end i realized you cant really kill off whiteants without harsh chems, so im just happy to form a protective coat and make their job harder!! Bd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
