GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post

15-09-2003, 10:32 AM

(Nick Maclaren) wrote in
:

Aside from that after two years the boxes need a little more paint
applying - insects have started to eat the inside of them (just a
little). Is there anything (safe) that I can paint them with that
might last more than 2 years, or is 2 years when in contacts with
moist compost for 9 months of the year good (I empty them out over
winter).

Not much. I don't know what the new "safe" treatments contain but,
if they work, I doubt they are safe. What I have heard is that they
give limited protection in return for being not obviously dangerous
to humans.

The 'safe' one I use on my rabbit house seems to be basically a coloured
semi-transparent acrylic coating, rather than anything that sinks in and
acts as a poison (though a non-poisonous coating is what I wanted on wood
that will get chewed, really).

I also used it on my pond surround. The pond surround will need another
coat next year, after a bit over 2 years wear.

The rabbit house needs re-doing already after only a few months use: their
claws (which are not all that sharp) seem to be scraping the treatment off
the wood. :-((( Luckily, though, they don't seem to like the taste of it.

Victoria