The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Shropgirl on September 09, 2019, 09:19:55 am

Title: remove smell of creosote from chicken shed
Post by: Shropgirl on September 09, 2019, 09:19:55 am
We had a bad infestation of red mite in our chicken shed, so on advice we stripped it out and painted it with creosote.  It seems to have done the trick but despite being open for nearly 2 weeks the smell is really strong and we can't put the chickens back. Any ideas how to get rid of the smell?   We keep the doors open for most of the day but we're in the UK and the weather is getting very damp so I don't want the shed to get damp as well as smelly.  I looked online and somebody suggested bowls of white vinegar.  Has anybody tried this?
Title: Re: remove smell of creosote from chicken shed
Post by: twizzel on September 09, 2019, 02:03:49 pm
My house took a month or so to smell normal again
Title: Re: remove smell of creosote from chicken shed
Post by: henchard on September 09, 2019, 05:06:01 pm
Personally I'd just put the chickens back in. Creosote is detectable by the human nose at very low concentrations. The danger with creosote is that it is potentially carcinogenic if you come into contact with it (mostly getting liquid creosote on skin). Just ventilate as much as you can once they are back in. As far as I know nothing died from a smell; just the compounds of gases that may sometimes be revealed by smells,
As I say just my opinion (so I'm not an expery to be relied on) but I can't see vinegar doing anything to be honest.


Title: Re: remove smell of creosote from chicken shed
Post by: Eve on September 09, 2019, 09:18:24 pm
Maybe spreading dry bicarbonate of soda would help, same stuff as for baking but you can also buy it in packs of several kgs (doesn’t cost as much!  ;) )  I’ve used it on smelly carpets with success and vacuumed it all up afterwards.
Title: Re: remove smell of creosote from chicken shed
Post by: chrismahon on September 10, 2019, 07:15:41 am
Bit late now know, but if you creosote a coop again use a 50:50 mix of creosote and paraffin. It soaks in better and dries much quicker and is still just as effective on red mites.


Can you put an oscillating fan in the coop to move the air through?