Jeyes fluid

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Sheal, Nov 14, 2013.

  1. Sheal

    Sheal Total Gardener

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    Those of you who have had rodent problems might be interested in this.......

    My brother has been having long term problems with rodents in and around his racing pigeon loft. Over the last three months he has been using Jeyes to wash and disinfect the floor and also sprayed some around the outside of the loft. He has traps down also but since he has started using this the traps have been empty. It also works to keep cats out of the garden. Could it be the smell?

    Edit: Just remembered, it kills slugs too.
     
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    • Loofah

      Loofah Admin Staff Member

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      Time to pour some near the compost heap! I noticed a tell tale hole yesterday...
       
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      • Fat Controller

        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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        Could be the smell I suppose. I love the smell of Jeyes, probably because it harks back to my childhood, and oddly enough rodents are involved.

        I think it was 1984, there was a really warm summer and a pro-longed dry spell, so much so there was a water shortage that went as far as standpipes in the street, and this is in SW Scotland so not exactly an arid area.

        At the time, my mum and dad were building an extension to the back of our house, and work got stopped as there was no water for making cement etc; the extension was barely started, so there was a heap of rubble and debris on what would become the floor of the new room, and in among that debris was some linseed oil putty. Quite suddenly, we seemed to have a rat infestation in the back garden, however it quickly became apparent that they were going for the putty. Traps were put out, as well as poison in some places where no other animals could get near it - a few were caught/killed, but nowhere near as many as we had seen.

        A matter of days later, we were taking trailer loads of stuff to the local dump, which was located on the edge of marshy land littered with natural springs and pools, and generally very soft boggy ground. The sight that greeted us from the field adjoining was remarkable - the whole field appeared to be dark brown/black and it was literally moving - thousands and thousands of rats were trying to find water (and presumably food at the dump) as most of the streams and rivers locally had dried up. Nasty, but fascinating sight.

        Anyway, as we had dogs, all the concrete in the back garden was scrubbed with Jeyes fluid that was practically neat (lack of water) to prevent any disease, and for what seemed like a long time after (I was a kid, so it was probably a week or less!) whenever it rained there was the smell of Jeyes fluid around the back garden.
         
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        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          I've been using it around the garden to try and deter badgers and it has worked a little bit. They seem to have restricted their damage to one area that I now don't spray. That's in my wilder area where the ground is deep in moss. When it's back to the mowing season I may spray that area again as they're leaving small mounds of soil and moss. I'll leave them alone for the winter.
           
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          • Fern4

            Fern4 Total Gardener

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            There's a gravel area in my garden which runs along the side of the house. I realised that local cats had been doing the deed on the gravel. I removed it and decided to use some Jeyes Fluid in water and poured it along the gravel area to try to stop them using any of it as a toilet. I used quite a high concentration of Jeyes Fluid to water. In the last 2 weeks there have been no cats leaving me gifts on the gravel. Fingers crossed it won't happen again but I think I'll keep treating the area every so often with Jeyes Fluid. :fingers crossed:



            I love the smell too.....it reminds me of my old Dad! He laughs when I tell him that but he's always used it to clean the greenhouse / patio area at the house he lives in now and the backyard when my parents got their first house.
             
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            • maltaron

              maltaron Gardener

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              I have had a disaster with my Brussels and Sprouting Broccoli this year. It appeared to be leaf spot, the leaves got spotty and then rotted. I sprayed with a fungicide with slowed up the decay. How do I sterilise the ground to kill any remaining spores? Posted here because my old granddad used to swear by an egg cup full of Jeyes Fluid in a watering can over about 10 square yards "to kill the Bugs". I would be interested to hear any comments or suggestions.
               
            • HarryS

              HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

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              I also love the smell of Jeyes fluid , not so keen on the price though its very expensive !
              I didn't know it could deter cats and other varmints , also killing slugs is new to me . What strength do you use for this and how is it applied ? Is it safe with dogs ?
               
            • Fat Controller

              Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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              Don't see why it wouldn't have some sort of effect; as far as I know its biodegradable so I'd imagine that it would break down fairly quickly in the soil so wouldn't be about when you planted again.

              @HarryS - perfectly safe with dogs as far as I know; our last house had a back garden that was mostly concrete and I used it regularly to clean the area to ensure there were no nasties lingering from the dogs business. I diluted it as per the instructions on the pack, swilled the solution over the concrete then scrubbed with a yard brush before hosing off with a hose or pressure washer. Sometimes when I was feeling lazy, I would dribble it neat over the concrete and then get to work with the hose and the brush mixing it on the concrete.
               
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              • Fern4

                Fern4 Total Gardener

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                @HarryS ........I've got my small tin of JF in front of me. According to the instructions on the back you can disinfect kennels with it plus hutches and stables. There's even a pic of a dog on the front of the tin sitting on the patio....so perfectly safe!

                I didn't know it would deter cats until I tried it. I dilute in water so the water looks brownish and so it smells quite strong. It must be the smell the cat's don't like. I notice it doesn't say anything on the tin about cleaning cat litter trays with it.....maybe because they'd avoid the trays due to the smell?!!
                 
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                • HarryS

                  HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

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                  Thanks FC and Fern
                  just done a little Googling , it was invented in 1877 . And is still the No 1 disinfectant for stables and kennels . Best price I can find is Wilkos at £9 a litre , almost the same cost as a bottle of cheap spirits :hate-shocked:
                  Why so expensive ? Why no competition ? What does it taste like with soda ,lime and fresh mint, Jeyhito's :biggrin:
                  http://www.jeyesfluid.com/pets.htm
                   
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                  • Dave W

                    Dave W Total Gardener

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                    I got a 5 litre can about 6 years ago for about £3 at our local car boot.I use it to sterilise the beds in the polytunnel, spray the fruit trees for bugs and lichen and to disinfect the lawns and beds when the ruddy chats from across the road have shat.
                     
                  • roders

                    roders Total Gardener

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                    :) It seems to me it's not as strong as it used to be, when used the smell hung around for days or weeks but now it seems to be gone in a day.
                    I agree it is a lovely healthy refreshing smell and will always find a place in my garden, specially for greenhouse clean and a dash in drains kills any grotty smells.:blue thumb:
                     
                  • Loofah

                    Loofah Admin Staff Member

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                    I think it's just burned your olfactory canal Roders! I think it smells like the gents toilet on a bad night.
                     
                  • Trunky

                    Trunky ...who nose about gardening

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                    Agree with you there roders. It seems to me that it's less potent than it used to be.

                    Earlier this year, I finished off a large tin which I'd had on the go for several years. I've always used it for getting rid of red mite in the chicken hut. A good spray all around the inside with Jeyes used to sort them out every time.

                    When I did the same using the new formulation it had no effect on them at all. :mad: :chicken:
                     
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                    • HarryS

                      HarryS Eternally Optimistic Gardener

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                      Did jeyes have to change the formula a few years ago , to comply with current European regs ?
                       
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