Made from a blend of natural vegetable and citrus oils, Cedar Garden Bed Oil protects wood against weather and drying. Specially formulated for cedar, it enhances the grain, and the citrus oils give it a fabulous smell as you apply it! Safe for surfaces that could come into contact with food.
Hemp seed oil, pure tung oil, and teak oil are all good options if you want to use oil. I'd recommend a water based sealer, otherwise. General finished high performance for indoor use and general finishes exterior 450 for outdoor.
Pure tung oil, though, can be applied to provide a non-toxic, water-resistant finish on wood used for raised beds and garden edging. The FDA has approved the use of pure tung oil on surfaces that come in contact with food. On the FDA list of approved products tung-oil is listed as Chinawood.
Cedarwood oil is a mixture of organic compounds. It is considered Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) as a food additive by the Food and Drug Administration.
“Teak oil” – any mix that contains tung and/or linseed with unknown ingredients or metallic driers would not be safe on the interior side next to the growing food. Linseed oil on the interior of the planter beds/container garden. It's just not durable enough to hold up in here.
Not Suitable for All Woods: While teak oil is designed for teak wood, it may not be suitable for other types of wood. Using it on non-teak woods can result in a finish that doesn't adhere well or doesn't provide the same level of protection.
Teak wood by it's composition has some percentage of natural oils that repel termites and other bugs. It also does not decay or get stained easily.
While cedar has natural antimicrobial properties, it is not commonly used in cutting boards due to its strong aroma, which may transfer to food. Opt for hardwoods like maple or walnut for cutting boards, as they are durable, safe for food contact, and easier to maintain.
Cedar oil is particularly effective against scent-driven bugs, which need the pheromone octopamine to maintain breathing, metabolism, reproduction, movement and other necessary functions. Cedar oil blocks these insects' octopamine receptors, causing death. Beneficial insects like bees and butterflies are not affected.
Raw and heated tung oil significantly improved the resistance of pine wood to termites, and have the potential for the development of natural wood preservatives.
Cedar is generally considered the best wood option for raised garden beds that will be exposed to rain. Cedar wood is naturally resistant to rot, decay, and insect damage, making it highly durable and suitable for outdoor applications.
Pure Linseed oil is non-toxic, and safe to use as a wood preservative in organic garden structures like raised beds, greenhouses and chicken coops.
Tung oil is preferable for outdoor applications where durability and moisture resistance is crucial, while linseed oil is more suitable for indoor projects where a quicker drying time and more sheen is desired.
Cedar oil, also known as cedarwood oil, is an essential oil derived from various types of conifers, most in the pine or cypress botanical families. It is produced from the foliage, and sometimes the wood, roots, and stumps left after logging of trees for timber.
Treatex Cedar Oil works best on unfinished timber. If there are previous finishes, make sure they are fully removed before applying the cedar wood finish. Also ensure surfaces are lightly sanded and free from any contaminants such as dirt, decay, mould, dust etc.
Avoid softwoods, toxic exotic species, chemically treated woods, highly porous varieties, and unstable or brittle woods when selecting material for your cutting board.
Natural Insect Repellent
The aroma given off by cedar shavings is a natural repellent to insects, such as termites, ants, mosquitoes, cockroaches, and other pests like rodents that may cause harm to your living spaces and surroundings.
Cedarwood oil failed to repel mosquitoes and only high concentrations of peppermint oil repelled Ae. aegypti. None of the oils tested prevented mosquito bite when used at the 5 or 10% concentration.
The answer is yes—cedar effectively repels a variety of pests, including mosquitoes, spiders, carpet beetles, cockroaches, fire ants, pantry moths, clothing moths and other fabric-damaging insects.
Six to eight years and longer
Oils like buddha wood, cedarwood essential oil, sandalwood and vetiver all have a long shelf life of up to 8 years.
Peppermint essential oil might just be the holy grail of natural pest repellents to leave around your home's entry points, as it can help keep away ticks, spiders, roaches, moths, flies, fleas, beetles, and ants. Use sachets of this oil near your doors and windows or try making a diffuser or spray.
If you want to waterproof your wood furniture or surface, you don't want to use teak oil because it has poor water resistance. This also means you should not use it for bathroom shelves where the air moisture is high because it can cause the wood to rot.
Kiln drying or vacuum fumigation of lumber is the only effective way to kill wood wasp larvae that have survived milling operations, but treatment is costly.