BUGS,BUGS,BUGS

[flymaker1 0]

I found some bugs in some seal fur, it was isolated to that bag only. I found no living critters anywhere else. Now what, can I nuke the fur and continue using it, or is it ruined? Any ideas?

[Wellman 0]

Freeze and nuke the buggers.

 

Another good idea is to put silica gel beads in it to. It will kill the bugs by drawing all the moisture out of their body's.

[David Legg 0]

I would freeze them for 2 weeks in a zip lock bag, then take them out and hand wash gently with a little detergent to get the gunk out of it, and then lay it out to dry on some paper towels. You should be fine. Keep a good eye on other materials that this has been with however. Those critters have a way of going "cootie" on you, and jumping from one material to another. At the first sign of trouble with any material, take action the same way. You can also put a stop to this by getting a plastic tub and throwing all the materials in there with a mothball. That just seems to devatstate most insects. On the other hand, most people hate the smell. I have kept some around my tying materials for years... it was once a very commmon practice in New England, even in some fly shops. I haven't had any real trouble since I started using mothballs.

[Pastor Ron 0]

+1 on the mothballs! Have used mothballs for many years and fortunately never had a bug problem. I also use large plastic jars, zip lock bags, and cedar chips.

[defranksflies 0]

I found some bugs in some seal fur, it was isolated to that bag only. I found no living critters anywhere else. Now what, can I nuke the fur and continue using it, or is it ruined? Any ideas?

 

Nuke them in the microwave for a few seconds...it will kill them. Make sure you leave the zip lock bag open a touch.

[Arkansas Mike 0]

I like David's answer. Freeze. Wash. Into an airtight Ziplock/plastic tub with mothballs.

Even then, I'd keep them away from your other materials for a few weeks.

 

 

 

Mike

[Firetiger 0]

I keep a couple crystals of naphtalene in my tying supplies, seems to keep the critters away/dead.

Also helpful is to keep store bought (presumably safer) materials away from those collected yourself (i.e. roadkill) as these are prone to infection.

J.

[Bruce Derington 0]

I found some bugs in some seal fur, it was isolated to that bag only. I found no living critters anywhere else. Now what, can I nuke the fur and continue using it, or is it ruined? Any ideas?

 

Nuke them in the microwave for a few seconds...it will kill them. Make sure you leave the zip lock bag open a touch.

 

 

This is what I do as well

[JSzymczyk 0]

do some searches on here about insect pests. We've gone into considerable depth on the subject. Only way to be CERTAIN they are eradicated is chemical warfare including ALL your natural hair, fur, and feather materials. Paradichlorobenzene or DiChlorvos are the commonly available things which will KILL all life stages of dermestid beetles and clothes moths. Naphthalene is a repellent, and freezing/nuking is not 100% certain. If you found them in one package of material, you can be sure they are also in other materials, if you've had them stored together.

[terry13111 0]

There was an article over on the FAOL web site that suggested using no-pest strips or flea collars instead of the smelly moth balls. Supposed to be more effective. Anyone else try this?