How do you know if you have an infestation?

[hexfli 0]

I was going though my bucktail tonight and I had one of them fall apart in my hands. The hide was kinda beat up and looked spotty. Is this the tell tale signs of an infestation of bugs in my materials, if so how do I take care of this so it doesn't get to the rest of my stuff?

[DHise 0]

I was going though my bucktail tonight and I had one of them fall apart in my hands. The hide was kinda beat up and looked spotty. Is this the tell tale signs of an infestation of bugs in my materials, if so how do I take care of this so it doesn't get to the rest of my stuff?

 

 

You should be able to see evidence of infestation..... Bucktails are notoriously stinky. Any shucks or bug signs?

[hexfli 0]

how visible would the bugs be? I have not seen any signs other than one or 2 of the ends of the bucktails kinda falling apart.

 

 

[JSzymczyk 0]

if you have an infestation problem, usually you will see shed larval skins- anywhere from aound 1/16 to 1/8 inch in length, kind of tan and brown and instantly recognizable as insect material. Other causes of bucktails (and any other hair or fur product) losing hair are fungus and bacterial action (decomposition). It's not too uncommon to get a bucktail which is somewhat greasy, which impedes the "tanning" process. Often I've found that bucktails aren't really tanned at all, just dyed and dried. Real tanning "sets" the hair, locking the follicles in the skin. If the skin remains greasy or damp or even just a little humid, bacteria will grow and eventually cause hair to slip. If you have bugs, a close inspection will reveal them.

[hexfli 0]

if you have an infestation problem, usually you will see shed larval skins- anywhere from aound 1/16 to 1/8 inch in length, kind of tan and brown and instantly recognizable as insect material. Other causes of bucktails (and any other hair or fur product) losing hair are fungus and bacterial action (decomposition). It's not too uncommon to get a bucktail which is somewhat greasy, which impedes the "tanning" process. Often I've found that bucktails aren't really tanned at all, just dyed and dried. Real tanning "sets" the hair, locking the follicles in the skin. If the skin remains greasy or damp or even just a little humid, bacteria will grow and eventually cause hair to slip. If you have bugs, a close inspection will reveal them.

 

if they are decomposing...anything I can do to stop it?

[Futzer 0]

I store my hair and feathers in ziplock bags, then put them in a large tupperware with about 10 aromatic cedar chunks in the box. Avoid mothballs, they can affect how your flies will fish. Do not store anything where it has direct sunlight. And if you live where I do in Utah, get a humidifer, but not directly near your materials. My humidity is usually less than 20% though. I try to keep it up to 20%. Also don't store your materials directly by a heat vent. And follow everything J. said. If you live in a really humid area, go to a camera shop and get some silica packets, and throw them in the storage box. I segregate hair from feathers too.

 

Cheers, Futzer

[mvendon 0]

It shouldn't be coming apart at all. I have a couple of pieces of bucktail that are more than forty years old and are still pretty much just fine. If it's in with any of your other tying materials, get it out of there. If it's a unique color, quarentine it with Para mothballs or a piece of No-Pest strip in a ziplock bag. If it's a fairly common color, throw it out. It's not worth taking a chance with bugs getting into the rest of your stuff. If it's really decomposing, it's not worth saving either.

 

Regards,

 

Mark

[peregrines 0]

Yeah sounds more like a greasy skin rather than bugs. You could try washing in warm soapy water with some dish washing liquid and drying both sides with a hair dryer and let it sit out a bit to dry through thoroughly, before you throw it out and see if that helps a bit. It won't reverse the process, but maybe there's at least a portion of the tail you can save before tossing the rest.

 

Another thing you can do, is to stack the loose hair and put it in a plastic tray with a long compartment. I do that when I'm tying a bunch of bucktail streamers and cut, stack and store in one of those clear plastic 6 compartment things and pick from it as needed.

 

If there's a possibility of bugs and you see larvae or their skins, chuck it fast and check your other stuff that was anywhere near it. If the other stuff looks OK but you found bugs in that one bucktail, toss the tail and put the other stuff in the freezer for 10 days or so just to be safe.

 

Good luck

 

peregrines

[hexfli 0]

Often I've found that bucktails aren't really tanned at all, just dyed and dried. Real tanning "sets" the hair, locking the follicles in the skin. If the skin remains greasy or damp or even just a little humid, bacteria will grow and eventually cause hair to slip. If you have bugs, a close inspection will reveal them

 

I'm pretty sure this was the issue. I went through all my bucktails and the only ones affected were ones that had been out of the box part of the summer in the basement. I sealed them up in a ziplock and through in a few silica packets, I will give it a few days and see if it gets any better if not I'll just toss them. They are only partial pieces anyway.

 

Thank you everyone for all your input...

 

 

[INS 0]

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