Storing natural hairs and furs?

[hungNtree 0]

If you guys get tired of all of my dumb questions then just speak up and I'll hush. There, that is all the warning I am going to give.

 

Maybe I am just being paranoid here, but how do you keep all of your natural furs and hairs? We have a couple of horses, cats and a dog. They are all shedding and I am thinking of using that for fly tying materials, but I am not sure the best way to store them. Do you just put them in a ziploc bag and forget it or what? I am also concerned about fleas and things like that. We do our best to keep our pets clean, but they are all outside pets and I am sure they have all gotten into something at one time or another. Do you treat the hairs before you store them or what? I know some of you use furs and hairs from wild animals how do you treat those? I have thought of putting moth balls in the bags, but I am not sure if that will work or not. Anyway, as always, all help and advice is greatly appreciated.

 

thanks in advance,

hNt

[rich5665 0]

Putting the fur in a zip lock bag is fine. If you are concerned about critters in the, put the fur in zip lock bag and nuke it in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds. I have a duubing dispencer that I made, I put the hair my rabbits throw into that.

[ashbourn 0]

Moth crystals are the most effective way to deal with bugs and their eggs. We handle alot of material and have yet to find anything as effective.

 

Joe Fox

[utyer 0]

If your going to be storing "natural" fur and hair from your cats, dogs, horses, chickens, and other assorted wild game and road kill, You MUST be careful. Any and all natural materials gathered from house hold pets, farm animals, game and road kill very likely will have critters living in the hides fur or feathers. Always store these using ziploc bags and mothballs (the kind that kills moths, larvae, and their eggs.) Before you store them with your other material, do the following:

 

Wash and dry the material if possible.

 

Game and road kill should be cleaned and all flesh and fatty tissue scraped off. If you have skins, salt them down and press them down on newspaper. The salt will draw most of the moisture, and fatty oils out of the skin. When the skin has had a few days to dry out, wash it off again, and salt it down with salt an borax, and let it dry a second time. This drying area should be far away from your other materials. After the

second drying time, continue with the rest of these steps.

 

Place small batches of the material in the microwave. Give it 15 to 20 seconds on high, and do that two times.

 

Then place the material in a ziploc storage bag and put a couple of mothballs in the bag.

 

Store these things in a seperate area well away from your other materials for a few weeks.

 

Then inspect the natural materials very carefully. Look for insect larvae casings or any chewed or damaged hair or feathers. Both indications of infestation.

 

If your materials appear to be clean. Then you can place with your other materials.

 

I have several thousand tied up in expensive hackle, and exotic feathers of one kind or another. I don't store anything "natural" near any of this until after I have cleaned microwaved, and fumigated it. Even then, all my "natural" materials are stored in a different area of my fly tying room. They are sealed in rubermaid containers as are my other materials.

 

I have had no problems using dog hair, horse hair, goose, duck, pheasant, and turkey feathers from game birds. I never take chances, all my natural materials are cleaned washed, and stored well away from all my other material before I ever use any of them.

 

 

 

 

[Flyfisher13 0]

We use cedar chips instead of moth balls that also works. We put the materials in ziplock baggies and put the cedar chips in the baggie and zip it up then store all the not store bought in one rubbermaid container or wooden box with cedar chips in that container and that works well this also works with the store bought buck tails.

[tyininmontana 0]

ive been putting my feathers off of live animals in the freezer. then take them out for a day then put them back in just in case someting "hatches" then back in the freezer for a bit. but i think the microwave is a little faster idea.

[BigDaddyHub 0]

microwaving your material is effective, but use cautiously, you can ruin your material and your microwave! Freezing is a very good way to rid your material of "little nasties"....the cedar chips work great to keep your material vermin free...moth balls work great as well

[dontheo 0]

Moth balls are the best but I hate the smell. Then it makes the house smell too. But if you can hang with it, that's the way to go, it will knock out anything. Freezing and microwave treatment are my methods. Roadkill I quarantine for three to four days in the freezer. That will take care of rabbies just in case according to my vet. On the natural fur you have a whole bunch of things to worry about from mites to fleas. I usually microwave these first then freeze and then leave in the garage for a few months in a semi airtight box. But some eggs of these critters are prettry tuff. So it mighr look ok one day and the next day you got a problem to deal with.

 

Beore they are allowed to comingal with my other materials I inspect them real good and still segregate them in zip lock bags which you can also use to date and keep info from where you got them. I toss in a piece of cedar because I am excessive compulsive and like the smell.

 

I think what everyone is saying is use caution! Not only on the fur but on yourself. If you need to use the material right away it is better to go buy it.

 

But it is fun tying flys from your pets sheddings. I have two yellow labs that keep me full of great stuff from almost white to a reddish brown. The topside of their fur is hollow like deer hair. This is part of their swimming breeding. The underfur is as soft as a babys butt. Give them credit and name the flies after them and always just use the sheddings. A good brushing is good for them and for you:).

 

Ted