Moth balla

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

Made a point of checking out my moth crystal packets supply and found that every one was empty.  I guess they've evaporated so I'll be picking up some more on my next foray to the grocery store.  If you see the first carpet beetle - you've got a problem with bugs in your tying materials... The giveaway is seeing any dust in the bottom of a supposedly sealed plastic bag or seeing even one dead beetle in those same places.  New goods, still individually sealed are usually just fine - but the moment you start using them you're vulnerable to any bugs already present.  Since I buy and store deer and calf tails by the hundred, and feathers by the pound I'm always doing anything I can to keep them in good shape.  Wish I could say that I'm winning  but it's an ongoing struggle when some of my materials are well over thirty years old now...  I have noticed over the years that dyed goods seem much more resistant to bugs than un-dyed, more natural materials if that's any help...

[DarrellP 0]

Captaim, maybe you should keep them in a freezer since you have so many.

[Edward Snowden 0]

Cloves can be a bit expensive, but the best place to buy them is at a store that sells herbs and spices in bulk.  How many to use is really not answerable.  It depends on the size of the drawer/container.  But, you want to be able to smell the cloves yourself.   The stronger the odor the more protection you will have as it is the odor itself that is keeping the bigs away, not a foreign chemical repellant.  The loss of odor is also your cue to replace the cloves.

[Poopdeck 0]

It seems location is key in determining the level of bug protection needed. Down south in the sweltering heat and humidity seems to require more protection like moth balls. Up north less. If you acquire  your material through hunting or roadkill more protection maybe warranted. If your in the business of tying, perhaps inventory control is a better option over long term storage requiring bug control measures. 

I've long ago stopped using stuff given to me or found. Material goes a long way for me so I prefer storing stuff at the fly shops and ordering only what I need at the time of need. I have an impressive list of material available at my fingertips with this method. Of course, no matter how much I leave stored at the fly shops, material still collects so I leave everything in its original packaging as long as it seals. If it doesn't I put it in a bag that does. The stuff that doesn't get used often is further stored in sealable plastic boxes. I also practice not having a vast collection of stuff in the first place and find it better to substitute materials over buying more and more stuff that would require long term storage and get little use. My final measure is the trash can. Every year I go through my fishing stuff and I throw away anything I didn't use, is damaged or I didn't like. I have zero issues with trashing stuff I don't use and I have little interest in pennies on the dollar yard sales. 

I would not even think about using moth balls.  As far as using cloves or or spices, would that not attract rodents? 

[bullhead 0]

I have used small pieces of "No Pest Strip" placed inside a pill container with small holes drilled in it . Placed inside of plastic storage container with material

[mikechell 0]

Am I the only one who doesn't mind the smell of moth balls?  I don't have enough natural materials on hand to worry about bugs.   Since I'm good with the moth ball aroma, I'd likely use them if I did have bugs.

[feathers5 0]

34 minutes ago, mikechell said:

Am I the only one who doesn't mind the smell of moth balls?  I don't have enough natural materials on hand to worry about bugs.   Since I'm good with the moth ball aroma, I'd likely use them if I did have bugs.

I like the smell okay it's just that it's not good to breath.

 

[mikemac1 0]

I can highly recommend Camphor blocks as a bug deterrent for vulnerable fly tying materials.  When I started tying flies in the early 1960s I began accumulating materials.  When I went into the USAF in 1968, many of those materials followed me around the world for 28 years.  A tour in the hot, humid Philippines in the 1980s drove the necessity to protect some capes and bucktails with some form of repellent.  Moth balls were the logical choice, but by chance a Filipino friend recommended Camphor, which was readily available in the local market.  Camphor is a natural substance and highly effective at deterring insects in closed containers.  Camphor blocks are available on Amazon.  However, in the PI, the Camphor was so cheap that I still have unopened stocks today.

 

As for the idea that a strong bug deterrent might impart an unwanted oder to materials and thus flies, I have never found that to be the case.  As a natural substance it dissipates rapidly in open air and my catch rates over the decades since I started using it have never suffered.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

for Darrell.. I already have a full sized stand-up bait freezer - if I were to freeze all of my materials I'd need two additional freezers...  I could literally stock an entire fly shop with my reserves - and still have more materials left over... One of these days I'll sell it all off - but first I'd have to quit fishing and tying and all the other stuff I've been doing so long... that it just seems natural... 

 

 

[Mark Knapp 0]

5 hours ago, mikechell said:

Am I the only one who doesn't mind the smell of moth balls?  I don't have enough natural materials on hand to worry about bugs.   Since I'm good with the moth ball aroma, I'd likely use them if I did have bugs.

No, you are not. If I didn't live in moth balls, I would not have feathers. I got really tired of replacing all my feathers after bug infestations. I don't think I'm any supider than I was when I was twenty so id0nt' stink is it effactin mi brane vary moock

[mikechell 0]

14 minutes ago, Mark Knapp said:

... moth balls ... 

I don't think I'm any supider than I was when I was twenty so id0nt' stink is it effactin mi brane vary moock

🤣

 

[mikechell 0]

Dang ... every time I read that, it looks funnier.  😅😂🤣

[Mark Knapp 0]

8 minutes ago, mikechell said:

Dang ... every time I read that, it looks funnier.  😅😂🤣

You and I must have the same kind of sense of humor. Not a good thing. It's a good thing we live on opposite ends of the country.

[mikechell 0]

You, me and Steve.  We'd be hell on the locals if we lived within driving distance of each other !!!

[Mark Knapp 0]

We'd be hell on each other. Maybe there is a God and he separated us for a reason. If you two ever came up here together, we'd have a hell of a float trip.