Little red bug in my tying material

[David Parker]

Great idea about the cedar chips. They smell a whole lot better than the moth balls I have always used.

[James Smith]

You can also use cotton balls dipped in cedar oil inside the salt shakers which allows you to keep the cedar smell nice and strong. After a while the cedar blocks or chips dry out and lose their odor. You can get the cedar oil from Amazon.com and a pint would last you for several years. I find the cedar is a fairly good deterrent for bugs but not that good if you suspect that you may have some bugs in your materials.

Jim Smith

[thorarinna]

Thanks guys.

Cedar chips, isn't it wood chips, isn't that more of a food for the insects?

[Luke McLeod]

No. Cedar contains a natural insect repellant. That is why many closets and chests for storing clothing in are lined with cedar.

[Ed_D]

Thanks guys.

Cedar chips, isn't it wood chips, isn't that more of a food for the insects?

The cedar wood which they are talking about is a species called Eastern Redcedar. It isn't a true cedar, it is a juniper, Juniperus virginiana. The essential oil is an insect repellant, but it doesn't kill insects. It isn't likely to drive out an established infestation. The eggs are likely to survive freezing. I am afraid that you will need to go with a more toxic solution, such as paradichlorobenzene moth balls or moth crystals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,4-Dichlorobenzene A hint that it isn't as powerful against insects as its reputation can be gleaned from the huge numbers of caterpillars who cheerfully munch the leaves every summer.

One last thought about the essential ordering oil. The part of the state in which I live is called middle Tennessee (as opposed to the regions of east and west Tennessee). This area (and adjacent northern Alabama) is the center of the eastern redcedar industry for the world. This means both timber and extracting the essential oil. I heard a few years ago that some of the people who cook crystal meth had found a technique for using the essential oil to replace certain drugs used in making the illegal methamphetamine. I don't know if that will make it more difficult for you to order the oil or not. A final warning about the oil. Too much of it will mildly poison and repel people, too. Too much of it in the air can definitely cause painful headaches.

Regards,
Ed

[John Rhoades]

A number of years ago I was an authorized importer of feathers into the US from countries such as India and China.

At the time, I was required by the Pennsylvania department of agriculture to disinfect these feathers using a formaldehyde solution. I don't remember the exact dilution percentage, but it may have been a 10% solution. I don't know if formaldehyde is still used for that purpose, but if you have access to it, soaking your feathers in it over night will not harm the feathers and will certainly kill any insects in them.

[fishbum]

I do not trust ceder alone. The worth of my fur and feathers is probably a couple grand or more. New material goes into a sealed garbage bag with a box of paradichlorobenzene moth balls and gets sealed for at least one month. I don't care what the source of the material is. Then it is stored in bags in plastic boxes with the same moth balls. Whenever I get some material out of one of those boxes I make sure there are a few of the moth balls in the box. At least once a year I inspect the boxes that are not used much and replace the moth balls in them.

Materials I process myself are washed in a solution of borax and Dawn dishwashing detergent. That material gets the same treatment when dry. Into the big garbage bag with the moth balls for at least a month.

I have never had a bug infestation in 50 plus years of collecting fur and feather for fly tying.

Jerry