Real insects not the fake ones

[Micropteris]

Well I finally found a creeping critter in my material stash. Luckily I caught it early and have no damage. He came from material that I recently dyed, because he was the same color. That means he was able to withstand near boiling water conditions for a half hour. I am currently cycling my materials in and out of the freezer and plan on finding some cheap flea collars to cut up and go into all of my bins. I am generally careful about keeping materials seperated and closed off into plastic ziplock bags and then into steel tins. Are there any other tips that you guys use to eradicate a problem once it is there. Yes I know the best way to fix a problem is to prevent it but this one slipped through the cracks. Thanks

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Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick

[Warren Albert]

Do yourself a favor and remove those materials far away from your other materials. Inspect all of your materials and treat them if necessary with moth crystals(not moth balls). Anything contaminated should be put into an air tight container with some of the moth crystals. That will take care of what bugs you might have and also any developing bugs.

I would also bug bomb or spray your entire tying area just to be safe.

I am not sold on freezing, I have seen too many bugs come back to life after they have been frozen and thawed out. Plus if they survived they dying process, they must be pretty hearty. The moth crystals will kill them for sure.

Good luck,

[DianeID]

There is no way someone could pay me enough money to use OTC flea products. There have been reported cases of sickness and deaths due to handling and over-use.

If you think you need to use something other than a natural bug repellent, I would check with your local vet for something that is safer.

I use what I've used in my closets and dressers for decades: cotton pockets filled with 1 part each of Rosemary, Cedarwood Chips, Pennyroyal, Chrysanthemum Flowers, Cloves, Eucalyptus Leaf, and Orris Root.

There is also this site: [url=http://www.taoherbfarm.com/herbs/resources/bugspray.htm:6c2a8]http://www.taoherbfarm.com/herbs/resources/bugspray.htm[/url:6c2a8]

[mickporter]

Warren

Why not moth balls???

[Warren Albert]

Moth balls repel bugs only. If you have bug problem, the moth crystals will actually kill the adult bugs AND the developing eggs. This is important because the eggs find their way into tiny cracks and crevices and are not only difficult to detect, but very difficult to get rid of.

I am going to refer you to a post that Ronn Lucas posted some time ago about this subject. He explains it much better than I ever could.

Ron Posted: "Ok, I'll assume the area is spotless clean everywhere and behind or under things too. You can be assured that even though you have trashed some of the stuff, there are more bugs and eggs where you can't see them. ANYTHING that was even close to the infestation should go into a plastic bag and have moth crystals (they kill and balls repel) and insect spray put in and sealed tight for at least a week. Open drawers and cabinets and set off at least one bug bomb. You must fumigate the room. I set of the bombs with two fans circulating the air all night.

The microwave WILL NOT KILL TINY BUGS!!! The ONLY way it will is if there is enough moisture in the material that will get hot enough to steam and cook the bugs. If it has the moisture, it is probably already rotten and in any case, bringing a skin to the temp to steam, will ruin it. Chemicals kill bugs!

Bomb your room now and then and keep a very careful watch for bugs."

[Micropteris]

Thanks for all the replies

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Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick

[Blaiseboy]

Charlie Collins of Collins Hackle Farms recommends ENOZ Moth Crystals. Use cautiously because they are extremely toxic.

I have used the microwave oven (much to my wife's chagrin) insure that there are no "occupants" in feathers I collect for tying. Small amounts of wood duck flank take about 10 minutes on high. I they immediately bag the feathers in a freezer bag for a tour in the freezer. Never had a problem but I also use ENOZ crystals.

[mickporter]

10 minutes??????

Surely you mean ten seconds????