On SCIENCE FRIDAY today they played a clip from a u-tube series where a museum worker was dissecting a dead wolf. The carcass had been frozen two months when she thawed it. She was surprised by live fleas jumping in front of her scalpel. It seems that eggs survived the freezing and hatched quickly when it was thawed.
That’s why it’s recommended to freeze, thaw, then [SIZE=1][SIZE=1][/SIZE][/SIZE]freeze again.
Forget the freezing altogether. Forget the microwave also.
Scrape off all of the fat and connecting tissue from the skin. Wash the skin in warm water and Dawn that has a couple handfuls of borax in the mix. Rinse in clear water and dry. Store in zip-lock bags or plastic containers with moth balls that contain paradichlorobenzene as the active ingredient. You can store in the bags with borax if you want. Use only borax to absorb any fat that remains. Never use salt.
The borax in the wash will kill bugs. The moth balls will kill both bugs and eggs should there be any left after a good washing. The moth balls also prevent any new infestations. Moth balls that contain naphtha as the active ingredient only repels the bugs.
Jerry
I’ve been told that paradichlorobenzine is only in the “flakes” form and that “moth balls” are naptha.
Was I misinformed?
I have used Tide detergent and washed the dogs and horses around the farm. That stuff will kill fleas.
Anytime I’ve gotten some skinned bird or pieces of hide I’ve done the following: Make sure I remove as much fat as I can; Place about a 1/4 cup of Dawn detergent and a cap full of Chlorox bleach into a bucket of very warm, but not hot water. If too hot the skin will expand and the hair might fall out. Swish material around and let it soak for a few minutes; Rinse completely; Wring as much of the water out as possible without injuring the skin. Oh, if you just have feathers, after the rinsing, put them in a woman’s stocking and whirl it around to let centrifugal force force the water out; Place skin against cardboard and let it air dry. You can dry the feathers faster with a hair dryer. Once completely dry, place materials in individual a zip lock bags with a moth ball or two. Label the bag identifying the contents and date. Keep segregated from other materials for a month. You don’t want to risk the possibility of any infestation. I’ve used this method for many, many years, and it’s worked.
Finally, some stuff isn’t worth the bother. Enthusiastically thank the provider and then carefully dispose of what you were given.
Allan
I have found it in flakes, balls, and cakes. Try the dollar store. The stuff I get is Enos.
Allen is right about “some stuff is not worth the bother”. I politely decline to accept a piece of deer hair. I do whole deer hides and have more than I can use most of the time.
Jerry
Whenever I have been gifted a hide or fur pieces, I have always made the first wash and soak with a good quality PET shampoo that is as specific as possible for fleas. Second shampoo, soak and rinse is with Dawn dish soap. Rinse thoroughly at least 3 times. Air dry thoroughly and when dry, sprinkle very generously with Borax. Place into airtight Rubbermaid sealed container (isolation box) for about 3 months or longer. Remove from box and repeat all previously listed steps. Replace fur/feathers into clean isolation box and cover with moth balls.
Many years ago someone brought me the carcass of a red fox which I took to a taxidermist to be skinned. The taxidermist looked over the fox carcass and told me that the fox was diseased and had contracted mange and suggested that it be discarded. I often worry about gifted items and just how well the items have cleaned and properly prepared for handling by flytyers. I shudder to think how many folks handle furs and feathers and then touch themselves or put fingers in mouth. I am a board certified, licensed health professional dedicated to prevention and sometimes my methods may seem overkill but to me it has always been safer, healthier, smarter and less expensive to prevent problems than to resort to shortcuts that are counterproductive. Never have ascribed to the freezer/microwave methods. Just my 2 cents worth.
Gerri
Do you lick you fingers when you dub? If you do, don’t use chemicals to kill bugs and eggs. You will cross contaminate yourself. Then again, a third eye in the middle of your forehead may help in fly tying. ;^)
Every time someone offers me a gift of “road kill” or something they shot, I make sure to let them know how much I appreciated the offer, but, I just do not want to take the chance of ruining all my other fur/feathers with a raw material. I prefer to purchase fur/feathers from a fly shop and hope it is safe. I have found fur pieces at antique shops that were part of a fur coat collar or coat and will use it at times. I just feel better using material that has been processed and I know one can use raw material but I just do not feel I want to go through the long drawn out process of making it “safe” to use. Since I usually just tie for my use, I do not need a large inventory of fur/feathers and the higher cost of “safe” material is fine with me.
Silver Creek, I don"t recall giving you permission to use my likeness. I’ll be talking to my attorney as soon as the sun sets so he can come out of his coffin.
I read that the odor from mothballs is toxic and not to be breathed. You better check on that. I could be wrong, but I’ve always thought it to be true.
Don’t get so excited about toxicity. You’re not going to breath the fumes for any significant time.
A little sniff once in a while when you open up a container is meaningless. Don’t get hyper.
Having prepared and sold many, many hundreds of bird skins for tying there are a few points in this thread that leave me shaking my head… again.
A simple wash in hot soapy water with a bit of Clorox will kill all bugs and their descendants.
I used to use a large “tumbler” which was just a large rotating drum filled about halfway with 50:50 dry sawdust and borax. The damp skins are placed in the barrel and it rotates slowly for an hour or so. At that point the feathers are dry, clean, fluffy, polished, and 100% safe. The Clorox is the reason it is safe. Borax does almost nothing to prevent bad bugs.
Washed skins allowed to just dry do not produce good feathers. It takes the effort of at least blow drying the feathers to get them looking and tying their best. Dried matted skins can be washed and dried and fluffed just like fresh skins.
The problem is is that I live in a one-floor apartment and the smell permeates everything I own.
Enoz brand now makes lavender scented para moth disc’s that are encased in a paper pouch. They can be found at Walmart stores in a lavender colored box. They don’t smell that bad at all compared to the conventional ones.
Regards,
Mark
I have used many grouse skins, starlings, deer hide, buck tails, squirrel tails coyote tails…never washed any of them, never froze any of them. Just dried them with salt and borax and brushed the furs and fluffed the feathers. Can’t say that I have ever found a bug. My understanding is that once a host is dead and there is no more blood fleas leave.
A 5-gallon bucket with Dawn and about a cap-full of bleach will kill everything. DO NOT let anything soak in anything that contains bleach…and rinse well. Hand-wash kills the critters. However, ALL fat and flesh MUST be removed. Remaining fat and flesh will ruin a hide/skin before bugs even bother it. Hap is spot-on…tumbling or blow drying is needed to properly care for afterwards. I ran a trap-line for 12 years and took many, many pelt to auction.
Tig
You should NEVER use salt on tying materials… It takes surprisingly little salt residue to cause hooks to rust in a closed fly box. And it does not kill anything.
art
Ralph,would not the use of clorox or other bleaches alter the color of furs and/or feathers even slightly? And also I would think the harshness of the bleach would have a drying effect on the feathers and furs causing them to become brittle? I agree with the hair dryer use though. Just wondering!
Gerri