FLYMPH FORUM

I have been using for about 15 years now what Walt Dette used and have had no problems whatsoever. Simply whole cloves. They have a pleasant aroma and have proven to be very satisfactory!

Tom

I remember seeing cloves in the fly boxes at the Dette fly shop, when I first went to Roscoe. Surprised at the time, so I asked about them. Mary told me they were used to keep bugs away.

We can’t buy naphthalene products here in NZ anymore. ( Moth balls or flakes for eg) They are banned due to toxicity issues...

Solution: The cat or dog flea collars. Cut them into little portions and put in yr storage boxes.

Done that for years and they work just fine.....

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. As for this:

Updtate wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 3:19 pm I have been using for about 15 years now what Walt Dette used and have had no problems whatsoever. Simply whole cloves. They have a pleasant aroma and have proven to be very satisfactory!

I suppose they might be a deterrent, but with the caveat that they make the fly hop smell like a wassailing party. The thing is, I want to KILL the bugs. Not just deter them. I suppose Walt himself might have preferred to use neurotoxins over little aromatic bulbs, were they available in the convenient form of a flea collar.

I am hoping the illustrious retired Prof. Dr. Anderson will weigh in here--his is the voice of scientific reason and experience. Also, as moth balls--euuch, I am glad New Zealand is taking care of its populace and banning them.

bb

I received a wild Partridge skin in the mail yesterday. I purchased it from a fellow that runs a wet fly page on FB. I must say he did a fantastic job preserving it. The feathers are in outstanding shape. There was a little crud on the right side of the pelt. It may have been dried blood, but I do not know for sure. It was a spot the size of a quarter. It washed right out with a wet paper towel. I would consider this skin pest free after a close inspection. Still...........


Like all fur pelts, bird capes and/or saddles I receive, the Partridge was placed in a zip lock bag, sprinkled with Sevin Garden Dust, sealed up and placed in the freezer. It will be taken out of the freezer in 2 weeks, allowed to remain thawed for two days, then frozen again for two weeks.

I will not try to persuade anyone to use Sevin Dust. In todays Organic society, it has a bad reputation. Even though, for decades this product was used as a poultry delouser, and used on pets bedding to get rid of the fleas off of Fido.

After that regiment, the neck will be placed in a drawer with my other hackles and feathers, with a Hot Shot Pest Strip. Plus sprinked with Sevin Dust a couple times per year.

I learned the hard way many years ago how expensive it is to lose your fly tying material to bugs. It will not happen again.

By the way. I live in Western Colorado where the average humidity is about 20%, Very low. Critters invade your materials with just as much gusto in the desert and at high altitude (5,000 feet) as they do anywhere else.

I may try the clove trick though. Along side my pesticide regiment.

I throw a few Bounce fabric softener sheets in my Rubbermaid storage boxes. Also put them in a bunch of places in my old VW Beetle when I store it for the winter.

Bob

I have (more than) a few raw skins that I treated with borax. The bugs seem to avoid those skins while being boraxed. A light washing (leaving the skin mostly dry) afterwards gives great results. I've kept a number of these skins for years without further treatment. Nevertheless, for items that are particularly valuable (golden plover) I don't take any chances.

DUBBN wrote: ↑Tue Dec 08, 2020 9:40 am
I will not try to persuade anyone to use Sevin Dust. In todays Organic society, it has a bad reputation. Even though, for decades this product was used as a poultry delouser, and used on pets bedding to get rid of the fleas off of Fido.

After that regiment, the neck will be placed in a drawer with my other hackles and feathers, with a Hot Shot Pest Strip. Plus sprinked with Sevin Dust a couple times per year.

I'm trying to emphasize "safe material storage" in this thread--finding a balance between insect toxicity and human (and pet) safety. Sevin has a reputation for harming humans that far exceeds "today's Organic society." The main ingredient--carbaryl --is illegal in the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. If the USA had a sensible FDA and EPA, it would be illegal here too.

Using it indoors--in a dust form, which can be inhaled--is pretty risky. There's plenty of information in the form of MDS sheets that make this clear. It's your life and your hackle, but I think there are safer and more prudent solutions for protecting our tying materials.

bb

bearbutt wrote: ↑Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:51 pm

DUBBN wrote: ↑Tue Dec 08, 2020 9:40 am
I will not try to persuade anyone to use Sevin Dust. In todays Organic society, it has a bad reputation. Even though, for decades this product was used as a poultry delouser, and used on pets bedding to get rid of the fleas off of Fido.

After that regiment, the neck will be placed in a drawer with my other hackles and feathers, with a Hot Shot Pest Strip. Plus sprinked with Sevin Dust a couple times per year.

I'm trying to emphasize "safe material storage" in this thread--finding a balance between insect toxicity and human (and pet) safety. Sevin has a reputation for harming humans that far exceeds "today's Organic society." The main ingredient--carbaryl --is illegal in the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany. If the USA had a sensible FDA and EPA, it would be illegal here too.

Using it indoors--in a dust form, which can be inhaled--is pretty risky. There's plenty of information in the form of MDS sheets that make this clear. It's your life and your hackle, but I think there are safer and more prudent solutions for protecting our tying materials.

bb

Thats your opinion, and you are entitled to it.

I can not force you to be correct.

Organic is raising food for tens, on ground that can feed thousands.

While a household product works for me; this is what pros use:

https://www.bioquip.com/search/DispProduct.asp?pid=1196