Preparing 'Roadkill' for fly tying

[ddave07]

Right strange question here:

I work on an old country estate turned office block. On the way to work I get to pass perhaps a dozen or so Partridge's and Pheasants each week.

Do the feathers need any treating or anything before I use them for fly tying or is it ok to just use them straight off?

Thanks

[greenock]

Aye they need treated mate think its freezer then microwave them incase they have mites. Arkles your man on here he'll tell you.

[BRUCE1]

once treated like that above ,be sure to add some deterrent like napthalene crystals aswell when you store them ,to keep out the clothes moths etc

[arkle]

Thank you Greenock, Freezing can work but & it's a BIG BUT it needs to be done at least twice with a day or more's break between each session which should last for several days.

A 20/30 second belt in the micro-wave works fine however it again should be done twice with a new & clean bag used afterwards for storage.

Various crystals are okay, but they smell terrible, some are carcinogenic & the effect can go off if they fall away, not to mention what the crystals might do if they got ingested by a pet/young child etc.

Better still is to use a repellent spray all over the materials, there are 1000's of them available on the net, try a quick google for them.

[darwin]

I buy wild pheasant tail feathers by the dozens on EBay when I need. I normally just soak them in hot soapy water, allow to dry well for a few days then store with cedar shavings in clear shoe boxes. Never had a problem with bugs. Have I just been lucky? should I always do the freezer / microwave thing?
Thanks

[westcountry]

Well I guess I've always been lucky too because I never treat roadkill in any way.
I've picked up bits of road kill (pheasants, jays, ducks, fox and squirrel tails - all the usual stuff) for thirty years and never seen a bug, mite or flea! I just pluck out the feathers I want strip the fluff and rubbish off before placing them in ziplock bags. Tails get a quick rinse under the hot tap to remove any smell and then air dry them. I reckon once an animal is dead all the "passengers" soon get off, there isn't much point hanging around on a cold corpse.


Andy

[A. Fluker]

Originally Posted by westcountry

Well I guess I've always been lucky too because I never treat roadkill in any way.
I've picked up bits of road kill (pheasants, jays, ducks, fox and squirrel tails - all the usual stuff) for thirty years and never seen a bug, mite or flea! I just pluck out the feathers I want strip the fluff and rubbish off before placing them in ziplock bags. Tails get a quick rinse under the hot tap to remove any smell and then air dry them. I reckon once an animal is dead all the "passengers" soon get off, there isn't much point hanging around on a cold corpse.


Andy

Lucky

[lhomme]

Hi Dave,

agree with Andy, but to be sure i cover all hides, furs or feathers with a thick layer of salt for about 3 weeks in a dry environment. This to dry out any flesh or fat left. I don't know if this kills all the rest due to oxygen deficiency, but i've never had trouble with mites or whatever. These chemicals smell like hell and I never wash my furs for i believe that a natural smell is more attractive to fish. My best catching nymphs are made with the underfur i comb from my dogs! Believe me i tied the same with all kinds of alternative dubbing and they don't catch half as much. Fish do smell, be it by means of chemo-reception !

Best regards

Johan

[the stig]

Due to working in Pest Control the best thing to do is get a ziplock bag place ur item in it buy an insect powder which contains Bendiocarb cost about £1.00-£1.50 ie Ant powder,or wasp powder, shake about leave for a couple of days and that will kill everything and not damage ur feathers hope this helps

Bert

[A. Fluker]

Originally Posted by the stig

Due to working in Pest Control the best thing to do is get a ziplock bag place ur item in it buy an insect powder which contains Bendiocarb cost about £1.00-£1.50 ie Ant powder,or wasp powder, shake about leave for a couple of days and that will kill everything and not damage ur feathers hope this helps

Bert

Cool!