Bugs eating my flies

[icejohn]

HI All,

I have one fly box thats basically is infested with i can only assume eggs hatch out grrrrr.
I have put in freezer for 3 wks as pervious posts suggested. I put boiling water on all the flies and box before hand.

Yet still after some time more flies get munched. Short of thrown the box in a away what can i do.

I see my new catalogue has naphthalene crystals for sale , If i super glues some to the lid inside would this solve the problem? The box does hve drain holes in so its not quite a sealed bag condition. Or as someone suggest moth balls ground up? but i am worried i dont want stinking flies as it may put trout off.

So i guess i need: how much naphthalene crystals do i need to put in the box to be effective as i dont know how strong they are? basically how much is too much versus not being effective at all?

would moth balls cut in quarters be better options but will they stink up my flies.

I have a toolbox sized fly tying box anyone know how many moth balls i should place in that kinda sized box to ensure that bugs die. Just a bit parrnoid now as i dont want to loose all my genetic capes.

[BRUCE1]

Originally Posted by icejohn

HI All,

I have one fly box thats basically is infested with i can only assume eggs hatch out grrrrr.
I have put in freezer for 3 wks as pervious posts suggested. I put boiling water on all the flies and box before hand.

Yet still after some time more flies get munched. Short of thrown the box in a away what can i do.

maybe best to bin them to get rid of remaining larvae etc


I see my new catalogue has naphthalene crystals for sale , If i super glues some to the lid inside would this solve the problem? The box does hve drain holes in so its not quite a sealed bag condition. Or as someone suggest moth balls ground up? but i am worried i dont want stinking flies as it may put trout off.

glueing them to the lid ,dont bother just put some in loose ,as its the gas that comes off the crystals that kill them off

So i guess i need: how much naphthalene crystals do i need to put in the box to be effective as i dont know how strong they are? basically how much is too much versus not being effective at all?

you dont need many crystals for them to work ,they will need replacing after a few months as well ,i just tip a few in

would moth balls cut in quarters be better options but will they stink up my flies.


dont worry about the smell ,napthalene leaves a smell but it doesnt bother the fish


I have a toolbox sized fly tying box anyone know how many moth balls i should place in that kinda sized box to ensure that bugs die. Just a bit parrnoid now as i dont want to loose all my genetic capes.

put some in each bag that you have feathers etc stored in , if in doubt put feathers etc in microwave for a few seconds ,then add your napthalene .

[hookup]

i can only suggest to bin the box that has been infected as i would say in my opinion that the materials that were use for tying the fly or flies in that box were not treated for mites flees or whatever as a result this has and will spread to the rest of the patterns in the box

[arkle]

Remove the contents from each bag, destroy ALL the infested feathers etc. Put the remainder into NEW bags then microwave them. Destroy the old bags.

Freezing very often just puts the infestation into hibernation, a 2nd attempt might do it after a days defrost, but microwave is much more effective & faster.

There are various organic & otherwise insecticidal sprays on the net, just google moth repellent spray on U.K. only (31.000 options)

[madjoni]

naphthalene is bad for Your health man,,,,try something else

[icejohn]

naphthalene crystals i thought they were a slow acting poison? how could it hurt a human unless u ate?

I dont want to bin the fly box as it has 250 flies in it. Not to mention the flies if moved to another box might spread the damm mites or white wormy things that ate the hackles of my drys. The fly box actually spent 6 wks in the freeezer last season and i thought yep buggers are gone to the ice age only to find a bit into march thay one two flies looked a bit eaten, i then opened it up last fishing trip and it was a case of bear hooks!!!

I will try super glue a few crystals in a i assume an area of 1/2 cm surface area would be enough?

For my big fly tying materials box how many moth balls should i put in? I dont have things sealed in bags more a case of open use and throw back in... a bit sloppy but i dont have time to repackage stuff.

[emerger1981]

Originally Posted by icejohn

For my big fly tying materials box how many moth balls should i put in? I dont have things sealed in bags more a case of open use and throw back in... a bit sloppy but i dont have time to repackage stuff.

well theres your answer if you cant be botherd to store your materials properly it will keep happening.. carpet bettles and many household creatures will eat your materials aswell as if you got some infected materials not keeping them seperate will infect them all..
no time to repackage them.. it takes seconds

[darwin]

naphthalene crystals work best in an air tight environment, it slowly releases gasses that will kill the little critters. Just tossing them in the container or closet might keep other bugs away, but will not kill them. I hate the smell of the stuff and will not let it in my house. knock wood I have not had problems... Yet.
And Emerger is correct, if we spend hard earned on the materials we need to care for them properly... Gettin off my soap box now...

[palindromic_bob]

What size is the fly box? If you can buy a tuppaware box big enough to fit it then toss some napthalene into the tuppaware box and set the flybox in and seal. If it's a big box get a binbag add some crystals and then tie it off.

Superglueing crystals into the box won't be that effective due to the draingage vents in the box. It reduces the gases ability of building up to a level toxic enough to kill the infestation.

[madjoni]

Originally Posted by icejohn

naphthalene crystals i thought they were a slow acting poison? how could it hurt a human unless u ate?

human dont have to eat uranium but still get cancer mate