Alternative to Mothballs ???

[whalensdad]

So I've seen all of the posts where people are talking about losing their feathers and fur to the little creepy crawlers and how they should use moth balls, so.......

My fly tying area stinks to high heaven. There has GOT to be a better way to keep the bugs away. I currently store my tying items in 2 - Sterilite 3 drawer plastic containers on my tying desk. I don't want to store my stuff in sealed boxes or anything that would make it less convenient. Is there anything less odoriferous???

 

[madjoni]

You may use natural lavanda :thumbsupu

 

[Liphookedau]

Cedar Balls are supposed to do the same job as Napthalene???,however they do smell better.

 

[lancer09]

Maybe it's just me, but i've been tying for ten years and have never had a bug problem. Granted I think it's just a matter of time.

 

[mudbug]

ceder chips

 

[whalensdad]

I guess I'll give cedar chips a try.

Thanks,
WD

 

[mudbug]

I guess I'll give cedar chips a try.

Thanks,
WD

it's the reason they make ceder bottoms on older clothes drawers.

We used to make small ceder Christmas trees in the boy scouts for our parents to put in with clothes or hang in a closet.

 

[silver creek]

Cedar chips won't kill moth larva:

Does Cedar Actually Repel Moths?

Does Cedar Repel Clothes Moths?

Purchased materials should be OK. Store them in separate zip lock bags.

For harvested materials like feathers, I freeze then for about a week to kill the larva and adult bugs. Then take them out of the freezer for about 3 weeks to let any eggs hatch and refreeze for another week. Do a second cycle and you should have no live larva, bugs or eggs left. No nasty chemicals either.

 

[Jackster]

Can't you keep all of the materials in the containers with the mothballs except the material you are tying with?
This has worked for me for a long time including the past 10 years of living in the south where bugs have a LONG season to find stuff to eat. Truth-be-told, I also keep them in sealed zip lock bags inside of the containers. Better safe than sorry as the old saying goes.

 

[madjoni]

Maybe it's just me, but i've been tying for ten years and have never had a bug problem. .

You are the first :thumbsupu

 

[stimmy7]

If you have any Eucalyptus trees around where you live, the 'nuts' on these repel bugs and they smell like Halls Mentolyptus =)

 

[Liphookedau]

Try Fresh leaves,also any of The Sprays made from natural products.
Incidently talking about Eucalyptus,the best oil comes from The Tree we call The Peppermint,one of The Eucalypt Species.

it's the reason they make ceder bottoms on older clothes drawers.

Most of the Real Old Chest of Drawers made over here in the late 1800s early 1900s were all Cedar,they cut it down & used it for Lining,Skirting & Floor Boards,Picture Railing, Frames,Coffins,Jewellry Boxes,Beds,Tables,Dressing Tables & heaps of other uses now its scarce & only found in patches.

 

[darwin]

Cedarcide is a safer option to use and it smells real nice. Made form Red Texas Cedar Oil.

 

[stimmy7]

Not to get into a Texas vs. AnyOtherPartOfTheWorld argument... but the origin of REAL Red Cedar is Tennessee =)

And it was "Tennessee Incense Cedar" that was used in cedar hope chests from the 1930s- the ones that Lane made that protected fabric and paper from insect damage forever. There are other sources of half and quarter-sawn incense cedar (Oregon is one) but nothing tops the stuff from Tennessee.

 

[darwin]

Not to get into a Texas vs. AnyOtherPartOfTheWorld argument... but the origin of REAL Red Cedar is Tennessee =)

Where ever it comes from I like the smell

 

[Liphookedau]

We didn't have much Red Cedar in the early days it mostly came from The USA & Canada although we had heaps of White Cedar.
We still get a lot of what we call "Western Red Cedar" Building Boards which comes from the West Coast of The USA,probably from Oregon,possibly Idaho,Wyoming ??

 

[crashfromboston]

Up here in the northeast we have lots of white cedar and patches
of red cedar. honestly i understand why bugs hate it. I cant stand
It myself. I leave the mothballs in their sealed boxes. Thats still
more than effective enough for me. And they will last nearly indefinitely.
i have boxes that are more than 15 years old that still feel nearly as
heavy as when i got them.

 

[stimmy7]

I had forgotten all about this but one of the fly shops I used to frequent took "Shell No-Pest Strips" and cut them into 2" pieces and placed those in open bins of bulk materials they sold... never had a bug problem.

 

[silver creek]

Shell no pest strips have been withdrawn in the USA because they were toxic to humans. They probably won't harm you in small quantities but I do get concerned if you lick your fingers after touching the tying materials. Here is data on the active ingredient in the Shell No Pest Strip and the strips themselves

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichlorvos"]Dichlorvos - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/02-04.pdf

 

[Guest1]

Maybe it's just me, but i've been tying for ten years and have never had a bug problem. Granted I think it's just a matter of time.

Same here and if you say how I let my cleaning and dusting go sometimes, if anyone was going to. In Fact I'm doing some cleaning today. When the dust bunnies were replaced by dust Mastadons.....

I'm sure part of it is I keep most of it up on the wall on hangers in plastic bags.