Elk Or Deer Hair Smell

[RunnyD]

I just inherited a bunch of fly tying material thats been sittng around for over 8 years. Going through it I noticed the deer/elk/rabbit fur has a funky smell. Does it goo bad? Can it collect little bugs?

 

Is there a way to reprocess/retreat it?

 

 

[agbff]

Deer hair and other materials can get mites. Can you visibly see any critters on it?

Throw it in an air type ziplock if it isn't already stop the spread.

I've never had the problem but have heard of people bagging and throwing materials in the freezer to kill em.

[Guest 420FLYFISHIN]

my sections of DH and others has a stink but i think thats because they can wipe their asses well and i have a bunch of tails together...lol

 

[SilverDoctor]

Bird and animal skins often have a smell. It will only go bad if not properly dressed in the first place and them fairly soon after that. If they're really old it should not be a problem. I have materials used my my Grandfather some have to be well over 70 years old that are good. Your could always hit the back of the skin with Boax or salt to soak up more moisture. A bit of Baking soda will also help to cut the scent. I'm getting old but don't smell to much

 

I just inherited a bunch of fly tying material thats been sittng around for over 8 years. Going through it I noticed the deer/elk/rabbit fur has a funky smell. Does it goo bad? Can it collect little bugs?

 

Is there a way to reprocess/retreat it?

[ironfly]

I recommend you bag it with a good amount of silica beads. If any bugs get into it, they'll die of dessication before they can do any damage. You can go through the freeze drying process if you want (2 days in the freezer, 2 days at room temperature, and repeat a few times), but that's no guarantee that bugs won't get into it in the future. The silica beads will kill anything that's present, and offers prevention. Refresh the beads once a year, as they'll pull moisture right out of the air and become saturated.

[ironfly]

As far as the smell goes, it's most likely due to the tanning agents that were used. Some of the cheap ones smell pretty bad. Try sealing it in a container with an open dish of white vinegar. Vinegar has an amazing capacity to soak up odors, but the smell of the vinegar itself will dissipate off the hair in short order.

[SilverDoctor]

Careful withe the Silica, it will also over-dry feathers and fur and can make things like deer, elk hair and hackle stems brittle.

 

I recommend you bag it with a good amount of silica beads. If any bugs get into it, they'll die of dessication before they can do any damage. You can go through the freeze drying process if you want (2 days in the freezer, 2 days at room temperature, and repeat a few times), but that's no guarantee that bugs won't get into it in the future. The silica beads will kill anything that's present, and offers prevention. Refresh the beads once a year, as they'll pull moisture right out of the air and become saturated.

 

[RunnyD]

I forgot to mention that there are some buck tails in the mix. I think that's the source of the smell. Everything was stored in an old briefcase for a lot of years in a garage and I imagine it permiated into all the feathers, hackle, and even the cardboard backing of some old tinsel from Woodwards if anybody remembers that.

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

[SilverDoctor]

He He still have some Woodwards tinsel. You know what I would do is just air everything out. If you have a garage you can just place stuff out of bags on on cardboard and flip it once a week for a month or so, should air it out. Once out of an enclosed area it may freshen up. If not you may have to treat eh skin with borax or wash feathers and fur.

 

I forgot to mention that there are some buck tails in the mix. I think that's the source of the smell. Everything was stored in an old briefcase for a lot of years in a garage and I imagine it permiated into all the feathers, hackle, and even the cardboard backing of some old tinsel from Woodwards if anybody remembers that.

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.