is this a disaster?

[Stendalen]

Need to make a risk assessment then. I really enjoy the "materials and collecting" side of our sport.

Only been tying for two years now but my stash tells another story for sure...so I do think I will change my approach to risk minimization

Thanks Mike. I am glad that you keep providing us with your vast knowledge.

Regards
Martin

[Mike Connor]

A friend of mine brought some stuff around yesterday for me to look at, ( and hopefully recover!), and as it may be of interest I thought I would post a couple of pictures;





( Same cape one picture with normal light, one with flash).

This is mold or mildew which forms on leather and some other stuff like capes if the cape is stored in a damp atmosphere or put away wet after washing or dyeing.This does not normally damage feathers or fur, it attacks the skin they are attached to.

This is a dyed black cape which he put in a plastic bag before it was completely dry. To remove this, wash in hot soapy water, rinse thoroughly and allow to dry completely before storing again. DO NOT shake or brush the material which is affected! This spreads the spores in the air, and is also a health hazard.

I will see if I can find a few other pics of stuff I have. They are on a disc somewhere, and I will also take some pics of the damaged stuff my friend brought me yesterday.

TL
MC

[Mike Connor]

Here are some pictures of the damaged stuff. The powdery stuff you can see everywhere is beetle feces. Some pics of the feathers they ate, the blue Guinea fowl skin riddled with bugs, and a few dead bugs and shed skins. The bugs which hatched will be flying around his tying room somewhere looking for other places to lay their eggs

There is no point in trying to recover any of this, it is only fit for the bin.

All this stuff was in sealed plastic bags in wooden drawers. ( One drawer is shown, I asked him to bring the whole drawers along). I have shown a close-up of the holes in the bag which had the natural guinea fowl skin where they ate their way into it. The other bags also have holes as well where the bugs ate their way in or out. The tin with the powder in, ( once again the powder is beetle feces, dead bugs, and shed bug skins) was standing on his desk with long feathers in it. The bugs have eaten the base of the feathers away, and also attacked some feathers higher up, but he did not notice this until it was too late.

Some bugs eat skin, and some eat feathers.

These are big pictures so may take a moment to load and I just took them quickly with my camera in the hand. I have to be careful with stuff like this. I don't want these bugs flying around in my house. These materials are all now in the bin!

















TL
MC

[Mike Connor]

Sorry, but the close up of the holes in the bags where the bugs ate their way in ( or out!), did not turn out very well. Difficult to photograph stuff like this free hand in macro. But I am sure you get the idea!

I already posted info on some of these bugs here;

http://www.flymphforum.com/viewtopic.ph ... 363#p26228

TL
MC

[Mike Connor]

Yes, but those are other pictures. The "speculum" is a special case, it is the iridescent coloured part of the secondaries on a duck's wing;

http://birding.about.com/od/Bird-Glossa ... eculum.htm

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... d_Duck.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... eculum.jpg

as you can see in the images above both male and female Mallard have them. Teal duck speculum is metallic green;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculum_feathers

The "alula" or "bastard wing" is something else entirely; Alula

QUOTE
Feathers on the alula or bastard wing are not generally considered to be flight feathers in the strict sense; though they are asymmetrical, they lack the length and stiffness of most true flight feathers. However, alula feathers are definitely an aid to slow flight. These feathers—which are attached to the bird's "thumb" and normally lie flush against the anterior edge of the wing—function in the same way as the slats on an airplane wing, allowing the wing to achieve a higher than normal angle of attack – and thus lift – without resulting in a stall. By manipulating its thumb to create a gap between the alula and the rest of the wing, a bird can avoid stalling when flying at low speeds or landing.[10]
UNQUOTE

From; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remiges#Remiges

There are a few fly patterns which use alula feathers from various birds.

[Kelly L.]

I keep my stuff mostly in Sterlite boxes with locking lid handles. I don't know if it would be considered airtight. Looking at those photos scares me to death. I would like to get some new ziplock bags for some of my capes. I do not know anyone who has the right size, or thickness. Does anyone know? That Moth Ice can't get here fast enough. I was afraid to just put in a few of the crystals from Moth Ice directly in contact with the feathers. That is why I wondered about another method. I have used tiny zip locks with moth balls before, and I poked a few holes in the bag. But the smell was just over whelming to me.

[Mike Connor]

I keep my stuff mostly in Sterlite boxes with locking lid handles. I don't know if it would be considered airtight. Looking at those photos scares me to death. I would like to get some new ziplock bags for some of my capes. I do not know anyone who has the right size, or thickness. Does anyone know? That Moth Ice can't get here fast enough. I was afraid to just put in a few of the crystals from Moth Ice directly in contact with the feathers. That is why I wondered about another method. I have used tiny zip locks with moth balls before, and I poked a few holes in the bag. But the smell was just over whelming to me.

You can put the crystals directly in the bags. You only need a small amount in each bag if the bags are airtight. ( Or if you use napthalene mothballs, one ball in each bag). You don't need to press the bags flat to expel the air either! It is better to leave a little air in the bag. This makes them bulkier to store of course, but it is better.

My friend asked me a few other questions, and this has also been mentioned here before. These bug infestations are NOT a result of having a "dirty house" ( although of course if you have a dirty house, that wont help! ). These are free flying bugs that can get in anywhere there is an opening. There is no way to secure a normal house against such bugs. You CAN secure your materials though, as previously described.

If you use a vacuum cleaner to clean up bugs etc, then EMPTY IT IMMEDIATELY and either wash the bag in hot soapy water, or dispose of it if it is a dispoosabel bag. The bugs will otherwise just hatch in the bag, happily eat the detritus in it, and then hatch and fly out.

You can order ziploc bags here:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss? ... gs&x=0&y=0

Both paradichlorbenzene ( Moth crystals) and Napthalene ( Moth balls, but you can crush them into crystals if you only want "half a mothbal"), are chemicals which sublimate. This means they turn directly into gas from the solid state. It is the gas you can smell and also what kills or deters bugs. This is also why they "disappear" slowly. The solid sublimates into gas and the gas floats away. In an airtight box the gas does not float away and the crystals etc last much longer, because the material can only give up gas until the surrounding air is saturated. This is known as "vapour pressure", and it only works if a container is airtight.

TL
MC

[Mike Connor]

Some sources for stuff;

http://www.amazon.com/Willert-Home-Prod ... 332&sr=8-1

To get rid of the mothball smell;

http://www.amazon.com/Smelleze%C2%AE-Re ... 332&sr=8-4

DO NOT USE THESE IN YOUR MATERIAL CONTAINERS! Anything that absorbs the gas also renders the mothballs useless!

QUOTE
Product Description
Mothballs are used to kill moths when storing clothing and other items in airtight storage containers. Mothballs are not intended for use outdoors, in crawl spaces, in attics, on floors or carpets, vehicles, with mattresses or furniture to keep away unwanted animals, rodents, pests, and snakes. Improper use of mothballs like any other chemical product, is not safe, and can result in odors. One common misuse of mothballs is their placement in attics to repel squirrels and other unwanted animals. The mothballs, which are generally made of Naphthalene or Para dichlorobenzene, produce vapors that are heavier than air and can drift downward into living areas. The resulting odors can be intolerable and overexposure to the vapors can result in health hazards. Smelleze® Mothball Deodorizer Pouch eliminates mothball fumes resulting from improper use and for products that don't dissipate naturally and quickly. Smelleze® will remove mothball odors faster without masking them with fragrances, complement existing ventilation systems, and create a safer environment. For a breath of fresh air, hang one or more reusable Smelleze® pouches near the odor and place on or inside return air ducts and smell the difference. Use one pouch per area or for every 150 sq. ft. To rejuvenate, place outdoors in sunlight for a day and reuse. Replace when rejuvenation does not help. Smelleze® can work for years so it is very cost effective. DISCLAIMER: Refer to the manufacturer's instructions and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for proper and safe use of their mothball repellent products. Use of Smelleze® will NOT expand the range of approved uses of mothballs by the manufacturer and render such uses safe. It only for helping to eliminate mothball odors faster due to improper use and for products that do not dissipate naturally and quickly once mothballs evaporate or are removed from the item or area. IMTEK is not associated with any mothball manufacturer.
UNQUOTE

TL
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[Mike Connor]

You should NOT add mothballs to gasoline tanks! This old "trick" to extend mileage will extend your mileage somewhat, but it will damage other things, is dangerous, ( you don't want sublimating chemicals in a gas tank!), and may shorten engine life. It is also probably illegal!

TL
MC

[Mike Connor]

Here is one of the bug cases I extracted from the mess. First as a macro shot,


and then photographed through my microscope. I had to photograph it in sections, because I can not get everything into the viewing field on my main microscope;





I use a demo version of the capture software and it puts a copyright mark on captures!

This is the case of a carpet beetle. ( Dermestid)

TL
MC