By John Merwin

February is a great fly-tying month for many of us otherwise weather-bound northerners. And as you drag out bags and boxes of furs and feathers, be sure to check that your materials aren’t bugged.

No, not hidden microphones. Dermestid beetle larvae, which very possibly have been chomping away on your expensive dry-fly necks during long months of storage. This is a huge and very common problem, although one that seems to get little notice.

You might see a few odd-looking small holes on the skin side of a rooster neck or a few hackle feathers that look oddly chewed. Another tell-tale is fine black particles that look like finely ground pepper accumulating at the bottom of a dubbing-fur storage bag. These are, literally, beetle crap.

If you find evidence of beetle damage, seal the material in a plastic bag and throw it away right now. Dermestid beetle larvae spread easily and quickly to other materials, so if you don’t get rid of them the rest of your fly-tying collection will likewise become infested.

Beware when accepting gifts, trades, or purchase of “used” tying materials, which is probably how you got a beetle infestation in the first place.

Although I have a long acquaintance with these little buggers, I’m still not sure how to get rid of them, other than outright discard. I’m tempted to say hot water and a detergent, but I’m not sure even that will work.

I do know that the tiny larvae can even be transferred into fly boxes by tying flies with infested materials. I’ve seen--years later--complete dry-fly collections stripped partly naked by these infernal creatures.

When it doubt, throw it out....

Comments (9)

from shane wrote 2 years 1 week ago

These little guys are a blessing and a curse. Mostly a curse, until you have skull to clean.

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from tbogg10 wrote 2 years 1 week ago

i thought dermestid beetles ate flesh, so would they eat live human flesh, if they were given the chance? if so i could see the problem, besides eating your gear

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from dukkillr wrote 2 years 1 week ago

Wow. I had no idea. Thanks for the tip!

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from Koldkut wrote 2 years 1 week ago

I can't remember the name of the stuff, but it's basically powered moth balls. All self-collected natural fur and feathers get a 60 day quaratine in a ziplock with this powder to rid it of all the buggy goodness.

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from jamesti wrote 2 years 1 week ago

that sucks considering how expensive this stuff is!

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from jloutdoors wrote 2 years 1 week ago

I know exactly what your talking about. I stored my turkey, pheasant, and duck fly-tying feathers in a box in my work room. Last month I decided that I should get them out to start preparing for the upcoming season. When I opened the box I saw all my feathers were gone. trying to figure out what had happened I had a moth fly out then fifteen more flew out. Now I have to buy my flies for a while until I can replenish my supply. Make sure your fly boxes are tightly sealed.

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from buckhunter wrote 2 years 1 week ago

Those little buggers will infest even the best air tight storage boxes. I lived in an old farm house while in college and was constantly fighting the bugs and mice but having a neck chewed up some was nothing compared to the bugs infesting a box of well tied flies.

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from cdavis1887 wrote 2 years 3 days ago

when you get new or used materials you should always put them in a ziploc freezer bag and shove them in the freezer, this will kill almost any insect on them

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from Peter Fallon wrote 1 year 51 weeks ago

I've been lucky to never have a beetle problem in over 20 years of tying...until now. Yikes!
I've got a good sized chest freezer that needs to be cleaned out. I'll stack all of my drawers in there for a bit and let you know how it goes.

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from shane wrote 2 years 1 week ago

These little guys are a blessing and a curse. Mostly a curse, until you have skull to clean.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from tbogg10 wrote 2 years 1 week ago

i thought dermestid beetles ate flesh, so would they eat live human flesh, if they were given the chance? if so i could see the problem, besides eating your gear

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dukkillr wrote 2 years 1 week ago

Wow. I had no idea. Thanks for the tip!

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Koldkut wrote 2 years 1 week ago

I can't remember the name of the stuff, but it's basically powered moth balls. All self-collected natural fur and feathers get a 60 day quaratine in a ziplock with this powder to rid it of all the buggy goodness.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jloutdoors wrote 2 years 1 week ago

I know exactly what your talking about. I stored my turkey, pheasant, and duck fly-tying feathers in a box in my work room. Last month I decided that I should get them out to start preparing for the upcoming season. When I opened the box I saw all my feathers were gone. trying to figure out what had happened I had a moth fly out then fifteen more flew out. Now I have to buy my flies for a while until I can replenish my supply. Make sure your fly boxes are tightly sealed.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from buckhunter wrote 2 years 1 week ago

Those little buggers will infest even the best air tight storage boxes. I lived in an old farm house while in college and was constantly fighting the bugs and mice but having a neck chewed up some was nothing compared to the bugs infesting a box of well tied flies.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jamesti wrote 2 years 1 week ago

that sucks considering how expensive this stuff is!

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from cdavis1887 wrote 2 years 3 days ago

when you get new or used materials you should always put them in a ziploc freezer bag and shove them in the freezer, this will kill almost any insect on them

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Peter Fallon wrote 1 year 51 weeks ago

I've been lucky to never have a beetle problem in over 20 years of tying...until now. Yikes!
I've got a good sized chest freezer that needs to be cleaned out. I'll stack all of my drawers in there for a bit and let you know how it goes.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

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All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.