Buggy Feathers

I know birds can carry lice but I thought the feathers you bought at the craft and fabric stores were treated for that. Anyone have any idea what this could have been and how to stop it from happening again? I don't mind remakeing the fans, but I HATE bugs.

Sandy Pettinger
My guess would be moth larvae - standard clothes moths. They like feathers, just like they like wool. The best way to conquer them without leaving a stink is to put your stuff in a paper or cloth bag, and put it in the freezer for about a week. Do this once or twice a year, and when you remove and thaw them, do it where there's good airflow so you don't get mildew or other moisture problems.

Sandy (Who has WAY too many molting feather headpieces in the attic - too big for the freezer.)

Carolyn Kayta Barrows
If they look like little pill bugs but about a quarter of an inch long, they may be carpet beetles, which started out in wool rugs years ago and went upscale since then. Ask your local Department of Agriculture about whatever you have, and show them samples. But I otherwise agree with the previous advice.

Martin Gear
They are called feather mites. The best way to avoid them is to bag your feathers (plastic zip locks work well) and put them in a freezer for a couple of days, thaw them out for 24 hours, shake them, then freeze them again to get rid of any eggs. If possible, store the feathers in cedar boxes or a good quality cedar chest. There is a spray called "Scalex" mite and lice spray for birds and feathers which you can get at a pet store. Spritzing the feathers with that will help to keep the mites from coming back. Any time that you get new feathers, be sure to treat them the same way no matter who or where you got them from.

Advice comes from #2 son who is native American and really knows from feathers.

Charles Galway
I think of carpet beetles, as smaller, about one-eight inch (6 3 mm) beetle. The larvae are small fuzzy-tailed "worms." And they eat a lot of stored plant seeds or animal parts. As said, they are sensitive to freezing. In the winter, the item can be set outside in a bag, and frozen a few times at night. If smaller, the fridge works. And of course the other insect protection methods.

Carpet beetle and larvae (dermestids), silver fish (insect, no flying adults), mites, and wool moths all look very different.

Carolyn Kayta Barrows
I could leave them outside all winter here, visiting them daily while wearing a t-shirt and jeans and sandals, and it would have no effect - I live in California. But you're right about carpet beetles except that I sometimes find them in my feathers.

JoAnne
Put your feathered things in plastic bags, seal them well. Then put the bags in your freezer for a week. That will kill both bugs and eggs. Works for moths and wool, too.

Henry Osier
I have known for years that insects can not handle fast freezes, such as going from normal room temperature to below freezing. They can take a slow cool down, but not the sudden change.

If the feathers themselves can handle a freeze, put them in the freezer for a day.

JoAnne Abbott
Here is a feather tip from a SCA friend of mine-

Before one makes a feather bed or quilt, one bakes the feathers for an hour or so at a low heat- but one high enough to kill bugs- say 150 degrees. Some bugs can be killed by heat, some by freezing. I'd go to poison only as a final resort (Putting them in a plastic bag with moth balls, etc.). Traditionally, there are several herbs you put in with your long storage garb- lavender, rue, etc. that keep the bugs away. I never pack away my garb without lavender packets any more.

Hope this helps! Personally, I would trust baking the lil monsters to freezing them- think of how many bugs survive the winter in their egg forms, only to reappear with the flowers...

Martin Gear
I have to rely on native American son about this, but he gets feathers from all over the world for regalia and the first thing that he does is bag them and put them in our freezer. (Which can be quite a shock when looking for lasagna.) He keeps the completed regalia in a cedar box after he has completed making it and has yet to lose any feathers to the critters. While a little controlled steam can freshen feathers, too much causes them to deform, and I have no idea about micro waving them but I'd just as soon he not do that in my microwave. YMMV