Fleas

[boz]

Hi all. My first post, hope I've put it in the right section. I've got a problem with rabbit fleas. Baged 8 rabbits the other night and after leaving them paunched but with their coats on for 24 hours in the garage they were still covered in fleas. I'm quite new to this and wondered if someone could give me a tip on how to get rid on the pesky things.

[Bob Hurley]

Well, this isn't exactly going to be a "neat trick".

I have the same problem with squirrels, and foxes are even worse. What I did on squirrels was to spray my clothes with flea repellent to keep them off me, and skin someplace away from the house. Skinning gets rid of all but the ones that jump off, and if you're sprayed good they won't stay on you.

For foxes (I didn't eat them), I carried large plastic garbage bags and a flea-killing spray in the truck. Took the bag to the trap and put the fox in it, when I got to the truck I opened it a little bit and shot some flea spray inside. After about an hour I'd get the fox out, and it sounded like sand hitting the floor of the skinning shed when I shook the fleas out. I got very few bites that way.

The old Nessmuk formula (pennyroyal, pine tar, and castor oil) for "bug dope" seems to work in the woods to keep them away. It's messy, but it works for me.

According to Ian Fleming, the Japanese poet Bassho wrote, "A certain number of fleas is good for a dog ... otherwise, he forgets he is a dog". The problem I face is that my wife does not agree with Bassho, and gets most peculiarly upset if I bring any of the little attitude-adjusters to our bed.

[Wildpacker]

Blowtorch

[Goose]

Would putting them in a bucket of water for a while work?

[Goose]

Blowtorch
Before or after the blowtorch!

[Paganwolf]

Paunch them then put them in the freezer that works for me, kills any nastys they may have if feeding whole to ferrets ect, or dress them fully in the field and just bring the meat back.Oh and welcome to the site matey :biggthump

[Gary]

Usually I hang any fresh meat (with its jacket still on but gutted) in my shed, any unwanted guests will leave the host body once it grows cold. Works for me as I've never had a problem with Fleas -- which is just as well as I am serious allergic to them!

Of course if your going to eat it that day just prep it outside.

[Squidders]

I would also suggest cold... fleas like most critters like warm bodies to live on.

Or you could just seal it in an air tight container as most things need air. it depends on how long you want to wait before devouring the bunnies :wink:

[iceman]

I have hunted most of my life in one form or another and what gary and squidders says is true, any parasite will leave a body once it ceases to be warm.

There is no point messing around with the kill just hang it outdoors and away from predators until it is cold.

Freezing it is ok but be careful of cross contaminating normal food.

[Pict]

Ditto on the cold. We would just hang the animals in the shed and the fleas would leave. Mac

[Toddy]

I did this to a skin before, but because I didn't tannin cure it, the flea eggs were still viable.....if you're going to use the fur find some pyrithrin or similar. I've a friend who cures sheepskins by soaking them in paraffin and then alum :yikes: ; she swears that kills anything. :-)

Toddy

[boz]

Thanks for all the advice, paticularly the blowtorch bit :rolmao:

[RovingArcher]

Ditto on them leaving when the carcass cools off. Our Dept. of Fish and Game suggest that after killing a Bobcat, that the carcass be allowed to cool before approaching and handling it. That way the fleas and ticks will have left it. Seems they carry plaque fleas, as do squirrels and other rodents. Especially in the Mtn areas.

[Dorian Gra]

Stick em in a sealed bag and pop em in the freezer for a month, then defrost in bag and put some moth balls in the bag if you intend to keep the fur for fly tying

[C_Claycomb]

Are you still able to get flee spray? When the rabbits on my patch (this was some years back) had a lot of fleas, I changed my procedure a little. If I wasn't hanging the fresh rabbit in a hedge for later collection, and had to carry it with me, I would put it in a bag and give it a squirt of pet flea spray. I would wait till I had more than one to paunch, find a quiet spot and do the lot altogether. Never had any animate fleas after that treatment.

Do rabbit fleas bother people? I didn't think that they did, I just didn't like them.

The spray also works on bird mites, that might be useful for rook shooting, or if you have to carry other corvids around.

[R-Bowskill]

If you're feeliong flash you could try marinading the rabbit in whisky. The little fellows will drown and the meat will take on an interesting flavour, maybe that's how cock au vin was invented?

We used to soak foxes brushes and squirrel tails in a jar of meths to for a month to kill anything they might have on them before hanging them on the wall so the idea is sound, even if a bit expensive.