Squirrel tails

[JBplusThuy]

I may be coming into possession of some squirrel tails. If they are good for fly tying, do I need to do anything to preserve them/keep them from getting rotten and stinky?

If they're good for tying and worth mailing, I'll share them with my friends here on BBG.

Thanks!

Jonathan

[Vince Fusco]

Squirrle tails are good for fly tying. The first thing you want to do to preserve them is to skin them out to remove the bone, then split them up the length of the tail so the flesh side is showing. Then lay them on some cardboard flesh side up and cover them with borax. You can find this at the grocery store with the laundry soap. The borax will draw the moisture from the tail and preserve it. After a few days, shake the borax off the tail, and apply another layer of borax. In about a week your tails will be preserved. I have a fox that I shot back in my teens, and preserved the hide this way. The fur is still tight on it. 

[Allen Morgan]

I cured two road-kill squirrel tails this past winter, doing exactly what Vince said.  One additional thing you might want to do is to package the tails in ziplocks and freeze them after they are cured.  Let them sit for few days in the freezer, bring them out, and let them thaw.  Let them sit at room temp for a few days, then repeat.  This way, if there are any bugs and/or eggs in the fur, those are killed.

Be advised when tying with squirrel tail.  That stuff is SLIPPERY!!!

[Leo Nguyen]

I noticed adding the fur into the bath of hydrogen peroxide, soak for a day, then spray the fur well with cheap strong alcohol before freezing process eliminate nearly all the slippery effects during tying.

[JBplusThuy]

Thanks for the info! Squirrels have stripped my nectarine tree bare and eaten up my wife's cucumber and radish plants this week. Action must be taken. I'll let you know how it goes :-)

[JBplusThuy]

Wow, ground squirrels smell really, really  REALLY bad. I think I'm gonna give up on that preserve-the-tails idea :)