Fleas

[Powder monkey]

Am I the only one who gets bitten by fleas off of coyotes?
I seem to pick them up just dragging them to the truck. This is always worse when weather is warm like now.
Usually wake up in the morning after checking a line with new bites.
What can I do about this other than changing clothes when I get home?

[PCP_ECOM]

Originally Posted by Powder monkey

Am I the only one who gets bitten by fleas off of coyotes?
I seem to pick them up just dragging them to the truck. This is always worse when weather is warm like now.
Usually wake up in the morning after checking a line with new bites.
What can I do about this other than changing clothes when I get home?

spray with raid when you get them,then again when you get home again

[Marty S]

Yuck! I hate raid! I use it on fox and the odd coyote that are black with fleas, but the rest, wear rubber boots in your skinning shop and short sleeves and just skin them fast. If they get on your hands/arms flick them off, on the floor, if they land on your boots, they feel no heat and jump off right away. Runners, hunting boots, pant legs... if the land on them then they start to crawl and you, and you are done for!

Be warned tho, the odd person has died of bubonic plague from flea bites that were infected. But I have only heard of 1 or 2 on the continent... Canada plus USA, and one or both involved bobcat lice or fleas.

I suspect you will inflict much more harm upon yourselves inhaling raid mist than from flea bites???

[TrapperMike]

I have Konk dispensers set up around my shop to kill them. I use the 418 strength, that’s what the use in restaurants and kitchens.

[HunterDave]

Don’t throw them over your shoulder when you’re taking them out!

I don’t recall getting fleas from doing my checks. Fox and ermine get raided and put in a bag for a bit before bringing them in the shed but rarely every coyote. Sometimes if I have a bunch of coyotes hanging to thaw it can get pretty bad. When it does I nuke them with raid and close up the shed for about an hour. I hang my clothes outside the shed and put on coveralls once inside.
I’m going to start wearing my rubber boots like Marty mentioned. Yesterday I had to raid the top of my socks.

If you are getting them on your checks, raid them like PCP said, put them in a NAFA bag, give them another blast and close up the bag.

[Marty S]

I know one trapper who had to pay his kids $100 per flea bite. His wife didn't care much for fleas either, especially when they would show up during her weekly Bible study with a house full of church ladies.

Apparently he claimed that fleas love women and children due to the high levels of estrogen in their blood. They hate men and their testosterone but still seem to bite a guy on occasion.

[st99]

Originally Posted by HunterDave

If you are getting them on your checks, raid them like PCP said, put them in a NAFA bag, give them another blast and close up the bag.

where do you guys get your (NAFA) fur bag from?

[kingrat]

Originally Posted by Marty S

Yuck! I hate raid! I use it on fox and the odd coyote that are black with fleas, but the rest, wear rubber boots in your skinning shop and short sleeves and just skin them fast. If they get on your hands/arms flick them off, on the floor, if they land on your boots, they feel no heat and jump off right away. Runners, hunting boots, pant legs... if the land on them then they start to crawl and you, and you are done for!

Be warned tho, the odd person has died of bubonic plague from flea bites that were infected. But I have only heard of 1 or 2 on the continent... Canada plus USA, and one or both involved bobcat lice or fleas.

I suspect you will inflict much more harm upon yourselves inhaling raid mist than from flea bites???

X2 with the raid, almost every fox and rarely a yote gets treated. I strip down and leave my skining clothes in the garage where i skin and still bring the odd one in the house.