Wool Mites and Harvested Angora
Topic: Wool Mites

I had a wonderful time browsing at Cummington while waiting for the second bunny to arrive, and got a chance to really look over the wares that folks had brought. I bought some fabulous handspun French angora from ELEMENTAL DESIGNS; mohair and mohair dyed locks to play with from Twin Gate Farms; and my usual spinning batts from Spinner's Hill. I love to fiber shop and support small fiber businesses.

It was interesting to see the angora rabbits there, from bunnies too young to be sold (!) to pricey Germans with weepy eyes (!) to delightful Agouti bunnies (I do not keep or breed that color pattern, but someday I may have a few for fun). I acquired my own bunny from Charlene, and Grijsje will make an appearance on the blog this week, as will Lucinda who comes with Shelia and Jen today.

In browsing, I happened to see bags of angora spinning fiber for sale. Those of you with angora rabbits already who buy spinning fiber would do well to treat the fiber as you would a new rabbit. Quarantine the fiber for a while, then treat it for fur mites before you use it, as discussed here before. Fur mites can invade your clothing in 5 minutes when you use infected fiber, and then invade any rabbit you touch or feed in the next few hours. So, just think before you proceed. And, if you are selling fiber, it would be a courtesy to sprinkle the fiber with CARBARYL flea powder before you pack it.