RE: salting vs. tanning
Salting is the first step to tanning, there is no tanning without salting first ,it is called curing the skin.
As Bill says all kinds of insects can eat salted skins ,specially dermestic beetles and african beetles.
So if Iam going to leave a skin around salted I first spread "Savin dust" at 10% all over it, until I send it to the tannery.