Buggy taxidermy

[Muleycatcher]

I was just reading Stone sheep Steve's post about the mount he recently acquired that was his dad's buck and now has bugs on it.

It got me thinking about my own mounts as well, and while I've never seen any bugs on them, I am wondering what are the signs that your mount has bugs and how do you prevent your mount from every getting any bugs in the first place?

I would like to avoid ever having this problem in the future.

[takla1]

look in any creases on the hide for dryed out small egg cassings,that how ive found them before,if any then really look closely everywhere

[northof49]

Just gotta take a break form hunting and clean the house once in awhile.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

As far as I know these same bugs are the ones you can find in flour/old cereal boxes.
You'll see their casings.
Look for loose hair and small bald patches on your mounts. They chew the hair off right at the roots.

I found some live ones just yesterday but, luckily, they were outside chewing on a whitie rack I shot last yr.
I'll try to take some pics when I get home.

SSS

[Wild Images]

Watch for the casings and also small cut hairs under the mounts
One very bad way to get bugs going in your house is to have antlers around with dried hair on the skull plates, these should be cleaned so there is nothing for the bugs to feed on

[Barracuda]

they should be treated so as not to get any of these issues

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Snapped a few pics of a buggy skull plate that I left on the fence to let the bugs and birds cleen up.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Buggs_007.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=19675)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Buggs_008.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=19676)
http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/Buggs_003.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=19674)

Now I need to go have a shower:?.

SSS

[Muleycatcher]

hmm..thanks SSS.

I just checked both my mounts and never found any hair falling out or any bugs, but did find what appeared to be an old casing. but none of the other tell tale signs where there. just gave both of them a good vacuum.

Moved into a new place so I dont want to transfer any of those buggers to my new place if one is happening to be hiding somewhere.

I guess all a guy can do is keep a close eye on them.

[Mr. Dean]

What about placing a flea collar on them, once in a while?
What attracts the bugs?
There should be NO flesh so what are they feeding on?

I've checked my stuff and can't find anything...

[landphil]

Now I'm itchy everywhere - THANKS!:twisted:

[Moose72]

So much for my lunch.

[Wild Images]

They don't need meat to get into a mount, some of the older tanning isn't as bug resitant as the newer stuff and should be checked and treated before putting it with your other trophies.

[huntinnewbie]

Was at our local auction awhile back. It's a general household auction where you never know what your going to find.
Quite often there is old taxidermy there.
They had a full mount of a bear cub standing on its hind legs and a half frontal mount of another bear.
The cub was covered in old casings of bugs and was in not very good condition. The front mount was in better condition but also had issues.
Needless to say they weren't coming home with me.
Not sure what a person could do with them.

[BiG Boar]

Those almost look like a dermestid type bettle larvae. Not saying thats what they are, but they obviously are some type of flesh eater. I just got my dermestid bettle aquarium up and running and so far so good. No escapes. However we will see if they learn to fly in this heat! The cold there was pretty hard on them.

[jml11]

Anyone able to suggest possible solutions should you find bugs on a mount? I understand the solution may depend on the severity of the infestation.

[skibum]

light coat of sevin

[Jagermeister]

Definitely from the dermestidae family, also known as carpet beetles. Here's a link to some photos.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/6448/bgimage

[BigBanger]

Thats some nasty shit.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Definitely from the dermestidae family, also known as carpet beetles. Here's a link to some photos.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/6448/bgimage

One particular species of the dermestid family is quite interesting....Dermestidae lesbianum...commonly known as the "carpet munching beetle"..although they are known as poor colonizers since they seem to lack a "y" chromosome and are prone to cannibalism. Also, they are not recommended for preparing skulls since they seem to have an aversion for chewing on bone.:?.

SSS

[whitetailsheds]

One particular species of the dermestid family is quite interesting....Dermestidae lesbianum...commonly known as the "carpet munching beetle"..although they are known as poor colonizers since they seem to lack a "y" chromosome. Also, they are not recommended for preparing skulls since they seem to have an affinity for chewing on bone.:?.

SSS

Oh my lord.....lol.....

[BiG Boar]

One particular species of the dermestid family is quite interesting....Dermestidae lesbianum...commonly known as the "carpet munching beetle"..although they are known as poor colonizers since they seem to lack a "y" chromosome. Also, they are not recommended for preparing skulls since they seem to have an affinity for chewing on bone.:?.

SSS

Thats funny right there. :-D

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Just a reminder to check your taxidermy once in a while for bugs. Found several lavas casings on my caribou.

Going to attaboy raiding it and sealing it in a large plastic bag.

Any other quick suggestions??

SSS

[mattmckay]

They might be clothes moth larvae. Similar to the mealy moths that you find in your flour or cereal. Freezing kills them so I put my mounts outside when it's cold for a few days every winter. I brought home a old stone ram that was thick with them. I put it in my friends freezer for a week before I brought it home

[Stone Sheep Steve]

They might be clothes moth larvae. Similar to the mealy moths that you find in your flour or cereal. Freezing kills them so I put my mounts outside when it's cold for a few days every winter. I brought home a old stone ram that was thick with them. I put it in my friends freezer for a week before I brought it home

Thanks for that info.

Dang. May have missed the temperature window.
Dont think a bou will fit in the deep freeze.

[wideopenthrottle]

those carpet beetles can live on the glue in the bindings of books...they will feed on anything organic like leather wool etc..and will find your mount anywhere....another pest is silverfish http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/silverfish-how-to-get-rid-of-them-prevent-an-infestation-203055 but they tend to stay low so not so much a problem for hanging mounds but maybe a problem for ones on the floor...
it looked like there were some millipedes in your photo to me

[Wild Images]

Just a reminder to check your taxidermy once in a while for bugs. Found several lavas casings on my caribou.

Going to attaboy raiding it and sealing it in a large plastic bag.

Any other quick suggestions??

SSS

See if Harley has a bottle of Mount Care.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

See if Harley has a bottle of Mount Care.

Just checked with him. He doesn't as he's never had any problems with bugs.