So, I'm reloading shotgun shells tonight for skeet tomorrow and look up at an impala mount and say to myself "I don't remember it having scars on it's face". So I take a walk over and a few spots on the face have where the fur is gone. I start poking around and there is quite a bit of fur that is just falling off! A little closer inspection and I'm able to find 2 small worm looking things about 2mm long that are sort of white ish clear. I'm going to talk to the taxidermist tomorrow, but am a bit worried for the rest of my mounts and wanted some thoughts on what is up before anything else get's ruined.

First thing you do is get that Impala out of your house! You have a serious bug problem.

Go to your local hardware or farm store and get a "bug fogger" it's a can that you set in a room, push the button and it fills the room with a bug killer. Doesn't hurt the rest of the mounts, it will kill any critters lurking around.

Did you have the tanning or mounts done in Africa? Looks to me like a pickled skin..

Yieks! Widowmaker416 is right!! Get it out of the house! I would slip it in a big plastic bag to contain the little beggers.
I would not carry it into the taxidermist without fare warning because you might give him a stroke!! The last thing a taxidermist wants in his shop are dermested beetles.
Your taxidermist can get you the proper material to treat the rest of your trophy's or if you have a rather large collection of valued trophies I would get ahold of Millers Trophy and have them treat your game room.
Good luck and let us know the outcome.

quote:

Originally posted by Widowmaker416:
Go to your local hardware or farm store and get a "bug fogger" it's a can that you set in a room, push the button and it fills the room with a bug killer. Doesn't hurt the rest of the mounts, it will kill any critters lurking around.

..

Yes get that mount out of your house! but before you use a bug fogger, turn off all pilot lights in your house! The gassious fog is flamable, and may burn your house down. We had several apartments in the Bedford Texas burn down as a result of the foggers igniteing from the pilot lites. They work for retardent fix temperaraly, but the other mounts need internal treatment, in short order!
The suggestion to not go into a taxidermist place with that head is a valid one. Have him come out to your car to look at it!

place mount in a large heavy duty plastic trash bag and put a can of defogger inside and seal the bag. Then push the de-fogger bug spray from outside the bag and let it works its wonder and sit overnight. I had to do this to my mounts and works great. Don't try to activate the can and then place it in into the bag as it can make you sick as hell, I speak from experience!
Good luck!

Try contacting "Miller Trophy Room Preservation and Restoration" about your problem. Just do a search for contact info. That is what they specialize in.

I had a problem with bugs in a trophy shipment received from Zim. Tried several common insectisides with no luck. I called Miller Trophy Room who came to my house and solved the problem.
They are quite busy travelling the country, but are often able to work you into their schedule. Be prepared to have all of your trophies treated if you use Miller.
They also do good taxidermy repair.
I would give them a call if I were you.

I would also vote for Miller's Trophy Room preservation. I had dermestid beetles, but not anymore. I'll be having them come back in about a year to take care of any new mounts. They do an excellent job, well worth it.

What kind of cost are you guys being charged to have your trophies protected by Miller?

I had three mounts, two shoulder mounts and skull, done for $120. The only other thing you need to do is find them a place to stay, either in a spare room or hotel room. I'm looking at their brochure, it would cost you $40 to get an imapala protected. Mounts vary from about $40-$85 for typical size shoulder mounts (elephants, rhino's, etc cost more respectively), life-size mounts run $100-$200 and skulls are $10-$20. You do have to have the entire collection preotected, which makes sense, if you have bugs on one mount, they are probably on other mounts as well. Give them a call at (704)463-2001 or email them at MTR@dialpoint.net . I'd highly recommend it, they stand behind their work 100%, have a 10 year guarantee, and are excellent at explaining what they are doing to your mounts each step of the way. I felt like an idiot calling them because I didn't have the 4,000 square foot trophy room some of my friends have, but they treat you just the same, regardless of how many trophies you need protected.

YOu definitly need to get rid of those bugs fast!! They will ruin an entire trophy collection quicker than you think. I have heard nothing but good things about Miller's process. I'm not sure about the fooger approach but I have done it and it doesn't hurt anything and could possibly help. Good luck.

Well, called the taxidermist Sat. morning and the first thing the girl their asked was, "did you have any small tan moths flying around the house this spring?", answer "yep". She called them Melia moths, but wasn't sure about the correct name. She said they have been getting a ton of calls this spring about the. Suggested getting 55 gallon drum liners, misting each mount witha dairy type insectacide and sealing the bag for a week. I inspected other mounts and didn't find any issues, but did bag a bunch just to be safe. In 2 weeks, if they come out all right, I'll package the rest up and do them.

She also recommended a product called Mount Shield that I'll be looking into.

She also suggested, as stated above, to do a couple bug bombs in the house to be safe.

Obviously, I can't do the bags around the larger animals, but will try misting them with the bug killer and then using this Mount Sheild.

I had the moth problem a few years ago. Lost half a dozen things to them. I closed up the room and turned the fogger loose. When I opened it up a day latter the floor was just about covered with moths. Have not had the problem since, but I make it a point every year or two to fog it down just on G.P.

Funny how I went 20 years without a problem. I'll definetly do some inspecting every few months now.

G Maxsom
I am a exterminator with 30 years in the business. I can't tell by the pic what you have
100 % I think it is a carpet bettle larva, it could also be a cloths moth larva. Both insect will eat : hides, hair, your wifes Furs,natural
hairs,silks and wool products. You better hire a professional. If you allow either pest to get a good foot hold you will regret it as the can be costly and hard to clear out.

JD

JD PM me on what you use, I want to do this and make sure my exterminator is using the correct insecticide. Do permetherin based compounds work?

Whiteeyetatatto (thats a lot to type)
I have not used Permetherin for beatle or moth work my self. I do not know if it is labled for such work but would suspect that it is. I would choose a encapesaladed type product.they tend to remain active for much longer. I like demand or suspend. I havent had a job for CB or Moths in about 3 years so I would have to check the lable. Call around and see if any of the companys there have a Fumagation shed or locker.
You would be able to put all items involved in the shed for a set fee and know for sure that there will be no eggs or pupa surving.You need to check the rest of the house for infestation,
any nateral fibers should be suspect includeing wool blends. I had one cust, that had two very furry cats that shed there body weight every.
It took 8 month of follow up to get clear of the problem. A Carpet beatle problem can be a tough one to solve.

Good luck.
Jd

Sorry about the spelling on the above post.I have just had a long day. Saeed please get us spell check. Thank god I shoot better than I type or spell.I would never have any wild game
If I did not.
JD