I have a collection of trophies with 13-14 various shouldermounts, 6-7 fullmounts, a lot of scullmounts and a few skins/rugs..
Recently I discovered that a 10 year old roebuck shouldermount was suffering from hair loss.. Took it to my local taxidermist, which would repair and stop the attack for me.. He couldn`t tell though what kind of attack this was.. Talked to another taxidermist, which really scared me off. He thought this was something that already was on the way of spreading to the other mounts. The solution was to freeze all of them for 4-5 days, take them up for a couple of days, and then freeze them again for a week. This was the only way to stop these insects, he said. And it could happen again any time..
Is it really that bad?? I have been looking for insects, but haven`t found a single specimen yet.. How I can do this practically is another difficult issue as these trophies won`t fit in regular freezers..

I saw an add in the SCI Safari magazine:
www.millertrophyroom.com

Anyone know`s how this work? Are there any companies who do this in Scandinavia?
All help and input appreciated!!

Hi Anders, I'll try to give you a simple solution: Look for a US product called "Raid Fumigator" It comes in a twin pack and is used to fumigate a home that is infested with roaches, ants, etc. If you can't get them locally, ask some of your friends to check. Once you have them, Take your mounts and clean them, then place them in an enclosed trailer. If you do not own one, rent one large enough to place all of your mounts inside. It needs to be as air tight as possible. Follow directions and use one fumigator. It is a can with yellow crystals inside. You place this upside down in the plastic cup (provided) with 1/4 water. It will immediately begin to expel a white fog. Keep the trailer closed for 24 hours. This will get most of the insects. Next, you need a product called Protex Mount Care which is available from most major Taxidermy supply houses here in the US. Your Taxidermist should be able to order it. There may be some suppliers in Europe that carry it. The best is Edolan U but it's banned here, so Germany may be a possibility. Use a spray nozzle to mist spray each mount. Anything with horns (not antler) should have a good soaking as these attract moths as well. Let dry (it has a strong odor for a few days) and then repeat the fumigation, leaving them another 24 hours. Infestation will result in seeing fine "sawdust" on your mounts or the floor. Hair will pull out with simple hand wiping, especially around horns. This should kill most anything, but you must use both methods. Repeat the Protex at least once per year. The smell will dissipate after a few days. Good hunting, David

I use Miller Trophy Room. They do a great job and leave me some peace of mind, especially since I'm gone 10 weeks at a time and can't be checking up on my animals. I remeber them saying they did out of country mount protection, but I don't know if they do it anymore.

I have heard the freezing method works. Mr. Keith's method seems pretty effective as well.

Mr. Keith, would it also be a good idea to fumigate the room the animals are in (if possible) to kill any bugs that may be lurking around?

Al, as long as your not there during the fumigation. You should plan on being away for at least 24 hours. Turn the air conditioning off as you don't want it circulating through the house. As far as pesticides go, it isn't a high end toxin, and dissapates within a few weeks, but this is to avoid having to wash all your dishes and linens. Good hunting, David

An agricultural pesticide called lorban works very well if you can get it. Where gloves and a mask when using it and spray outside the house. After the mount drys you can bring it in with impunity. The stuff is hard on the liver of animals so keep it away from pets. The concentration is about 30 to 60 gm to 4 L water for the mix. Good luck. You really should spray every mount weather it looks infested or not. Miller trophy does a very good job but is not cheap. This is particulary true because of your location in this case.

All of the above methods are great. I personally use "permethrin" as my insecticide of choice. Most feed stores sell it for use on horses to conrol fly's. One note, The methods of preservation your taxidermist used has a large impact on the infestation. Also,this treatment is not a one time fix-all. It will need to be done on a regular basis. Every 6 to 12 months unless you can find Edolan-U. Normally I clean my mounts once a month and spray a small amount of permethrin around the horn bases. Hopefully your damage is not too great. Quite often the damage is not noticed until it is very severe.

Just some other things I have learned about dermistids. They can come back easily after the fumigation treatment. They can also attack very well preserved high end taxidermy. Mounts stored in non-climate controlled areas are at highest risk because the mothes preffer warmer temps combined with humidity. These conditions of course are restricted with AC systems. One other strange coincidence of people I know that have had bug problems, all but one of the cases originated in a turkey mount. I have heard this debated about the freezed dried turkey heads attract bugs. I do not know this to be a fact but I do wonder if there is a connection.

Thanks a lot for all the input!
It seems that the attack is some kind of moth (not sure though)..
Is it possbile for them to spread around?
My local taxidermist told me to spray with a norwegian insecticide called Radar. It`s supposed to be quite effective.
And then pay close attention to the others. I did that this weekend and discovered another trophy that was suffering from a slight hair loss. It`s know in my freezer! The others seems unaffected..

I will definetly look into the fumigation process!
Contacted Miller and they didn`t do out of country work. He wanted to send me an article he had written on freezing though, so I might look into that option.
At the moment I just try to pay attention to every single trophy..

The strange thing is that I still haven`t seen a single insect in there.. I hope the attack is over, and that the insects died, but one can never be to sure..

Would it be a good idea to clean the whole room thouroughly as well (walls, roof etc)..? Just to remove anything that might still be there?

Are most inceticides supposed to kill all stages in an insects life (adults, larvaes, eggs)??? If so, I wouldn`t need to do anything more, as long as the insecticide is effective..

i had a moth attack a few years ago. they really raised hell with things, ended up throwing away several birds. i closed up the room and sprayed permethrin and left it sit closed up for a day. the next day there were thousands of dead moths on the floor. I still don't know where they came from, one day there was nothing and the next they just appeared. Hasn't happened again since, but now every spring i close up the room and spray the permethrin again

These guys have hundreds of satisfied customers. Kent and his wife visit me yearly and do touch up and preventive care on my mounts and always come through.

Taxidermy Care