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Bugs in mounts.

I have a number of mounts in a room with a high ceiling. Below a whitetail mount I am seeing some small bugs on the floor which are less than a 1/16" long. I remember seeing a thread on here about bugs attacking mounts. Right now I do not have a ladder tall enough to reach the mount. I can see no damage to the mount but I suspect that the bugs are coming from it. I have a total of 17 mounts in the room so I am concerned about this turning into a major problem. Does anyone have any information on the type of bugs that attack mounts and how to address them?

If you’re seeing bugs then you already have a problem. You better find a way to get up to that mount and see if hair is pulling out.

I’m no expert..... but I think moths are a big problem.....

I was told they were rug weavals My pest control guy mixed up some clear spray in a windex type bottle and I just spray lightly when ever I clean,they eat the hair right at the skin line and you will see the shells usually in the ear hair

Moths, beetles, and cockroaches are all bugs that will infest mounts. I once mounted a buck that was infested with lice on the hoof. I use the Borax method of taxidermy, instead of tanning the capes. Even though this buck's cape had been frozen prior to mounting, the lice managed to survive. I had to leave the mount in my garage for a few months before the lice finally vacated it due to not having any blood to feed on.

Can you post a picture of the bugs? Perhaps we can ID them for you.

Matt

I spray mine with “Mount Medix”, sorta smells like peppermint and is supposed to keep moths and other bugs out of your mounts

Here is a picture. Unfortunately they are so small it is hard to get a good picture. They look like fleas to me. The mount is 10+ years old so I doubt that they are fleas from the buck himself.

Here is a picture. Unfortunately they are so small it is hard to get a good picture. They look like fleas to me. The mount is 10+ years old so I doubt that they are fleas from the buck himself.

You sure those are bugs and not mouse turds ??

I am sure that they are bugs. I can see the shell and legs.

Once a year all mine get hauled out, blown off and sprayed with permethrin

1 possibility. They look like carpet bettles to me. They would be dead adults which do not harm anything but plant matter. The problem is the larva is what eats just about anything. Including animal hair and leather. I got them in my house this summer and got them under control I THINK?!? I have not seen evidence yet them hitting my mounts and have had talks with my Taxidermist. The larva is like a small maggot with tiny legs. Visible but hard to find. Look under rugs or couches or on mount. So far they have not come back. But I have read they do attack mounts. Hope it works out!

luckydraw, how did you handle them?

Schmitty78, I called Mount Medix and left a message. Did you use their mount saver?

Permethrin,or Befrin (slightly longer duration of action) yep the same stuff you use for ticks just spray on your mounts

I remember Pat L. writing or having an article on this subject. I think he sent his away for treatment. Me, I would nip it in the bud and talk to a professional taxidermist. One could spray a synthetic pyrethroid but it may need a more permeable anaerobic treatment.

I dread getting an infestation.

Thanks for the responses. I spoke with a guy from Mount Medix who identified the bugs as a type of beetle. He assured me that their products will take care of my problem. The costs were reasonable so I have placed an order. Thanks again especially you Schmitty78.

Let us know how it goes. I would be very careful to inspect the infested mount if the product is a repellent to ensure the beetles are removed. Generally it would take a product that kills the existing Coleoptera insects, then for future, repellant applications.

I purchased a product to kill the bugs and a second product to repel them in the future. I will let you know how they work.

Here is the old thread... EDIT: Link doesn’t work, use link supplied in my next message.

A twice a year spraying of permethrin will keep them pretty safe.

Yep, I use mount saver. I started using because I had some type of small insect around one of my mounts. Haven’t had any since, stuff seems to work well

My dad had this gentleman come and spray his mounts when I discovered moths crawling through the hair of one his African mounts. He has a lot of taxidermy, so it made sense to hire Trophy DOC. He goes from PA all the way to CA and works his way back. I took him down to our farm to spray some mounts down there and he was a nice guy. So far, no more bugs.

I have my own mounts and a taxidermist told me to spray flying insect killer liberally on the mounts every year. I get them from Ace when they are on sale and go to town and also set off some bug bombs. That being said, I am curious about the other sprays mentioned on here. Sunlight and bugs are the biggest threats to taxidermy (or worse, a wife who won't let you keep them in the house).

Looking forward to hearing additional responses on this thread.

Just a quick update. While I was waiting for the delivery of the products from Mount Medix I took five mounts down and put them on the floor. I soon had beetles crawling on the floor and I was concerned about spreading the problem. I went to Walmart and bought a Raid bomb. After treating with the bomb I still had a few beetles moving but it was greatly reduced. For the next 24 hours or more I had dead and dying bugs showing up including two cock roaches which I would have never guessed were there. The number of beetles showing up is way down and may be at or close to zero. It appears that the residuals from the bomb are still killing things. I will treat with the Mount Medix products when they come but I am thinking that treating with a Raid bomb periodically may work well.

goyt - Sorry I did not respond - i was away for a while on a hunt - and I still dont have bow site on my phone. I got an exterminator and had him come back once. Also talking to others I vacuum a lot . That actually one of the best preventions. Suck the little buggers up before they can do any damage. Please keep us posted. Thanks

Wow I didn't know this was a thing. Good luck!

what mount did the roaches come out of do you know.

Bou'bound, the only mount that I have been able to confirm that there are beetles in it is a whitetail. The very top whitetail in the picture. I took the lower 4 mounts and put them in a separate room and it does not appear like anything is coming out of them.

I took the 5 mounts down and put them on the floor. There were clearly beetles coming out of what was the top mount. How they got up there I have no idea. It is surprising that the other 4 show no damage. While I was waiting for products from Mount Medix I was concerned about the beetles getting into some of my other mounts so I sealed the room and set of a Raid bomb. That seemed to help a lot. Them I took the 5 whitetails, 1 sheep, a bear rug , a partial goat skin and a beaver skin and put them outside in temperatures down to 16 degrees. That seemed to help some. I still had beetles coming out of the 1 whitetail. It got up to 40 on Friday so I took the whitetail mount that I could see larva on and hung it outside and treated it with Mount Saver. I also treated the other 4 whitetails and a sheep with Mount Protector because I could see no damage to them or any infestations. I brought the whitetail mount with the infestation back inside prior to going to bed because it was going to rain. The next morning there may have been no new beetles on the floor but they are so small that it is hard to tell. By today, 2 days later I am seeing a few beetles again. Some seem to be coming from the same whitetail mount. I have also found beetles in 3 other locations were I have no mounts. One area is in the laundry room where they could be coming in through the opening for the dryer vent, another is in the mud room and a third is by a patio door from the dinette area. all of the area are connected to the outside. I do not think that these beetles came from the mounts and they all seem to be dead. So far only the one mount has any damage and that is on the top where it is not visible . I do need to get a handle on this though. I will retreat the whitetail mount and seal it in plastic for a few days and leave it in a warm place so that the ingredients can work better. I have another 8 shoulder mounts, a half mount and I full size mount that I have not touched yet. Still trying to get a handle on things.

You may not be an entomologist but by looking at those mount you sure as hell know how to hunt deer man

Bou'bound, Thank you for your kind comment.

No new beetles on the floor this morning so I think that I am gaining on it. My wife loves the fact that I sweep the floor at least twice a day so that I can see the little buggers. We have a German short hair that both sheds hair and drags dirt and her food around. Of course we add to it as well.

Just read an article in Bowhunting World and they also recommended Bifen. Think I might order some and do a 6 month a proactive treatment.

Bou'bound X2 :)

Due to having a lot of time on my hands now, I ordered some Bifen and treated my mounts. I ordered a quart and could’ve ordered a lot less. This would be very easy for a group of friends to pool together and knock this out over a couple of hours and have less than $10 a piece in the treatment and leftover Bifen for the future. Due to having so much left over, I’ll likely go a little stronger on the next batch in 6 months.

I lost my 372 bull to moths this fall... heart breaking. I’ve treated everything with permethrin since and have had no issues.

I’m with Grubby... an occasional spray of permethrin solves that in a hurry.

Does anybody know or can provide the active ingredient(s) in the Mount Saver product from Mount Medix? Would appreciate any info, there is nothing posted on the Mount Medix site.

The bug bombs were a good idea. I have a 24' X 30' gameroom, and I "fog" my room every year....sometimes 2x a year. I also have a few moth traps (in areas where they are not real visible) in my gameroom. My biggest concern is dermestid beetles.

I too use the bug bombs 2-3 times a year, when I'm heading out the door for a lil mini vacation. When I get home ya can't even smell/tell I used it.

I have no indoor pets nor kids, so I am A-Okay with using it.

Good luck, Robb

Millie's game room is 25x25 and so far weve been fortunate to be winning the bug battle. I use an aerosol bug bomb 2x a year, augmented by spraying the baseboards, and around the windows, door frames and exterior of the PTAC unit quarterly wiith Talstar.

I never knew about moth traps. The moths I find are pantry moths. Any specific trap brand recommendations?

When you take them down, put the treated mount on a large garbage bag and close it up for a couple days and don't be stand offish about double treating them.

Regarding moth traps I've had good luck with these (see link)

The bugs pictured are carpet beetles. Carpet belts are harmless, they eat dead animals, but its the larvae you have to worry about. The larvae eats hair and rugs and carpet. The only way to treat and kill the larvae is to find them and spray. All a bug bomb will do is kill the adults, not the larvae. Once you kill the adults, you'll think the issue is solved till the larvae transforms into adults and you'll see them again. And yes, I know cause I work for Orkin and handle carpet beetle issues all the time.

And just an fyi, moths don't eat hair, and only a few actually eat wool.

Update. I found an Indian Meal Moth flying around last week and put out some moth traps, as recommended on here. I treated everything back in March by spraying Bifen. Had I read about Permethrin sooner, I would've gone that route so that I could also treat my hunting clothes.

Unfortunately, I have found moths in the traps. I put them in the pantry and caught nothing, coat closet-nothing, master closet-nothing, basement with pet food and all my deer mounts-nothing. However, the living room that has my prize mounts and the actual kitchen has turned up approximately 20 moths in a week. The kitchen opens to the living room.

I immediately sprayed all my living room mounts. The most moths in the traps have been near my Dall shoulder mount. He doesn't look to have any damage but who knows. What are your thoughts? Double the concentration of Bifen for my next treatment (I have plenty of it)? Deviate from Bifen and go with Permethrin?

Thanks!

We notice them in the ears first,touch the hair and see if it falls out or look for the dead bugs in ears.

There is a gentleman on Taxidermy.Net who goes by "George" and after lots of reading over there, he appears to be the expert on this subject. Below is a PM that I got from him regarding the issue:

"Blake, were it ME, I'd go to Tractor Supply and buy Permethrin concentrate. I'd mix it in concentrations listed on the directions. Then I'd take every mount outside and spray the HEAVILY. Then id put each mount in a separate plastic bag, tie the top, and let it set for 36-48 hours. That would kill any moths, caterpillars, AND EGGS. Remove them from the bag and the let them completely dry before bringing them inside. Permethrin kills on contact, even when dry. It lasts for a year so you'll have to make it an annual affair (no need to bag, but you do need to apply outside and let it dry before bringing it in.) WARNING: If you have cats or tropical fish make SURE your mounts are completely dry and don't let cats near the mount. I have neither so thats why I don't have any other suggestions."

Any thoughts about what to do for full mounts that really can't be taken outside?

i'm a part time taxidermist.

here is a good solution to use twice a year to keep you mounts looking great - and free from bugs.

1 bottle of rubbing alcohol 1 oz of permethrin 1 oz of citronella oil 1 big squirt of horse conditioner ( skin so soft is even better)

mix in a spray bottle - shake it vigorously and spray down your mounts. brings shine to the hair and cleans them up nice... just make sure you dust them before applying the solution.

olebuck, this is currently in transit. What concentration % do you recommend?

Thanks!

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