SCRIDER1

Anybody know what to do when moths attack your mounts?? Help!!!?

Angus74

I had some type of mites get on one of my mounts, so I went to the store and got some bug bombs. I closed the room off and put towels under and over the door, and set off a couple bombs in the room. I kept it shut up for a couple days and it took care of the problem. If you mounts are all over the house you may have to just bomb the house and stay away for a day or two. Good luck , Id try to take care of it as soon as possible before they do any more damage.

recurver67

I had to take the cape off one of mine and burnt it.. Make sure you keep it away from your other mounts.

PositiveBo

Consult a reputable taxidermist.

Also, contrary to popular belief, adult moths pose no threat to mounts or clothing but rather the larval stage of these and other similar pests. Incidentally, adult chiggers are harmless as well.

nyorange

(don't know what happened to previous post)

Can't be 100% sure it will work on moths but it usually works on mites etc. Buy a few flea and tick collars and hang them around the mount and they should start to work. Could also try and rub down the mount with a pesticide like ortho sevin or another brand that doesn't stink and works on moths. Should work and not affect the mount but you get no guarantees from me. Also make sure mount is out of the reach of children if you do treat it. hope it helps.

deerhuntress56

[][] We had the same problem with our older mounts. We contacted our taxidermist and he had the solution that worked GREAT!

Get a can or Raid House & Garden. Spray the mounts lightly (like you would hairspray). Then take a damp cloth and rub the fur lightly in the same direction the hair grows. The area around the eyes and mouth are the most vulnerable so spray some of the House & Garden directly on the cloth and dab it on those areas.

After it has dried (several hours) lightly brush the fur to soften it, if it looks any different than it did before you sprayed.

An insect bomb isn't a bad idea either but the mounts will still need to be wiped with a damp cloth since the bombs leave a residue.

If that does not solve the problem (and it did on our 30 plus mounts), send me a PM and I can send you to a link that is a professional that "injects" the mounts.

I do know that the insects get on birds first and then migrate to the mammals.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

kevin1

Listen to DH ,
she's an authority on insect infestation ...

Charley

Thermal treatments will work as well, or better than pesticides in this case. If you've got freezer space, just put your mount in the freezer for 48 hours, the cold soak will kill any eggs, larva, or pupa on the mount. Heat treatment will work too. Wrap your mount in black plastic, and set it in the sun on a sunny day. get the temps up to 140 F for about two hours, and that will kill everything as well. Not too sure how the heat will affect the forms, it could damage a foam one. Check with your taxidermist.
I wouldn't recommend the total release aerosols (bug bombs). These are almost all contact kill materials, with no residual effect. They also have an oil based solvent in them that leaves a nasty oil residue on everything. When these are released, you have thousands and thousands of almost microscopic oil droplets that move around on air currents and settle out. If your pests are in a sheltered area, they will not be affected by the droplets.
I was involved in a tape and seal fumigation years ago for a guy with literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in mounts. He had dermestids (hide beetles) in some improperly tanned mounts. He had every species of deer, every antelope in the world, a dozen different bears (including a Himalayan sun bear!) all the cats, you name it. He even had a walrus mount. Never seen one before or since.

M.Magis

Refer to your post in the taxidermy section, the answer's in there. Freezing will not kill all of the bugs and larvae. Maybe most, but it's far from a sure thing. Do NOT use heat. It won't hurt the form, but it can cause problems in other areas.