Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Dermestid Beetles. Who uses them to clean skulls???

I know that a couple of you guys keep these beetles for doing Europeans. I boil about 7-8 heads a year for family and friends. I have gotten pretty good at it, but, for a couple of reasons it appears that the beetles may be a better way to go.

Less chance of bone break down by over cooking, save lots of time, less fat impregnation in the bone.

My problem is i live at 7300 altitude and understand they are sensitive to cold weather. How do you keep them?

Big thing I am looking at is what to build to keep them in. Keeping them warm. Have cold winters how to keep them from dying.

Also are they good with kids and can you teach them tricks.

Looking at buying some off of ebay or another website.

problem (as I understand it) is now so much what to keep them in but what to feed them. 7-8 skulls a year does not a steady diet make.

I've looked into it a few times but have always gone back to bacterial maceration due to the logistics.
The folks that keep them have a year-round food supply for them which is not practical for the average guy.

make sense?

BTW, ask JJHack. he has a good ostelogical prep business and can give you the real skinny.

Rot it off... boiling induces grease into bone, rotting works, stinks some, but works well during the warm months...

Beetles, boy you better make sure they are contained, if they ever get into the house....all your mounts are GONE!!!

I've seen enough dermestid beetle damage in my mounts in houses that are not kept exterminated over the years.... 2 years ago I went to look at a collection... they had probably 30 wt heads over 140..... and various others..... just about ruined them..

Jeff

YAH! NM Hunter?

RE: "...cold winters here ... keep them from dying? "

Actually thems Beetles 'things' is nearly indestructible! I hadda put 'em ALL outside- and our North Dakota winters didn't even phase 'em.

RE: "...any good with kids?"

No, not worth a darn with Kid's- thems Beetles just go 'n crawl inta the kid's ears when they's a sleeping. That's WHY I put 'em ol' Beetles outta the house.

RE: "..and can you teach them tricks?"

Naw! You can't teach Kid's nothin' ... 'n thems Beetles's ain't much smarter.

rost495, I have about 20 mounts in my trophy room, but, as long as i clean up after working with the beetles I should be fine right???

I think I can keep them fed, we do alot of hunting and I butcher 1-2 steers every year myself as well as couple of lambs.

How do you keep them warm. Any ideas or suggestions?

Use those nasty critters at your own risk. After they have cleaned your bones they will eat everything in your house, and then they will eat your house! I am not kidding. I had a few escapees from my colony in a controlled environment (university laboratory) and cleaning up that mistake turned into a nightmare. I also had a small personal colony cleaning some private specimens in what I thought was an isolated environment - my airplane hangar. The damn things nearly destroyed the avionics wiring on my airplane. But you will probably be more careful than I was, right?

Jeez sound worse than termites.

A friend of mine does skull swith beetles for extra spending change. He uses a couple of old chest freezres and has one galvanized steel stock tank for large skulls suchas elk and moose. He has all of this in his garage, does well and has never had a problem. His wife also raises beagles and none have been eaten by the beetles yet. He does keep them contained in the freezers, etc. If you PM me your contact info, I'll put him in touch with you if you would like.

TRY HERE.

I heard that the Democrats routinely clean "their skulls" with these beetles; especially Al Gore.

Qtip
Soli Deo Gloria!

those were DUNG beetles

woofer

True � coprophages, not dermestids � but unfortunately, there's no credit to Al Gore or any other prime American candidate, no matter how needful of their ministrations they may be, on this Down Under web site.

I take my skulls and bury them outside my house for a few months, if they wear any headgear I cover it up so it dont get bleached by the sun.

Having been in taxidermy through a trade school since about 1987... and what I've read/seen

I personally would not risk it, especially for a few skulls a year, emaciation works just fine with none of the boiling issues.

Jeff

Wire it up in a tree (to prevent critters from hauling it off)birds will nearly pick it clean...then bury for a few weeks.

Has worked well for my brothers...