DIY dermestid beetles?

[Shō[t]gun]

Does anyone here have experience with a DIY dermestid beetle setup? I've been looking at the small colonies you can buy online and it seems pretty straightforward, but everything has a catch. I know boiling and pressure washing aren't that hard but I've paid for two beetle-cleaned euro's and they look great! Any info on setup tips or bad experiences would be appreciated!

 

[PathFinder]

My understanding is that they're quite a hassle to keep around. They require quite a bit of special care. My dad is a taxidermist and decided they were too much to bother with even full time.
Definitely not worth doing for a couple DIY skulls now and then.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Shō[t]gun]

My understanding is that they're quite a hassle to keep around. They require quite a bit of special care. My dad is a taxidermist and decided they were too much to bother with even full time.
Definitely not worth doing for a couple DIY skulls now and then.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

Thanks, the instructions online basically say add some substrate to a box and keep the temp right and you're good. Sounds like there's more to it than that! Do you know what caused the extra hassle?

 

[Banded_spooney]

My buddy started a hobby business in 2021 using beetles. I helped him a little starting out and quickly stepped away, it’s a labor of love for sure. Not something I’d want at my house and I don’t have the time to go back and forth to his.

Biggest advice I can give you is keep them in an old chest freezer. The insulation is key for temp control. Temperature and disease are the biggest things to look out for. You likely will have to have some sort of heating element in the winter.

You can also utilize the temperature to slow reproducing during times of the year you aren’t using them so they don’t eat you out of house and home.

But if you’re willing to maintain the colony they do the best Euros in my opinion. However, don’t think you’ll get away from the degreasing process so keep the hot water handy.

 

[Banded_spooney]

If you’re only looking at doing this for your stuff and a few friends run the other way, fast.

It is a very profitable business if you have the passion for it and you ignore the hours it takes for the learning curve. People pay stupid amounts of money to have good euros done. My buddy hadn’t even finished up fall 2022 orders yet. He’s constantly having to add fridge and freezer space to store heads.

Having a good solar set up at the house helps a lot with heating and cooling costs

 

[Shō[t]gun]

Wow, this is why I asked. Looks like its more than I want to bite off for a couple skulls. Thanks for the info!

 

[Antares]

@MED-D-NRG Look into maceration. You can get a finished skull that's similar in quality to beetles but without having to maintain a beetle colony. I like macerating better than boiling. You retain all the fine nasal structure, you don't get sutures opening up as much, you don't get bone that's flaky/chalky. The downsides are that it's slow (months) and the "yuck" factor.

 

[svivian]

I did beetles for several years. It's really not hard until you get a large colony that's big enough to efficiently clean an elk or deer skull.

Temperature and humidity are the big factors in keeping them alive. Also you cannot allow any other outside insects to get in at all.

Styrofoam and saw dust as your base. They will lay their eggs in the Styrofoam so make sure to add some more from time to time. Don't over feed them when you first get started. You don't want the meat to mold, or they won't eat it, or they will get sick and die.

I started with Tupperware then small storage container, then fairly large container to eventually a 4' by 4' box.

Thats where it gets to be a pain. I lost my colony when a mouse chewed through the fabric screen for my air vents and flies got in and killed all of them while I was gone for a week.

I don't believe there is a higher quality euro mount than using beetles. Thats just my opinion

 

[butcherboy]

Yep, don’t do it. I started with beetles when I first started my taxidermy business. That lasted two years before they got to be a huge hassle before they eventually died. I switched over to maceration and then degreasing and turned out just as high of a quality skulls as beetle cleaned.

 

[Shō[t]gun]

Yep, don’t do it. I started with beetles when I first started my taxidermy business. That lasted two years before they got to be a huge hassle before they eventually died. I switched over to maceration and then degreasing and turned out just as high of a quality skulls as beetle cleaned.

Alrighty, time to buy some clothes pins for the nose and get to soaking! I haven't tried maceration but I'll have plenty of does to practice on.

 

[butcherboy]

Just need to keep the water about 80 degrees with an aquarium heater. You can adjust the temp as needed. Don’t get it too hot or the bacteria will quit working. When done right you won’t need to do any power washing. Just a quick spray with a garden hose and nozzle on the underside of the skull and some on top to clean a little before degreasing. Go to taxidermy.net and there is a whole forum dedicated to skull cleaning.

 

[Shō[t]gun]

Just need to keep the water about 80 degrees with an aquarium heater. You can adjust the temp as needed. Don’t get it too hot or the bacteria will quit working. When done right you won’t need to do any power washing. Just a quick spray with a garden hose and nozzle on the underside of the skull and some on top to clean a little before degreasing. Go to taxidermy.net and there is a whole forum dedicated to skull cleaning.

I'll check that out, thanks.

 

[Marbles]

At less than $100 to start a colony it would be cost effective to just start a colony every year, still cheaper than having a single skull cleaned professionally for me.

I know this is an older thread, but as my wife loves bugs we decided to start a colony this year, and it has been pretty easy. My skull is about done, and I'll do a few for friends. If the colony dies at this point, I'm still money ahead and have better results than boiling and much less smell than maceration.