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Beware of Bugs!
14 years ago
General
This is a little information journal about common pests to us taxidermy-enthusiasts/fur collectors/crafters/etc!!
I assume most of you know about dermestids, or "carpet beetles", those teeny tiny mottled-pattern bugs (though sometimes they are very dark brown/black) that you may find crawling along your carpets. They look like this: (LINK)
(INFO)
They do a ton of damage to pelts, feathers, insects and hides and can destroy mounts very quickly.. but they are not the only insect you should beware of!
Be on the lookout for clothes moths, too. They are small, golden-coloured moths around 1cm in length and bumble around slowly. They're commonly found in closets and like laying their eggs in the edges of carpet + wall, where larvae chew away at the carpet and create a cocoon around themselves. The cocoons are about 1cm in length as well, are kind of rectangular in shape and usually grey.
(INFO)
The moths you will see flying around are usually the male moths, flying and looking for females to mate with. They do not do the damage, their entire existence is to mate and die, it's the larvae you have to look out for! They hang out in their cocoons and drag themselves around, looking for things to eat... and their diet is quite large.
They will eat any natural fibres they can find including carpets, wool, clothes, human hair, pet hair, nail clippings, bones, antlers, furs, leather, hides, feathers, cotton, silk, furniture, insulation, snake skin, etc, because they have a special ability that allows them to turn keratin into food.
If you do find yourself an unwanted guest... bag your furs, one-by-one and stick them in a freezer for 3 days each, then put the furs you have frozen already into another "cleaned furs" garbage bag, continue doing this to each fur until all your furs are in the "clean" bag. Then, do this to all your feathers.
Clean your room/vacuum it VERY well (make sure to vacuum extremely well under carpets and along the edges of your carpet) and invest in clothes moth traps. You can buy clothes moth pheromone traps off of eBay for relatively cheap.
I hope this helps anybody having to deal with these annoying things.
EDIT: I have purchased pheromone traps today, I will let you guys know how well they work when they arrive in the mail.
I assume most of you know about dermestids, or "carpet beetles", those teeny tiny mottled-pattern bugs (though sometimes they are very dark brown/black) that you may find crawling along your carpets. They look like this: (LINK)
(INFO)
They do a ton of damage to pelts, feathers, insects and hides and can destroy mounts very quickly.. but they are not the only insect you should beware of!
Be on the lookout for clothes moths, too. They are small, golden-coloured moths around 1cm in length and bumble around slowly. They're commonly found in closets and like laying their eggs in the edges of carpet + wall, where larvae chew away at the carpet and create a cocoon around themselves. The cocoons are about 1cm in length as well, are kind of rectangular in shape and usually grey.
(INFO)
The moths you will see flying around are usually the male moths, flying and looking for females to mate with. They do not do the damage, their entire existence is to mate and die, it's the larvae you have to look out for! They hang out in their cocoons and drag themselves around, looking for things to eat... and their diet is quite large.
They will eat any natural fibres they can find including carpets, wool, clothes, human hair, pet hair, nail clippings, bones, antlers, furs, leather, hides, feathers, cotton, silk, furniture, insulation, snake skin, etc, because they have a special ability that allows them to turn keratin into food.
If you do find yourself an unwanted guest... bag your furs, one-by-one and stick them in a freezer for 3 days each, then put the furs you have frozen already into another "cleaned furs" garbage bag, continue doing this to each fur until all your furs are in the "clean" bag. Then, do this to all your feathers.
Clean your room/vacuum it VERY well (make sure to vacuum extremely well under carpets and along the edges of your carpet) and invest in clothes moth traps. You can buy clothes moth pheromone traps off of eBay for relatively cheap.
I hope this helps anybody having to deal with these annoying things.
EDIT: I have purchased pheromone traps today, I will let you guys know how well they work when they arrive in the mail.
thanks for the info
No problem :)