Skull Cleaning with bugs

[KentuckyTJ]

I also use the boil, pick, peroxide, bleach method. Lots of work and looking for something much less hands on. Great thread!

 

[Cherokee Scout]

I tried the fire ant thing here in Alabama, did not work.

[statedriller]

I simmer mine in a turkey fryer with Borox in the water.  Works great and the Borox takes all the smell out.  Just a light simmer.  If you boil it, the teeth usually fall out.

[Blue Tick]

Just about any method will cause the teeth to fall out at some point. Boiling makes the bone more brittle and nasal material will come out. I like detail and will not boil a skull. Masceration is my 2nd favorite method and it also works on the degreasing process as well, you will have teeth typically fall out doing this. They go back in quite easy. Beetles are my favorite and most hands off, so to speak. After taking them out of the beetles I just degrease them for however long they take.

When whitening a skull, DO NOT USE BLEACH. That will deteriorate the bone.

I use a couple of different things. IF you have a pool supply store, you can get baquacil oxidizer, it's 24% peroxide works well. I also have some 50% peroxide that I use as well. You can also go to the beauty supply store and get some volume 40 creme and basic white. The volume 40 is a 12% peroxide and the basic white is a developer/carrier. I mix that up, put it on the skull very liberally and wrap in saran wrap, put in front of a heat source. I put mine out on a glass table. If you put in front of heater of some sorts, be careful not to get it to close so the saran wrap doesn't melt.

If you need to replace teeth, you can use regular ol elmers glue. It dries clear and works well. I usually dilute the elmers and put it in a spray bottle with water. I then spray it on every skull. I'll use it to replace any teeth that have come out as well.

Once the skull is completely degreased (to your liking) and then whitened, I use a product called paraloid to seal them up. You can also use a Krylon matte finish sealer, found at hobby lobby to seal them. It works well also. Make sure to get the non-yellowing stuff.

I'll be happy to answer any questions or help, if you need it.

[WESTBROOK]

As I posted earlier, I soaked mine in water. Came out pretty good considering what it went through before I got it in the water.

Didnt skin it, laid on the floor in the garage all winter (was gonna take it to the "Bug Guy"), hung in a tree for a year, THEN I put it in the water. The rack got a little sun bleached. It wasnt a dark rack to begin with though.

Its never been whitened, this is how it came out of the water, I just sprayed it off. Its been done for 3 years, just took pics today.

Eric

 

 

[TIM B]

I've always boiled them out- simmered is a better word probably. I also use some sal-soda in the pot that helps break up the tissue. It's also called sodium bicarbonate and you can get it cheap at taxidermy places.  Simmer for an hour and pick off what you can- simmer again for 30 minutes and pick the rest clean- use hemostats and a bent piece of wire with the garden hose for the brain- then peroxide for the whitening- then the sun for a few hours to finish it up!  I've done 30 or so this way with out any problems
Tim B

[Kamm1004]

anyone else use the flies and maggots? im interested in this method and how good it cleans all the skin, tissue and brains out. also, what do you do after the maggots?

[calgarychef]

My buddy uses maggots, he hangs the skull wrapped in a plastic bag in a outbuilding then cuts a few slashes in the bag to allow the flies in.  He says it's important that the skull doesn't dry out because the maggots won't eat dry meat.  Makes sense to me and probably applies to ants also.

[LeeBishop]

Oops, I KNEW this was going to happen to me. I should have found something to wrap the antlers with.

I was inside the cabin talking to my dad for too long and I didn't reposition the skull outside while it was boiling.

Well, the heat from the side of the pot came up and burned my antlers on the side sticking out of the pot.

It heated up the marrow and air pocket inside of the antler and cracked it open. Then while I was trying to scrub off the black burn mark the antler broke off.  

so, it looks like I will break out some sandpaper and superglue...

If I weren't broke then I'd have had the thing mounted last year since it was my first archery deer. I had shot target archery since I was twelve but I never put out the extra effort to bow hunt seriously.

Oh well...another learning experience.

 

[LeeBishop]

I wonder if pouring some RidX septic tank bacteria in a bucket of water would eat away the flesh and clean the skull up.

Anyone ever try it?

[Blue Tick]

You can use bondo to put the antler back on and sad away the excess, carefully and also fill in any cracks. There are stains you can use to match the color back up.

Negative on the rid x, do not do that.

[LeeBishop]

Here is my damage. It's pretty fragile around the break now. It's carbonized...there is no sanding that out.

I'll finish cleaning the skull and then this guy is going on the wall. I'm not going to bother with epoxy I don't think. If it breaks again then I will, but the superglue should suffice. Plus I'm in the middle of nowhere and I'm not making a special trip anywhere for epoxy.

This is what you get for leaving the antler hanging out of the pot exposed to high heat around the pot.

This season, if I get a small buck that I don't get mounted, I will just make myself a rotting barrel. I'll have holes in it to allow bugs to get in and eat the flesh as it rots. That's about as simple as it can get. No need in fighting mother nature.