Recently I've seen finishing insecticide sprays, could anyone advise if they are worth the money the suppliers want? Is there a 'homemade' version that works well? If the hides are well tanned, preserved etc. what is the purpose served by this final spray?
Return to Beginners Taxidermy Category Menu
Sandy, I spray every mount with Mountshield as part of the finish work. Cleans the hair some and leaves a nice smell as well as some residule repellant value. There is nothing about the modern taxidermy method that guarantees that bugs will not eat a mount. By spraying each mount I know that when it leaves my shop nothing will ride home with it and I advise my customers to treat them every 3 months or so. I have had one customer lose a deer mount to moths which I had mounted about 18 months before, another guy I know lost 5 deer, an elk and a bobcat (not my mounts). Neither of these guys treated or even cleaned their investments. Now, homemade stuff? I don't know of any but there are alternatives that are cheaper- but no guarantees that the hair won't discolor. I figure to be safe use something designed for the job so I build it into my pricing. --Enjoy, Aaron H.
I don't know what is in the supply companies' fly spray but if it is pyrethrin, you can get a very large aerosol can of it at farm supply stores for a lil over 10 dollars. It is usually called a dairy bomb. It is safe to use right in the milk rooms of dairy barns so it is non toxic enough to get approved. Also if it is a permethrin they usually have that too, in concentrated form of about a quart, which is mixed in about 125 gallons of water to spray on horses or cows to repel flies lice and ticks. It is about 20-25 dollars. As for the actual NEED for it i have no idea.