I skinned, degreased, washed a duck this morning. I put it in the tumbler then pulled it out, rubbed Borax into the hide, and set it on the table to mount. I went and ate lunch, an hour later I was sewing up the duck, I discovered Fly Eggs laid on the outside of leg. I had already sewn-up the duck and now I wonder if the duck will have maggots.
I do rub a heavy coat of Borax into the skin before body placement.
I sprayed the duck with Raid.
What would you do?
Thanks
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Place the mount into a poly bag with a handfull of moth crystals. I am not sure if even that will reach any eggs that may be inside the skin. you need to invest in some cheesecloth.
Just a novice my self, but I always spray a cloth with water treated with a antibacteria in it and place in a plstic bag in refridgerator when I take a break or the whole bird on base if it will fit at that stage.
Mick
Put the bird in the freezer for a couple days, I wouldnt worry about it after that.
If the bird is mounted and groomed, freezing may do damage to the mount at that point if it is not completely dry.........
Flies will sometimes lay their eggs in odd places if they can't find some nice rank carrion or some other favorite fly buffet. I have often seen them put their eggs into the nostrils of mounted birds, but I have never seen them develop into maggots. The eggs dry up without hatching, and are easily removed. If you think there might be eggs on the inside of the skin, it won't hurt the completed mount to put it in the freezer. Actually, some people used to do this for competition mounts to help control shrinkage. (I'm dating myself here!)
Get some screens and stop leaving the door open! LOL!
Nancy M.
I havent been at the taxidermy thing for long so my experience is limited, but I do know a thing or two about flies. A flies life expectancy is about the same as its Gestation period which is 30 days. Your mount will be pretty dry in 30 days, and those eggs need moisture in order to even hatch. The eggs will develope a hard coating which will protect the larea inside until the drought ends, and in this case it never will. Freezing is not really a way to kill these eggs. Freezing just puts them into a dormant stage the same as it would in the wild. Freezing or even refridgeration may prolong the gestation period if you think it may take longer then 30 days to dry your mount, but you really wouldnt need to have the mount in less then say 45 degrees. I really would not worry about this problem because the eggs will never get a chance to hatch due to the inadequate conditions.
Mick...freezing should take care of those eggs, however,you really should have a fly control program in place. I do a lot of fish and flies are always a fact of life around here.I keep them under control with a fly poison called METHOMYL (chemical name). It is the active ingredient in several commercial fly killers. I buy mine (Golden Malrin) at a feed store, but there are a lot of trade name fly killers that use this poison. You might not find GM in your area so here's a few names of the same type products. STIMUKIL...APACHE...IMPROVED GOLDEN MALRIN...FATAL ATTRACTION....FLY BAIT PLUS...TAIL SPIN...FLY PATROL.Any of these products should do the job for you.Follow the directions and watch them kick the bucket. I place a piece of fish on a paper plate and sprinkle the GM on the fish. Next morning all the flies are gone. Good luck.....JL
Hey thanks everyone. I have done taxidermy for 15 years, but not full time. I am sure there have been eggs laid before on my mounts, but I have never seen them. I keep a claen shop, but never can kill all of the flies this time of year.
This is sure a great resource for all taxidermists and I really do appreciate the great response given to me by All.
As far as the freezer goes, I did a study on the common house fly for a Biology course and I kept eggs in the freezer for three weeks. These eggs were not kept in the freezer to see if they would survive but just to put them into the dormant stage so the study could copy the seasonal life of these varmints. When removed and thawed, placed in a sufficient environment, just less then 25 percent of these eggs hatched.
Eggs do survive through northern winter months, which can produce temps lower then your freezer.
The only difference is that your mount is not a sufficient environment after its dry.
Actually, I am aware of the anti-freeze capabilities of many insect species and the durability of fly eggs. I am also aware that putting a finished mount into a freezer will not hurt most things.
The reason I posted the "No Freezer" statement was twofold:
1. I don't think that freezing a mount in most home freezers would do much good for insect control, and wasn't necessary since the drying mount would not be conducive for hatching in the first place.
2. I am not aware of what materials were used for sublayment, and in what at what stage of cure the substances might be. Freezing many compounds, latex and polymer material prior to full cure can break them down and cause lumping, curdling and other effects that may cause damage to a fresh mount.
I wasn't concerned about the skin, the feathers, wattles or scaling. Experience has taught me that many materials do not fare well when frozen, however. I did not think telling someone to shove a work into a freezer without knowing what was under the hide was a good answer or solution.