Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Taxidermy Care

Taxidermy care: 

Once your mount is home, maintenance is essential to ensure it stays looking at its best!  Display your taxidermy out of direct sunlight and in a dry location. 

From time to time, clean them gently with a feather duster, going with the grain of the feathers.  Make sure to vacuum near it and keep the area around the bird clean.  By gently disturbing the feathers with a feather duster and keeping them clean, moths and other pests that may be present in a house will be discouraged from laying eggs on your bird.  

Nevertheless, and it is always recommended that you check them regularly for signs of insects, such as moths or beetles, that could destroy the skin and feathers.  Signs of insects can include larvae, adult moths or beetles, webs left from larvae, small round droppings, feathers that start falling out in clumps, and feathers or feet that start looking chewed up.  

There are various products to discourage insects that you can apply to your mount every few months or so, and my favorite one is made by MountMedix.  They have a natural insect repellent spray that is gentle on feathers and safe to use.  All you have to do is water down some of the concentrate in a mister bottle, and apply a light mist of the product over the feathers.  So this after dusting the birds every couple months.  Do not make the feathers very wet with the mist.  Click here to see how you can provide a quality bird for a quality mount.  

These same maintenance principles can be applied to mammal taxidermy as well.