Im a full time taxidermist. I was looking at some beautiful bows online and saw some used horn from different species of animals and it got me thinking. Bugs! Yes there are bugs that will eat on your bow even with a finish on it. Some of you may already have had them get into your feathers and some leathers but they eat horn too.Antlers they wont its bone but horn is kinda like hair believe or not.I have seen them eat holes and grooves in horn. Powder horns for black powder as a example.Horn of buffalo,sheep,antelope,goat they love. There are 2 types of insects that are the most common. Beetles and moths. Its the larva that do the damage and it only takes one to ruin something. They like dark places and even if you have it on the wall with some shadow around it they will still attack the horn. If you have a bow with horn used on it keep a close check on it. Dont leave it in a closet or under the bed or other places for long periods of time with out keeping a check on them. As far as preventing them attacking your horn on your bow theres nothing you can do but get some spray say from Tractor Supply and regularly spray the rooms you keep them in. If you have it in a case spray a little in the case. And if you want to protect your feathers and not get bug spray scent on them put them in a zip lock bag and put them in your fridge or freezer they cant stand the cold. This is just a little info I thought I would pass along and maybe prevent your beautiful bow and feathers from getting eat up! best wishes friends.

Good info, thanks. Don’t have any horn on bows but have 4 pronghorn in the man cave and one in the process. Do you recommend treating with borax in the horn sheaths and does it help with exterior if it is used.

Just an FYI. I use a sprinkle of the old "20 Mule Team Borax" on my feathers in a plastic tub. When I cut the feathers off the bird, I separate into two plastic grocery bags and mark RH and LH. hang open in the garage for two weeks. Then put in the tub with the rest of the feathers. Years with no issues.

I do have some bugs that got into my quivers though. Been in storage for a few years. I spoke with a fellow who does a lot of brain tanning hair on & off. He said to vacuum off the quivers, if the hair does not slip. Spray with insecticide and seal in a plastic bag for a period of time. This has worked for him. Any thoughts, comments, concerns appreciated? John

Yes Sir anything with hair,horn or feathers they will eat completely given time. A box of cow horns in the loft of the barn looked like a flock of woodpeckers attacked them. I spray the backboards of mounts and a little in the room every year or so and sprinkle a little borax in Zip lock bags of feathers. Just check often for a little dust or the tiny egg casings under a mount. If you see either use insecticide immediately or the hair will all slip out. >>>----> Ken

Guys borax isn’t majic, it’ll preserve something by drying it out but not make it bug resistant. Dry preservative has a bug proofer in it. It’s still not fool proof but better imo. Also add climate controlled areas are always better. This is a good post though, idk if lots of people truly understand bugs

Good tip. I'm not worried about my bows. I doubt they'll get through the Thunderbird finish on the horn tips, but I should put something on my mounts and in and around my feathers, sinew, horn, leather, rawhide and such in the shop.

What's the name of the spray from Tractor Supply?

Is it as good as products like Mount Protector, Mount Saver, Cedar Guard, or Protex Mount Care? I found these on the McKenzie Taxidermy Supply site.

I too am a full time taxidermist. Another thing I see guys do that isn't good is turkey fans.

I see it all the time on you tube. Guys telling people to cut off meat, spread them out and sprinkle salt or borax on the meat and let dry.

That will work except it's like ringing the dinner bell for dermasted beetles. The feather quills have to be completely cleaned of meat and the yellow fat between the quills. Then I spread it the way I want and bondo both sides.

Good post. Jim

Borax contains boric acid an insecticide. It kills roaches,fleas,silverfish,and beetles. One of the main ingredients in roach poison. It is a safe natural mineral that drys things out.It basically replaced the deadly hazards of Arsenic. It has been used and taught for Taxidermy for a 100 years or so. Is it 100% effective or does it last forever? No but it is a great tool. It protects hides and feathers until the final steps of processing. No need for it on your finished mounts. Spray the backboards or inside the mannequins. Your normal treatments to keep your home bug free are sufficient. A mount left in the garage or barn most likely won't last very long. >>>----> Ken

cubdrvr They will eat your antelope horns and mount.If your mount is done where you can take off your horns spray inside and out. If they are attached spray the outside of the horns will work. For taxidermy mounts spray them too. Look on the back of your mount next to the wall its dark there and most of the time they will hit there first but they maybe get anywhere on a mount or leather,sinew or other animal skin,feather,fur even fish mounts. Borax works ok but most of it comes off the mount when working on it. Dry preservitive is basicly a generic term. Its a mixture in powder form of different chemicals. Some want tell what they are but they help a little. If anybody tells you that the method they use will moth proof something forever their wrong. No chemical is available that with one treatment will do that. You must treat your horn,hair,feathers on mounts several times a year.Fletches put them in a bag and put them in a freezer or fridge or you can put them in a bag with borax. Borax will not moth or beetle proof anything permently. I get this at Tractor Supply. The main ingredients you want is Pyrethrins 0.50% or more it will show what they are on the front of the can or bottle. That will kill and repell the bugs that eat your mounts and other stuff. It want last forever but if you use it a few times a year that will help. Bagging and sill the bag and fume it will help. It does not hurt to spray it directly on the hair of your mount except fish mounts. If your mount has a board on it and hangs on the wall spray it at the top and sides of the shoulder and let it run down in between the board and also spray the bottom of the mount at the brisket. Its a little dark there and they will hit there too. They like dark and shadow places. Even if you have a finish on your horn on your bow they can still smell it and go to it. I hope this helps and if you have any questions please ask! I will give you all of my 44 years of experience.

Sorry could not rotate the pic.

They have chewed on my XXX Beaver hat also!

Yes they love that fine hair under the long shiny guard hairs. They will eat anything out of wool also.

Thanks Steve. Very helpful.

Your very welcome! I wish I could contribute more to this site.

I'm going to stop at TSC tomorrow, thank you. John

That spray at Tractor Supply is great for other insects too.

If you are worried about bugs,keep raw,dead stuff out of your home and garage.I'm talking about uncleaned skulls,antler racks that still have hair,hide and other tissue on the skulls or skull caps.

Any horned racks like sheep,goat or antelope need to be properly cleaned by removing the horn sheaths and cleaning them inside and out.The skull or skull cap and horn cores need to be completely cleaned and the horn sheaths bonded back on.

This also includes deer feet,uncleaned bird wings,tails etc.If you allow this stuff to lay around,you will end up with a serious infestation of dermestid beetles and or clothing moths.

Bugs usually attack horn because it had raw tissue attached.They can eat the entire horn but the root cause is usually contamination from raw tissue,grease or blood,on the horn.

I've never seen a bow with horn overlays etc. attacked by bugs and probably won't.Use common sense and keep raw,dead stuff away from your dwelling.Clean and dust mounts regularly.

I'm a taxidermist too,with over 50 years but who's counting?

I agree with Jim B. If you just cut your antlers and horns off and put them in a pile and their not completely clean then your asking for trouble.It only takes one pregnant female to ruin your things. Your bows with horn on them may never be attacked but I started this thread just to warn people.

Wow I've never heard of that but makes perfect sense! Thanks for the information! Learn something new every day on here!

Jim B nailed it.

Some of you are talking about many different bugs...Dermasted are attracted to unpreserved leather, meat, grease, feathers etc. The Cloth Moth is what people commonly know as the bug that eats Wool. That Moth lays larvae mostly in furs or hairs, it`s the larvae that does the damage. Usually if you see the little moth with translucent wings...it`s too late, the larvae is laid. This is why Fur Coats should be in cold storage during summer months.

Horn beetles are another issue. Most horns are removed from the bone core and the bone is cleaned and the horn interior cleaned and treated. Some African animals the horn does not come off. So they drill holes in the back and try to treat them. That is hit or miss. Keep your eyes peeled for evidence of bugs but if you see something there they have already been at work.

Preventable treatment is wise....even that "Home Defense" bug spray you can get anywhere is OK. If you find bugs go the "sealed bag" treatment as described above or deep freeze. Moth balls in a sealed bag or air tight container will kill Cloth Moths.

Lord, something else to worry about. I just checked my powder horn which I crafted in 1978. So far, so good, no damage present.

Well there is good and bad news. I treated the bin of hides with Borax for a month now. Pulled them all out today and shop vacuumed them all. No hair slippage but some noses and ears where munched on. So lost some of the masks but the hides are intact.

I found the culprit of the infestation in my shop. I recently received some elk bones that were not completely macerated. So now I'm going thru everything. Keeping an eye on everything now. Thanks for the info on this thread everyone. John

I get concerned of this when I went from Dry Preservative on my mounts to tanning. D.P. is naturally a bug deterrent where as tanning has none. Most times when you see the sawdust below mounts, it's tanned. They need to be treated for display.

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