Professional Skull Cleaning

Advantages of Skull Cleaning Beetles

While there are various methods available for skull cleaning, like boiling or composting, the use of dermestid beetles stands out as a superior choice. Not only does it ensure a comprehensive cleaning, but it also respects and maintains the natural intricacies and structure of the skull.

Here are just a few of the reasons to choose professional skull cleaning with dermestid beetles:

Deep and Detailed Cleaning – It’s the larvae of the dermestid beetles that do the actual cleaning. They meticulously remove flesh, even from the deepest recesses of the skull. This level of precision ensures that every nook and cranny is addressed.

Preservation of Delicate Structures – Tools, especially when used by less experienced individuals, can leave marks and damage delicate parts of a skull. The most vulnerable of these are the nasal bones. Regrettably, some skull cleaning services damage or entirely remove these fragile structures. However, using dermestid beetles avoids such issues.

At Kodiak Bones & Bugs Taxidermy, we believe that these nasal bones are vital, playing a role in defining the uniqueness of animals like bears or deer.

Odorless Results – A skull cleaned by dermestid beetles will have no unpleasant smell. This is because the beetles ensure all traces of meat are gone. Plus, there’s no risk of emulsified fats seeping into the bone, which can cause a lingering odor.

Bone Integrity – Some cleaning methods can weaken the natural structures of the bone, causing issues like loosened teeth or weakened suture lines. This is not the case with skull cleaning beetles. Furthermore, methods like boiling can cause the skull to shrink—another problem avoided with beetle skull cleaning.

Post-Cleaning Enhancement – Once the skull cleaning beetles have done their job, the skulls undergo a degreasing and whitening process. The result? A pristine, naturally cleaned skull ready for display.

If you want a high-quality trophy, consider having your animal skull prepared by dermestid beetles at Kodiak Bones & Bugs Taxidermy.

Shipping Skulls:

Skulls should be fleshed as much as possible, frozen, and wrapped and taped in several layers of plastic trash bags. Priority mail usually takes only 2-3 days. Please contact us prior to shipping to provide notice of the shipment. Upon receipt, your trophy is tagged with an identification tag to ensure accountability. (Bear skulls must also have any required seal affixed prior to cleaning.)