Why do you need to have your trophies looked after?
Besides keeping the overall appearance of your valuable mounted trophies looking good, there are problems that do occur with taxidermy throughout time.
Appearance and Longevity
Your trophies are important and have cost you a great deal of time and money. In order to have your taxidermy last and maintain their original condition, simple vacuuming is not sufficient. All trophies in time need maintenance, but certainly in air conditioned rooms deterioration is more rapid.
The putty and paint around the eyes, nose and bases often fade and crack. Cleaning of the hide and hair not only add to a pristine appearance of you trophies, but by removing the layers of dust with our six step cleaning process it promotes a healthy environment for those with allergy and sinus problems. Some people notice the difference immediately. Children will do better in school and sports and will sleep better too!
Horns and antlers require treatment throughout the years. After cleaning, conditioning is required in order to keep them from drying and cracking, especially with African game and sheep. This, along with cleaning and fresh paint, will make a visual difference in your trophies and allow them to last.
Should you be concerned about insects?
Insects should be a major concern to anyone owning taxidermy. They will literally eat your mounts, causing hair loss. Everyone should have their trophies inspected, treated when necessary and have a preventative program to limit the possibilities of developing an insect problem. Some use "bug bombs" to prevent these insect problems, but they are not effective on carpet beetles, or moth larvae and eggs. These insects are hard to kill and will harbor under the skin, horns and skull plates. Fighting carpet beetles with the typical "bug bomb" is a losing battle, and with over-use it will leave a nasty, hard to clean residue on your mounts. Over time, it can also change the appearance of your trophies.
How is it done?
In most cases we remove the items and take them outdoors where we apply our six-step cleaning and restoration process, cleaning the hide, eyes, ears. Horns/antlers and hoofs are also treated Then we perform the necessary repairs required for each mount such as puttying, painting, dyeing, etc. Also, we repair horns/ antlers, bases on life-size mounts, ears, eyes, hoofs, claws and rugs.
After performing the insect control, cleaning and repair, inspection of the hanger and hook is made to assure their reliability. Then the mount is returned to the wall in like-new condition that you'll be proud to display.
Cost?
The cost depends on the services performed and location. However, normally our prices are per item. This seems to be the fairest for both parties. Since we often include a lot of extra services (trophy and base repairs, rehanging, etc.) we can often give quotes over the phone. Our services are cheaper and more complete than most taxi-dermists as they're busy and not set up for full restoration.
Where can you find us?
At this time our route covers a good portion of the United States. Most of our time is spent in the West and Texas. However, we can offer our services throughout the US and even out of the country. Rugs are done in Washington state.
Worldwide Experience
Insect control and prevention. We help you be bug free.
CARING FOR YOUR TAXIDERMY
