does anyone use these for euro mounts? or do you all just boil the skulls?

They are both done

I use beetles exclusively. What are you needing to know? I am also going to start selling some beetles as I have ran all of my skulls through for the yr.

Sometimes I like to do my own euro mounts instead of taking it to the taxi. They come out beautiful, however I have never used bettles and I would like to try it out. WHAT is the typical time it takes to clean out a skull?

Mine take about 2-3 days typically

1 day but I leave mine in for 2 full days, then take the skull out and save as many beetles as possible and dump them back in the colony.

You still have to degrease the skull as you do with any method. But it is MUCH easier on the skull.

excellent. Two questions, 1-how do keep them alive between projects, just feed them scraps? 2-brain and nasal cavity, do they end up really clean?

even the dried out flesh?

On my homemade buck we boiled it because I can't/couldn't wait. On the oryx that we sent to taxidermist is also going to be boiled. People use both though.

I feed scraps I get off of heads I skin throughout the year. I also get freezer burned meat to keep them happy throughout the off season.

Nasal cavity and brain cavity come VERY clean. But you have to give them time to build up to be able to handle a skull the size of a deer in a timely manner. This takes months.

about how many bettles do i need to handle a skull in a few days ? 100? 1000?

Id say for a deer in a couple days your going to be closer to 10,000. I dont use beetles, just getting that number from talking to guys who do use them.
Other than that, I'd do some research if I were you, things you need to consider are temperature, humidity, infestation, feeding, housing, getting loose and eating your other mounts... It can turn into quite a bit of work for a couple heads a year.

Dee Cee is correct. You will need to do lots and lots of research if you are serious in this. To clean a deer size skull, properly beetle prepped, I would say you will need (no way to count precise amounts) 40,000-80,000.

Everyone wants to buy a starter colony and start cleaning deer, moose or elk. It don't happen that way. You will need a colony of about 1,000-10,000 and feed for 4-6 months to clean a deer size skull in a timely manner.

Oh Good Gosh you guys must be single..if I told my wife I was doing ANYTHING with tens of thousands of bugs my butt would be out the door SOOOO quick!

Earl

LOL