07/16/2026
You know what they say; “There’s more than one way to clean a skull”…or something like that. People are always asking; “who cleans all the skulls and bones?” Visitors are generally surprised when I inform them that I personally clean all the specimens we have on display in our museum. I use a variety of techniques I have “perfected” over the past 45 years. Which method I use is based on the state of decay when I receive the carcass. One method is one of nature’s best for cleaning bones. The dermestid beetle, Dermestes maculatus. Prepping food for a thriving dermestid colony, can take up quite a bit of time. They require environmental control like humidity, temp., and isolation from pest species. They also stink, but consider what they are eating. Despite all the maintenance required to keep a healthy dermestid colony, they do produce the best results when cleaning specimens…especially the tiny ones. Ill be posting about some of the other methods I use for cleaning skulls…so stay tuned, or whatever.
