Oregon Woman Gets Paid to Clean Animal Skulls with Flesh-Eating Beetles

Notes from Chris

Episode 291

With a little help from thousands of flesh-eating beetles (her best—and only—employees), Carla takes a raw specimen and turns it into pristine bone—clean, bright and white. Her work may be seen at a museum, as part of a historical and/or educational display, or hung over the mantel at someone’s house. It’s not the most glamorous job. Carla spends hours prepping, cleaning, repairing and restoring, but the end result is well, better than it was when she started.

While she first learned about dermestid beetles for bone cleaning from the TV show Bones, Carla’s interest in it as a hobby came about while working on a goat ranch, as one does. “Nothing teaches you to appreciate your food more than looking it in the eye and raising it yourself, and learning to use every part of the animal is very important to me,” she said.

When she first started bone cleaning, Carla never thought of it as a potential business. Her first experience, about 10 years ago, was [in creating props for] a horror show, she said. It was one of those things she thought was going to be way easier than it really was.

Then, about five years ago, she got her best employees, her dermestid beetles. But even with 300 subcontractors, something was still bugging her. She felt that she still had a lot to learn. As she developed her process, word got around. People began asking if she could clean something for them or had anything she could sell. About three years ago, her hobby turned into a hustle and Dermestidarium was born.

Carla maintains standard prices for the skulls she cleans most often and then quotes case-by-case for anything unusual. Her business provides both a service, skull cleaning, and a product, clean skulls in bulk to sell retail. It’s been a challenge for Carla to pin down prices but she keeps an eye on the industry. She has always struggled with asking for money, though she’s gotten better at it over the years.

Her work is largely seasonal, being busier in the fall and winter, during and just after hunting season. During a busy month, she may bring in $3,000 yet in a slow month might only make $300-$500. That being said, she can see her beetle biz becoming full time in the future and has a lot of ideas regarding how to expand the scope of what she does so it may grow and prosper. Make no bones about it—you can get paid for anything!

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Dermestidarium: Learn more about these fascinating creepy crawlers and Carla's process on her website
• Wave: The free, small business financial software that Carla used for invoicing and accounting
• Wordpress: Carla used Wordpress to create her website, and here you can learn how to install your own Wordpress site in 5 minutes!

SEE ALSO:

• National Geographic | Flesh-Eating Beetles Explained (Graphic Image): Scientists use these bugs in a surprisingly helpful way—learn more, here!
• The Live Cricket Drop-Shipping Hustle: Yep, it’s true: a Pennsylvania man makes $700+ a month drop-shipping live crickets to reptile owners across the country
• Worm Composting Empire Brings in $400/Month: Texas man stumbles upon a worm composting method that turns into an interesting hobby and a fun side hustle. Don’t let your hustle idea wiggle away!
• Protein Shake Lover Chomps Crickets For Six-Figure Income: We can’t stop chirping over this bodybuilder who uses an insect as the secret sauce in his protein powder side hustle

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,