Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-07-26
The Carpet mug


/ THE IA1isI Eyn-T 20 THE rEAcE or -HE
HorsEHoLp-A HAysgTn WHOSE OPERATIONS
AIE u0Tn iNsiIIpCs AND pEs1EruTIvL ASn
ron WHOM A. yuS4rLEur Is YrT To- ID FurNH.
/ Housekcepor. have -om,tiius u,w to talk
| about aud to worry over The jrity cock.
roach scampers across tn, kitchen floor al-
most without remark. the water lug in his
! Quaker.l!ke garb is ,njoyii % respite from
I doses Of powdered bortN tu. musical mos
! quito sounds hi, tiny bugl uuhp,d. q the
| flea IL uudisiurbod iu hi, .>p.orttions under
! thu coat Of the pet poodle. for the carpet bug
has come. aud evidently ;o stay. lit j., 10
stranger in England nor ha. h, been entirely
unknown on this side Of the Atlantic as oc-
ca-ioual repr, ., utaty,s OF his race have Wis
tied thes, shores ever since carpets woven in
British looms were imported: but recently
an emigration Las ST IN that promise to
drive to desperation all those who have hand
somely furnished houses. Tho cause Of this
sudden movement is yelled in mystery
Whether climatic influences have sent the
pest hther and allow it, propagation; wheth-
er ii is weary Of a diet of Australian wool and
longs for ono Of American growth whether
the British housewife wages too vigorous a
war upon it no one can tell. but hosts Of peo-
pie can testify that it is an enemy 10 longer
20 be dcspised. and recastiug the future
from the experience OF thu past they see for
it a growth in strength that shall make il to
be feared as no other yermiu Of the house
has ever been.
The little insect possesses the name An
threnus scrophulariH,' a title wholly out Of
proportion to its size, yet none too large to
indicate It's power as a destroyer 1t is q lit
Tie longer than a we'll grown bed bug. and
about as broad its back is covered with
brownish hair, from which circumstance It is
sometimes called the Buffalo bug." what at
first sight appears to be its head proves upon
further investigation 10 be its tail. Under il
are large number Of tiny legs which do it
good service, for it moves with "a CELEBRITY that
almost defes capture. Its appearance is
much like that Of q section Of caterpillar,
by no means pleasing sight TO pei on Of
delicate sensibilitics But il does not court
observation; it works silently. on the under
side Of it, chosen field. until it has wrought
the ruin it has set about, unless 1t should be
forcibly brought to the light, and then it is
quite as much Disguised with lis having been
uncovered rs its finder is at having discover
ed it. Its mode Of operation is most exas-
perating. beginning at the edge Of u floor
covering it will eat its way across it in a
straight line, and if left alone will extend its
furrow from wall to wall. II docs not dis
turb tho surface above, so that the surprised
housekecpcr sees her elegant Wilton or hand
some Brussels separating into long strips of
irregular width before she is otherwise made
aware that her house has been invaded
Thus far no means of destroying the pest.
other than that of crushing it. has been found
Bury 1t in insect powder and it will fatten up
on its unsavory food scald it and it enjoys
the bath; shower it with corrosive sublinate
and it darts away unframed. A carpet lining
bothers it somewhat, but that does not who'll
~ protect the more valuable material over it,
1t has been found that the rayages Of the bug
when carpet is laid over a stout lining are
confined TO the edges next the wall: that
when the material is not so laid the cracks in
the floor serve as guides, and that along their
lines the work of destruction proceeds: but
the bug is still master of the situation He
Is quite an epicurc III his way The more
valuable the carpet the more likely is he to
be found in it. He generally enters a house
in one that has been brought from Great
Britain. After he has secured footing lac
does not hesitate to forage on the product of
American looms. He generally avoids cotton,
and although lie is said to have been found
in straw mating there are few who believe
that he has ever been so forgetful Of his dig
nifty rs TO be content with "A diet Of husks.
He likes the taste of silk, however and in
this he again shows that lac is an aristocrat
Let him once get Judgment in Il dress Of this
| fabric and he has it for it, own. His sharp
incisors rob it of its frmness and its owner
sees her robe vanish at touch. As the bug
has so strong liking for English floor cover
ings. it may happen that its havoc in these
textiles will have more effect upon their sale
than the protective tariff has ever had Ger
tainly no one will desire to encourage the in
crease Of the little torment who is now caus-
| ing SO many to pass their days in anxious
| thoughts for and their nights in uneasy
dreams of its destruction. Whether he is 50
| well acclimated that he can exist without his
normal food remains to be determined but
there are those who believe that he is not
| They will cover their floors with American
carpets, and the result of such a course on
their part may bring about the solution OF n
| question that thus far has bnfiied the keencst
of those who have endeavored to investigate