Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-12-26
'Narpet-H bugs"

ANsAtsSat k'NSs& ~ 4tkNIS III RiiN SNANlSAh1
name of authrenus Scrophulari1 Even
this name, however, isn't so big as its
appetite. Wooden fabrics are its favor
tie food, and its hunger is phenomenal
Scientific men do not believe that it Will
eat cotton or linen fabrics when there
is anything wooden handy, and it has
never been charged with injuring silk
Feathers fre9ucply furnish ii with i
dinner. 1t is happieSt when in its own
peaceful home hcneath Your parlor
carpet, 1t eats aud eats the liveleng
day, and You can't convince any house.
keeper who ever waged war against 1t
with bcnzine. kerosene. nalmatian
powder and1arred paper that il ever
sleeps or does anything but eat 1t
night. Ii gees soquietlN about its work
that You haven't the taintcSt idea i! i
boarding with YOU till You lift mp YOU
carpet some day and find nothing but
bare threads on the under side. Unless
Won are sophisticated YOU wonder what
in the mischief ever did that. for YOU
dom see anything of the cavpei-hug.
The pcSkv pest is Sccretive and seciu-
Sive in its nature and when il sees IN
outsider coming. it SkipS. As y skip
per, too. il is renowned. The agile
climeN lectulariuS which by any other
name wouldn't smell amy Sweetcr
when YOU crush il or the lively iea
are nowhere i'll comparison with tho
carpet bug. Their boats are sawed OF
some one has hit them with sand
bag and they can't row Tho authre-
nus Scrophulari;r is the Ilaulan. tine
JAY ENe-Sec, the Maud ), of hugoeraHN.
N tl.,t b,N~, - IL q
of Nour carpet lifted aud peer under.
in the hope of catching ii in business
hours. ii isn't there Safe within tho
scelusion OF some apparently ,mpene-
trahle crack il winks inyi>ihly At YOU.
with lis antc0nsr placed in Gerisive
conjunction with its nose. Ii on rare
occasions il doesn't know YOU are COM
inc and gets hclated. you can oct some
idea how fast lightning can streak il
when il is stored un in the LEGS nj buff
falo pest. Before Nou realize tAat You
have seen anything, his hugship is safe
within the nearest crack or crcvice.
and You are left With dizzy 10 ollce-
ton of having seen black line flash
across the floor. Even il hy miracle
You get Your finger on the '.criltcr'
and crush the life out Of ii. when YOU
lift Your finger up Won dou,t lind 1t ut
all \ little heap Of almost imralra-
bic dust and bad smell are all that
remain.
The butlNlo-hug comes in assorted
sizes, from the hignesS Of u pinhcad IL
that of 4 small lily. Its appetite, its
teeth and IFS digestiye apparatus are
born full-grown. | once managed to
catch dozen of the little pests and
corked them up in a bottle under mi
croscopo with lot OF carpct-shrcds.
They thrivcd and grew fat in captivity,
and the WAY the carpet-shreds diSap-
pcarcd was Il caution. Seen through
the microscope their resemblance. ~
far n hairiucsS and broad front 90. To Il
buffalo plainly shows whore they Got
one of their names. Their backs seem
to be composed OF ridges running across
the body, and thicl>ly set with coarse.
stitl hairs. Their color is black or a
very dark brown, and their legs are L.
zion. \ more destructive snout than
that with which they are adorned could
hardly he imagined. They live To
eat. and they are admirably adapted
to fulfill their mission. They arc prac-
tically all snout and stomach and
legs.
The carpot-bug increases with ma,-
velous rapidity. Ii does not trouble lis
head-that IS 10 say, its snout-with
Malthusian or anti-Malthusim dor-
trines. 1t obcys the Scriptural lniuuc-
ton to .'increase, and multiply. and
replenish the earth" and it docs it
with astonishing diligence. II takes up
its residence with YOU to-day without
thinking or asking your permission
and tomorrow the family gcnealogist
has material for thick octave volume.
From the great great-great down TO tho
little little little, the whole family il on
the continual Verge OF starvation. In u
week every wooden thing within its
reach is ruined.
In the neghborhood Of Boston we
have had the pleasure of the carpet
bugs acquaintance for ten years, moro
or less. Where it came from no ono
really knows. II sprung, like Minerva,
full grown into life snout, stomach,
legs and all.
What are you going TO do about it,
That is the question no housckecpcr
can adequately answer. The scrophu-
lous anthrenus dotcs on insect-powder,
and ordinary bug destroyers are TO it rs
a delight and the solace of its hungry
soul. Ii grows fat on corrosivc-suhli-
mate, and pepper is what il always eats
on its ice cream. Dalmatian powder is
mildly effective, and if You can get it
actually upon the pest, win prepare it
for the undertaken. The difficulty is TO
hit the target. You have TO be an aw-
fully good wing shot. Bcnzinc, or its
less dangerous brother. kerosene. arc
the best remedies we have ut our COM
mand. Saturate the floors and fill tho
crevices with tho inilammablc, i'll
smelling fluid, and Tee carpet-bugs get
discouraged. The only difficulty is
that YOU get discouraged, too. Few
people like to live in an atmosphere Of
benzine. 1t may be wholesome and
cleansing, but il is not agreeable.
When the insurance agent calls, and
shifts and shifts, YOU realize more than
ever its disadvantages. Still, when
offered an alternative Of carpet-bug or
,benzine, the weary housekccpcr quickly
comes to q decision. As n preventive
of attack, sixtecn-inch strips of coal
tar paper, such rs is used for roofing,
extended all around the room beneath
the carpet are elective. The odor,
however, is not altogether agreeable.
Paper treated with carbolic acid car
bolized paper''-ought also 10 be
good preventive. and would be con-
yenient for use in drawers as Innings, or
for bagging valuable woolcns. All these
recipes, however, are only partially eff
fective. The bufalo-pcst rises superior
to them all and SCOTS viciously at tho
painstaking housekeeper Science sits
calmly BY and calls the bug hard Latin
names, but does nothing to drive it
from our homes. What do we pay sci
once for, anyway?
There is only one effective way 10 rid
your house Of carpet-bags. II you can
get insurance enough without raising
you may find it worth your
while TO try that. Boston Giobe.
How He Saved His Money.