Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-12-28
THE BUFFALO CARPET BEETLE.
HOW TO FIGHT THE PESTS.

NNdls huuHthttptiS VIII w lultltSttu III
the following paragraphs from the report
of the State entomologst of Massachu-
sotts Just made public:
The buffalo carpet beetle is exceedingly
destructive to all kinds of wooden ma
terial but not to cotton or silk. The
injuries reported to have been done to
silk, lace curtains, etc, must have been
done by something else.
Buffalo beetles and their larvae seem to
be much more abundant in rooms on the
second and third floors than in those
below, and in the month of March, IN
rooms that have been kept warm, the
beetles emerge and fly to the windows,
where they may be taken and destroyed.
/ If housckeepers would look for them
/ frequently at the windows, from the
latter part of February till the end of
March, and destroy all the beetles found,
they would undoubtedly have far less
trouble the following summer.
Many Of the beetles feed and trans
form in wool or woolens in outhouses,
barns or stables. The beetles bred in
such places emerge much later in the
season and gather about flowers, within
which they appear to feed, perhaps on
the pollen, and are often brought into
the houses in large numbers in the
flowers.
The larvae are often found feeding upon
the WOODEN lint that has accumulated in
cracks of floors, and unless these are
carefully cleaned out, or covered with
paper under the carpet, they may come
up and eat the carpet along the line Of
the crack, cutting it as completely as
could be done with scissors. 1t is dcsir-
able, there fore, before putting down a
carpet in badly infested room, to sat
urate the lint in the cracks with benzine
and cover the loor very carefully with
carpet paper, or even with newspapers,
in such way that the larvae cannot
find access to the carpet from beneath.
Some hou-ekecpcrs paste paper over
the cracks in the floor and also around
the edge, turning it up and FASTING it ON
the bascboard, so as to cover the space
between this and the floor.
The beetles usually lay their eggs and
the larvae attack the carpets under their
exposed edges. aud these parts may be
protected 10y washing over the edges
a. FEW inches of the under side with
solution of corrosive sublmate in al
c.hol in the proportion of 60 grains to
one pint,y The alcohol quickly evapora-
ties, leaving the corrosive sublimate over
all the tibers of the carpet where the
remembered that corrosive sublimate j.
rank poison and cannot be safely used
where children play upon the carpet.
The larVW of the buffalo beetles appear
to be attracted to certain colorS of car
pet more than to others, especially tC
the aniliuc dyes, and some people hay,
found it very useful to spread pieces o.
carpcting in which red was the prevail
Ing color on the bare floors of closets
and then to take them up every day auo
kill the larva found under them.
have tried many insecticides anC
many methods for the destruction of tn,
buffalo beetle, and find no more success
ful way of keeping Il house free frou
them than by vcry careful watch fo
the beetles on the windows in February
and March, a frequent inspection of al
wooden clothing not in constant use,
daily examination Of pieces of red car
petmg on the floors of closets. which are
liable to be infested, and carefully cX
GLIDING the beetles from flowers brought
into the house.
1t is necessary for The members of tn
family to be able to recognize tins in
sect in its different stages. The perfec
beetle is about 3-lGths Of AN inch il
length, black and white, land has scar
let stripe along the middle of the back
The insect does no injury in this stage o
its existence, but lays its eggs. and from
these are Matched the Larvae which in
iure the. wooden fabrics. The larvae
when fully grown, is rather longer thar
the beetle and is clothed with still
DION u IdlIS winch are eA ltnutu mo
short tail-like appendage at the posterio
end.
The larvW of the ptchy carpet beetle
is often found feeding on carpets in the
same manner as the buffalo carpet bee
tie and sometimes associated with it
The ful-grown Larvae is about one-thirO
of an inch in length, of Il brownisl
color. ringed with Whtish between TIN
segmrnts, largest near The head ant
tapering toward the posterior extremity
which is provided with long pencil u
dvergiug hairs. The whole surface o
the body Is covered with short, coarse
brown hairs, which are so arranged a
to give "A smooth and somewhat gloss,
appearance to the Larvae. which is quit,
hard:and wiry. 1t crawls quite rapidly
with peculiar gliding movement.