The evening times., 1896-03-31
SET TRIPS FOR RED lhTs
Can Catca Them if You Use
Proper Bait.
wAsHlNGToN's GREAT PEST
In the Scientific World They Are
known as "Paraoil's Ants"-Are
Thought by Hist to Have Been
One of the Ten Plagues-SOmething
of Their Habits.

Did you ever see, stretching, winding,
wriggiing across the kitchen floor in the
early morning long string of tiny dark
red mites, like animated grains Of sand,
seemingly marching in single lille as In
dians do on ioraging expedition? And
perhaps you have gotten up when the first
slant rays of the sun peeped through your
window curtains, ana on going TO your
water pitcher DsneiL a bunch OF them about
as big as hickory nut, squirming in u
mass directly in the center.
Maybr, 100, you have picked up the
incest, hottest-looking biscuit on the plate
at breakfast, and on breaking ii open found
snugly baked on the interior of the fiaky
roll one, OF perhaps two, of those same
little pests. lf you were to ask Mr.. Le-
land o. Howard, the entymologist OF the
Department OF Agriculture, what they are
he would answer "Monomorium pharao-
MIS- but ii you were to make the same in
quiry of Mildred the cook, she would un-
doubtedly say:
"Dey's red ants, an deys de meanes',
ornryes' kin oh ants. Dey amt muffin
dey can't git intO."
And Mildred the cooks explanation of
their name and nature would undoubtedly
appeal TO you much more strongly than
would Mr.. Howard's.
lhElh NAME MlSLEADlNu.
Red ants, according to valuable treatise
on the subject gotten up by Mr.. Howard's S
predecessor at the Department OF Agricul-
ture, Mr.. Riley, are handed down from the
earlier civilization of Europe. The pre-
vailing impression that they belong solely to
North America is erroneous. North Amer
lea has many things She is proud OF, but she
doesn't want to claim sole ownership in the
"monomorium pharaOnis." The meaning
OF that imposing term, by the way, is given
in that same bit of literature as "Pharao's S
ants This name was evidently given tc
the insect by some of its earlier historians,
who were somewhat mixed up as to their
Bible. They evidently regarded the red ant
as one of the insect plaques of Egypt.
The chief characteristic Of the red aut is
mouth many sizes too large for il, and,
when seen under a microscope, a voracious
expression. But il is not what the ant ea Is,
nor what il ca rries away wit hit, that ma kes
1t an object of aversion and distrust.c 1t
is because of its wonderfully developed fac
ulty for getting into things that harrOws the
soul OF the housckecper and makes the kero-
senc can her constant attendaDt-fOr kerO.
sene is the scientific and simple way OF dis
posing OF the red ant.
They make their nests in wood boxes, in
the coal hin, the larder, the sideboard. in
the walls, under the kitchen range, and some
times inside OF crockery or china. Any
where and everywhere. they settle down to
the business of getting into things and in
creaSing their census.
TWO OR THREE THOUSAND EGGS.
The breed with fecundity that is mar
vclcus. In every nest there are n dozen
or more females, and these consider their
lives poorly spent unless they lay two or
three thousand eggs. Every female has her
tl.xn 1n- -.as.
and forage around for food and home sites.
" hen they grow tired of the first floor
the V climb mp TO the second. If they can't
find an elevator they take the stairs. No
edirice can be made too high for them. and
they are constantly coloniZing and spread
ing out.
They prefer to live INDOORS, but can be
found anywhere, with tiny ant hills in
soft soil. The do not stay there any longer
than the Y can help. however. One OF them
will get into n house some day, He will
find out that The floors are 4 little d d.rty:
that the housekceper doesn't pa Y particular
attention TO see that the housemaid sweeps
out under the ice box or the sideboard. and
he Will find that bread crumbs and similar
things. dear to the palate of his kird. are
frequently scattered along the floor. These
interesting facts lie viii communicate to his
friends and relatives, and without waiting
an instant the will migrate The working
ants eachpick up an aneggintheirinouttfs- anu.
followed by the females, who trCdge along
in stately dignity, they proceed 10 their
new field and make a nest. Then they start
in to make life burden to the inmates OF
the house until they swell the receipts of
the STANDARD Oil Company and rid them
selves of the nuisance.
The habits of these insects are very
simple. Tney get to work extremely early
in the morning, and If they do not fall into
the milk jar or get mixed up with the bread
they pursue their relentless, happy way
until niGhtfall, making frequent trips to
the nest to deposit their accumulated
burdens. These ants have six legs, pair
of hairy feeIcrs, a head, with the bump Of
acquisitiveness ahnormally developed; 4
body and a second body attached to the
main trunk by slender stem. They are
not particularly attractive when seen with
the naked eye, aud still less SO under o
mi croscope
SET TRAPS FOR THEM.
If the nest is built where it can be found
and gotten at, it is very simple to pour a
little kerosene on them and kill the whole
colony off at once. But where this can
not be done one has to lay for them or set
traps. A small plate of lard, In which n
few drops Of oXalic acid has been spilled,
placed in their vicinity is very effective.
They seem partial to lard and even the acid
will not keep them out of the plate.
Another scheme is to dampen sponge
with sweetened water. lay it out over
night, put it in pan the next morning
and pour boiling water over IT,. The ants
will crawl up into it during the night. and
the boiling water disagrees with them.
Then squeeze the sponge out and reset II.
Persian powder is also used a Rreatdeal,
when the other remedies cannot be ap-
piled. Scattered freely around in obscure
places, for the ants are modest about their
homes. it will soon rid n house of them.
The further South one goes the more fire.