The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-02-10
FIGHTS WATER BUGS.
A MAN IN eosToN WHO MAKES THAT
HIS BUSINESS.

Takes Contrscts Of Kidding Hoeels and
Residences Of Cockroaches and the Pes
tiferous Bugs and Has Made Thorough
Study OF the Subject.
The Pied Piper who charmed away ratt
and reptiles in olden times has faded int
o misty legend, but that a successor Of his
still lives and does flourishing business
few people are aware. 1t Is q fact, how
ever, that in Boston there lives at the pres.
ent time . man who gets his living by
stamping out vermin Of every description.
He doesn't 90 about as did his early prede-
cessor, with curious costume and mag.
ic pipe, for his instruments of warfare art
all contained in neat leather satchel.
Neither does he look bit like a magician,
for he Is quite young man, with blue
eyes and light mustache and hair. His
name is G.. B. DE Lue, and his place OF
business is on crooked little alley known
as Avery street.
He Is first rate, all round vermin hunt
er, but his speciality is the obnoxious wa
ter bug. I first got his address from the
steward of one of the hotels, from which
he had stampeded all the aforesaid "bugs."
So sure is the hunter of his success that
ne usually takes contract to rid the prem
ises for certain length of time, say year.
1 found him very pleasant, and, as
might be expected, well up in the pecul
iarities and habits of the bugs In question.
"In the first place." said he, there ART
not so very many real cockroaches. They
are about two inches long and differ In
many particulars from the water bugs,
whose greatest length Is only about three
quarters Of an inch. Cockroaches breathe
from little openings all along their bodies,
ten on each side. The scientific name is
Periplaneat orientalis, and, as the name
implies, 1t came from tho orient. 1t Is cal
culated that the first roach landed in Eng
land not more than 400 years ago. Since
then the family has come to the front rap
idly. Although not on the passenger list,
they doubtless came over in the Mayfiower,
"The water bug Is a variety with a still
harder name, but Is, no doubt, used t6
hard names"
Mr.. De Lue goes cunning for them with
powder and gun. The powder is his own
invention and is Us deadly as the fan
famed Knockout drops upon the unsus.
pccting human victim. The gun is bel.
lows contrivance of mammoth proportions.
He hunts the bugs by daylight as they
are all then hidden away in crannies.
"What would be the effect Of dropping
a small pinch Of powder upon single bug
placed upon the table?"
1.-THE bug would be dead before he could
run to the edge. There are five or six diff.
ferent ingredients, all Of which are fatal.
They stick to the bugs feet and feelers,
and he poisons himself by drawing the lat
ter through his mouth to cleanse them. ]
have spilled box Of powder on the floor
and seen a water bug walk into 1t and
drop in the middle of the heap.
"For great hotel, one having countless
bathrooms and miles Of plumbing, some
times use as much as go pounds of pow
der. You see, the bugs are originally from
warm climates, and they therefore stay
chiefly around the kitchen, where there IL
che most heat
"If I once thoroughly clear out private
house, not bug will be seen for as many
as three years oftentimcs. Hotels do not
last nearly so long, because they are con
stantly bringing them in, often in the
straw in which wine is packed, etc."
The cockroach is the original 16 to ad.
vocate. The egg cases, which are laid with
alarming frequency, are little brown
purses, about half an inch long, each con-
tanning 10 little reaches, no more, no less,
packed in two rows as neatly as cigarettes.
They are white when Matched, but rapidly
turn by exposure to the air. The little wa
ter bug is even more prolific, for his fam
ily increases at tho rate of from S2 to 40 at
q clip
When tho good old warship Minnesota
arrived in Boston and was turned over to
the boys of the naval brigade, they found
the vessel fairly swarming with large and
small reaches. They could be scooped up
by the handful. Commander Weeks almost
despaired of rendering the ship habitable,
but sent for the bug hunter, and the roach
es had q bad day of it, None has been
seen since.
Mr.. De Lue was born in Maine, but has
lived in Boston for the last "a years. He
was for many years connected with the
hotel and restaurant business, and it was
owing to the difficulty of fighting these
unpleasant pests that he first started out
to solve the problem.
He had tried all the old fashioned RENE.
dies and finally discovered this nonpoi'
sonous compound about six years ago. he
experimental with it for three years, and
finally, becoming convinced that 1t would
do the work, started in to make bug kill
ing his business. He has from the first
worked for all the notable Boston hotels.
He modestly does not claim to be the first
in the business. sin the old days" he
said, "a man could only take care of three
or four large houses. Now / can attend to
20 or 80 with no more difficulty. People
won't believe me when 1 tell them that
each little egg sack really contains as
many as 40 bugs, but held one once In
my hand until it hatched with the heat
and then showed 1t to the man l was talk
ing to. The first Of the little bugs were
running around looking for place to hide
before the last were out of the sack. They
were little white specks at first, but then
the little folded legs opened out, and they
commenced to travel. The eyes were tiny
black spccks.
"The bug hunting season is dullest in
cold weather, the two months when bugs
arc thickest being in September and Octo
Der. Where get my success is In stopping
breeding. The small bugs are killed just
about as soon as they arc Matched, and It's
inst N q iypuorfap pt IN kill 16 Young ones as