Evening star., 1901-06-05
SUM MER INSECT PESTS
HOW TO PROTECT THE HOUSE FROM
THESE ANNOYANCEs.

Cleanliness and Watchful.ess Must
Go Hand In
Before the wilderness begins to blossom
as the rose it is good thing to keep in
mind the insect nuisances that come with
the blossoms. Among these as most i'm
portant may be considered the pestiferous
mosquito, the noisy fly, the active ant and
the willy spider. Not alone on the high
ways and hedges do these small creatures
seek their prey. but. with a devotion which
mankind has never appreciated, they aim
to become dodgers in every residence in
the countryside. The social qualities OF
the mosquito and the fly, while they may
have tome high altruistic significance, are
far from. appreciated by man in his present
stage OF spiritual development. Indeed. the
introduction of these interesting insects
has gone far toward breaking up many
happy home. Men and women OF other
wise placid dispositions have been reduced
TO savagery after enforced attendance at
one OF the midnight feasts and musicales
for which the mosquito Is famed, and
fly tn the butter has helped swell the rec
ords of the divorce courts to an extent
which students Of social condition might
find amazing.
Besides the aforementioned insect brig
ands the roach and the bedbug are to
be reckoned with in early spring. and the
sand flea Is also abroad in the land. await
ing whom he nay devour. There is not
neighborhood anywhere that can claim
immunity from insect annoyers.
Before the 1st Of May every window in
the house should be covered with screens
of wire. If possible. or of cotton netting
when the wire frames are beyond the
means Of the family. These frames will
keep out both flies and mosquitoes. and II
they have never been tried the comfort OF
using them cannot be appreciated.
Country people and those who live on
the outskirts of a town where there are
vacant spaces in which pools Of water ac-
cumulate after rain are especially open to
attacks from mosquitoes. The little crea-
lures breed in water, and the more stag
nant 1t is the better they like it.
First of May Arrival.
Those who live near lakes or other small
bodies of water have to be particularly
wary Of the mosquito. 1t arrives about the
1st Of May and raises several families be-
fore a final disappearance. The actual life
Of a mosquito is about thirty days. but 1t
is active in the work of bloodsucking for
only about six days. 1t is the female mos
quito that Is troublesome. She prowls
night assassin. while the male mosquito
stays quietly at home a respectable vege-
tartan, with decent aversion to the ruby
beverage that sends his spouse reeling
home at all hours Of the morning.
Mosquito screens on the windows and
doors and canopies over the beds the
only protection in regions where mosqui-
toes are very troublesome. White netting
makes the handsomest canopies, but the
green ones are perhaps more serviceable.
once the pests have got into the house
there are a number of ways Of eliminating
them One Is to close all windows and
doors In the room where they suspected
OF lurking and toburn pyrothrum powder.
The powder should be moistened and
rounded into little cones for convenience in
igniting The cones are lighted at the
apex and burn slowly. filling the room with
a dense smoke. which Is death to the mos
quftoes. Two or three cones will clear a
room of mosquitoes, but beyond being a
trif1e nauseating the powder has no ill ef-
feet on human beings.
Homemade Annihilator.
When the marauders can be seen perched
upon the ceiling the best way to settle
accounts with them Is to apply the kero-
sene cup. This is a homemade apparatus,
consisting Of shallow tin cup or a can cut
Off at the top and nailed to a broom handle
two, Is poured into the can and the cup Is
raised directly under the mosquito. which,
rendered limp and senseless by the odor
drops into the fluid. This is better than
fouting the insects with towel, the Gus
tom of the unhappy householder who des-
perately arises at midnight
Camphor. pennyrOyal and citronella, II
smeared over the face and hands in small
Quantities, will keep Off flies. mosquitoes
and fleas They are therefore useful ad-
Juncts to an afternoon walk on the sea-
shore. where all of these torments are more
or less active. OIL of tar, lemon Juice and
peppermint the mosquitoes also find OBJ
nox1ous. For relief from the stings glycer-
Inc, indigo and ammonia are recommended
Flies and Reaches.
Flies are the scavengers of the house
hold. They eat up the refuse that would
otherwise breed disease. The best remedy
for flies Is absolute cleanliness, combined
with screens to keep out tramp insects
from other neighborhoods In the shops
are sold fly papers that are warranted to
end the careers Of those insects that will
now and then in spite Of all precautions
manage to slip into the house.
Reaches are among the most trouble
some of the household invaders. They are
hard to exterminate because they will
make their way into carefully kept
house through the wall from a neighboring
residence where they are numerous Pre-
pared exterminators may be tried, but
there Is very little chance of getting rid
of them unless a house Is isolated.
One of the most offensive Of all crawl
ing pests is the bedbug. While it may
be dormant during the winter. the first
warm weather arouses it to activity. Beds
should be taken apart and washed with
boiling water. Benzine is death to both
reaches and bedbugs To apply 1t take a
wide mouthed bottle and a glass sprayer
and squirt the benzine over the insects or
their suspected lurking places Methy-
lated spirits and diluted carbolic acid may
be used but with less success. A vapor
bath Is excellent to kill insects that hide
so that they can be reached in no other
way The room is closed so that no air
can get in. and little birthstone is burned
on a metal dish. Combustion produces the
gas known as sulphuric dioxide, which is
a splendid insecticide. A thorough fumiga-
tion Of a room by this process will destroy
the eggs Of the obnoxious creatures.
For Other BOthers.
Like mosquitoes. bedbugs do not live en-
tirely on human blood They are said to
sustain life by partaking of the vege-
table sap found in soft wood. The diet is
spare one. however and as soon as u
human being appears 1t Is dropped for