Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1912-05-04
HOW TO RID
THE HOUSE OF FLIES

The fumes from the acid will kill
all the \lies in a large An
other way is to burn pyrethrum
powder-ordinary Persian insect
Powder'-which, if pure and fresh
ly ground, will give off a dense
smoke that will stupefy every fly
within reach of it's fumes, so that
they can be swept up and burned.
Kill them with "swatters." A very
simple homemade swatter can be
made of a piece of wire window
screening four or five inches wide
and six to eight inches long, insert
ed in a cleft in the end of a two
foot stick.
For the stray fly, use sticky fly
paper and poison. The most effective
poison is a sfaa ion Of formalin in
IGhe proportion Of eight teaspoonfuls
to a quart of water. This is a safe
poison where little children are
about, for even if they should drink
ii, it would not kill them. Break
a small nick in the edge of a bot
ties mouth, fill the bottle with the
solution and stand it inverted, in a
saucer. Enough of the poison will
flow into the saucer to ansYer the
purpose, and as it e~vaporates more
will flow down from the bottle. A
piece of bread covered with sugar
placed in the saucer will attract the
flies. If placed where dogs or birds
can get at it, cover the poison out
fit with a screen of coarse wire, so
as not to poison anything but the
flies.
Another cheap and reliable fly
poison which is not dangerous to
human life is made by dissolving one
drachm of bichromate of petroleum
in two ounces of water, sweetened
with sugar.
Fly traps can be easily made at
home by rolling a piece of wire net
ting into a cylinder eight inches in
diamet\r and a foot high. Another
piece Of the netting is folded into
a 0 n and placed over the top and
another cone placed inside the lower
end of the cylinder, this cone having
a hole punched through its apex,
through which the flies can crawl
readily. The device should be set up
so the flies may crawl under it, and
baited with sweets.
A form of fly trap that is especial
ly effective in stores and restaurant
kitchens consists of a trough Of tin
three quarters Of an inch wide and
of the same depth, and as long as
the width Of the window. If this
is placed against the window on the
inside and kept half filled with kero-
sene, every fly approaching the win
dow will fall into it. the fumes Of the
kerosene having an -overpowering
effect on the insect.
Screen doors are a favorite gath
ering place for flies. which hang
about them waiting for someone to
let them in. Mix a Tablespoonful of
carbolic acid with a quart Of kero-
sene and rub the solution on the
screen door. 1t will at once cease to
attract the flies. A weak solution
of formaldehyde may be applied in
the same way.
The same carbolic acid and kero-
sene solution may be used in an or
binary plant sprayer to spray the
garbage can, which is the principal
attraction for the flies indoors. A
better plan, however, is to keep the
garbage can outdoors and put a fly
trap in the cover of it. Any local
tinsmith can attach a fly trap TO the
cover readily. and at a very small ex-
pense. Fly traps can also be easily
attached to window screens so that
flies which do get in will be caugh;
as they are going out.
There would be no flies to kill ii!
there We're no filth for them tos
breed in. Ninety per oent of all
flies are bred in horse manure. so
keep the stable tightly screend. with
fly traps set in the window screens.
Spray the floors around the horse
stalls with a good disinfectant. Ply
r~oligenous acid. a by-product Of the
distillation OF ~turpentine, is a very
valuable spray because ii is effective
and non-inflammable. 1t can be
bought in New York for s4.25 a bar
rel and may be obtained wherever
paints and oils are sold. Kerosene
is good. but increases the fire risk.
Keep the stable refuse in a bin