The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1912-05-08
FLY OR HEALTH Z?
How To Rid the House of Flies and
Secure Citizens $40 Prize.

First, kill all the flies in the
house. Close the windows and
doors, heat a small coal shovel, and
pour twenty drops of carbolic acid
on it. The fumes from the acid will
kill all the flies in a large room.
Another way Is to burn pyrethrum
powder-ordinary Persian Insect
Powder"-which, If pure and fresh
ly ground, will give off dense
smoke that Will stupefy every fly
within reach of its fumes, so that
they can then be swept up and burn
ed. Kill them with "swatters." A
very simple homemade "swatter"
can be made of piece of wire win
dow screening four or five inches
wide and six to eight inches long,
inserted in a cleft in the end of a
two-foot stick.
For the stray fly, use sticky fly
paper and poison. The most effec-
| tive poison is a solution of formalin
in the proportion of eight teaspoon
! fuls to quart of water. This is a
| safe poison where little children are
about, for even if they should drink
it, it would not kill them Break
small nick in the edge of a bot
ties mouth, fill the bottle with the
| solution and stand it inverted, in
saucer Enough of the poison will
| flow into the saucer to answer the
purpose, and as it evaporates 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
I fit with a screen of coarse wire, so
| 80 t1,,, L,
| flies.
Another cheap and reliable fly
poison which is not dangerous to
human life is made by dissolving
one drachm of bichromate of petrol
cum in two ounces of water, sweet
ened with sugar.
Fly traps can be easily made at
home by rolling piece of wire net
ting into a cylinder eight inches in
diameter and a foot high. Another
piece of the netting is folded into a
cone and placed over the top and
another cone placed inside the low
er end of the cylinder, this cone hav-
ing a hole punched in 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 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 close against the window on
the inside and kept half filled with
kerosene, every fly approaching the
window will fall into it, for the
fumes of the kerosene have an over
powering 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 teaspoonful 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
dinary plant sprayer to spray the
garbage can, which is the principal
attraction for flies indoors. A bet,
ter 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 trap to the
cover readily, and at a very small
expense. Fly traps can also be cas-.
lily attached to window screens sc
that flies which do get in will be
caught as they are going out.
There would be no flies to kill il
there were no filth for them tC
breed in. Ninety per cent. of al
flies are bred in horse manure, sc
keep the stable tightly screened
with fly traps set in the window
screens. Spray the floors around the
horse stalls with a good disinfectant
Pyroligneous acid, a by-product Of
the distillation of turpentine, is &
very valuable spray because it is eff
fective and non-infiammable. 1t car
be bought in New York for $425 8
barrel and may be ATTAINED wher
ever paints and oils are sold. Kero
sene is good, but increases the fire
risk. Keep the stable refuse in q
bin tightly covered with a wire net
ting cover. This will prevent the
female fly from getting across to the
contents to lay her eggs.
Clean up every place where de,
caying animal or vegetable refuse ac-
cumulates. Spray every receptacle
, for refuse with one of the kerosene
| VI pyIOllSuGOuS dCIu pI6pdI dllOuS
or with any good cmmercial disin'
fectant. Remember all the time thai
flies and filth begin with the same
, letter and mean the same thing.
Keep the flies away from the sicE
room, especially where there are
contagious diseases.
Don't let waste paper or old rags
, accumulate where they can decay
, Flies will breed in them if exposed
to moisture.
After the refuse pile has been re
moved sprinkle the ground thor
, oughly, as the fly maggots craw
down into the earth to develop.
If the house drains empty on the
! surface of the ground, pour kero
, sene into them. If your sewerage
: system leaks pour kerosene into it.
If you cannot trace the flies abou
, your premises to any other source
? look in the cuspidor.
! Keep flies away from food. Hem
spherical wire screens to place oyel
, dishes may be bought anywhere IL