El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-04-11
BIZ
Rene Bache


flier. At night, in April and May, it is
| liable to fly into the house through
open windows; by day it runs so swift
" as to be hard TO catch or kill. Dur
( ing the winter it seeks concealment un-
der the bark Of trees. Far from being
! rare, the species is very numerous, and
It's venomOuS bit makes a sore itching
wound that is accompanied by q swell
ing which may extend over much of
the body.
The house flea is a nuisance only too
familiar. It becomes much more seri-
GUS in view of the present threat of an
epidemic of bubOnic plague. For it is
by no means only the rat flea that is
capable Of transmitting this disease
from the rat to a human being. Any
kind OF flea may do it.
There Are 1876 Different Kinds OF F1eas.
There are 1876 known species of fleas.
But the species ordinarily found in
houses is the cat and dog flea. 1t lays
worms The worms find concealment
its eggs on the cat or dog, and, fall
Ing off. they are Matched into tiny
in cracks OF the floor and other such
places
feeding on vegetable matter in the dust
and, when eventually transformed into full
tledgeu fleas, jump upon the dog or cat
at the first favorable opportunity.
It IS a firstrate idea to take the family
dog (if ne lives in the house, out into the
yard once every day for few days, and
rub him thoroughly with pyrethrum powder.
This will cause the fleas to fail off and
breeding stock. But in any case there
should be a liberal sprinkling Of the powder
over the floors Of the infested rooms. II
the nuisance is not thus abated, one should
remove all carpets or other floor coverings
and wash the floors with hot soapsuds
It should be realized that the dog. the
cat, is useful for collecting whatever fleas
there may be in house. The whole prob
lem centers about the animal If the lat
ises, the 1leas Will attack the human Occu-
pants, for lack Of food more to their taste.
II has been calculated, by the way. that
the power that moves a watch is equivalent
to four times the force used in n flea's
jump. Thus it may be said that one watch
power is equal to four flea power
Danger Of Clothes Moths.
The average housewife knows about as
much on the subject OF clothes-rnOthS for
practical purposes. an any expert can tell
her II the luxury Of a cedar chest or
cedar lined closet be not at hand. wooden
clothing and other articles containing wool
must be done up in bags OF otherwise pro-
Sected during the season when moths are
An ingenious Bavarian is said to have
turned the larvae OF these moths so clev-
erly to account as to make them weave
bred them in large numbers he caused them
70 spin their SILK on paper frame sus-
coulu give any form he chose to the frame
and thus obtained not only square shawls.
but actually complete woman's dress. with
sleeves, and without seams. Two moth
worms can weave one square inch OF cloth
which exceeds in fiueness the highest gauze.
Red ants can make a house almost unin-
ever, if one knows how. The first thing to
40 IS to find the place they come from
l. e, where their nest is II it be in an
accessible spot, little kerosene will quickly
stop the trouble. On the other hand II
NE nest be in the wall or under the floor;
the Insects off as they appear.
Look foE the Source.
Houses are often invaded by black or
brownish ants from adjacent yards. which
make themselves a horrible nuisance. Here
again the thing to do is to find out just
where they come from. and then to so at
night (when the insects are at home and
abedl to the place. and sprinkle It thor
ough!y with Kerosene from q watering pot
X this does not cure the trouble II may be
done away with entirely by pouring a tea
spoonful OF bisulphide Of carbon down each
Role, throwing damp blanket over the
place for a few minutes, then removing the
blanket and exploding the chemical by a
lght held on the end OF pole The fumes 2
pelng heavier than air will then descend /
INTO the burrows and through all the sub
terranean galleries. destroying every occu- I
pant Ihls method has been successfully 2
adopted in and about New Orleans in deal
ing with the sOcalled Argentine ant a :
small, dark brown species which has become /
= serious pest But one should remember /
mat bisulphtde OF carbon is dangerous stuff !
md must be carefully handled.
While cOckroaches attack books from, /
without, to get at the paste in the bindings !
'boOkWOrms' assau them from within &
There are several species OF bookworms aII I
u them being larvae Of small beetles. hut /
The worst is Anobium paniceum, which
loreS right through a book. making con
inuous hole, usually with several side gal
cries.
The buffalo bug sometimes attacks
books Like so many other of orr most
Objectionable insects it is Of European ORR
lin. having first come over about 1874 The
adult is a small black beetle. It's larva.
vhich does the mischief. is an active little
worm. quarter Of an inch long clothed
With stiff brown hairs. All sorts of wooden