The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-10-05
TO CONTROL MOTHS
Department OF Agriculture Offers
Advice

Three species OF clothes moths at
tack, articles made of wool fur, brist
les, hair aud feathers, and Their life
histories are so similar that one sys-
tenn OF control is applicable to all says
the United States Department OF Agrl
culture These moths pass through |
the usual life cycle of insects adult
or parent moth, the egg, the larya or
worm, and The pupa or chrysalis !
stages. The adult or parent moth is
the miller, commonly seen flying
about rooms and closets. Although
moths are particularly abundant dur
ing the spring and late summer, in
heated houses they may prevail at
any time
The moths themselves d. not dam
age clething, carpets or similar arti-
cIes, but they ley many small eggs,
/ in some instances as many as 200
eggs each in a period O weeks. De
pendent on the temperature these
eggs hatch in from S t. 10 days, the
tiny worms beginning to feed as soon
as they hatch and reaching maturity
| IN from 3 months to over one year
! The rapidly Of growth Of the larvae
depends upon favorable weather con
Gitions and the kind Of material avail
able for food 1t is the larvae that
cause the destruction Of clot;ing as
they prey upon clothes, furs, skins
and the like, being we'll equipped for
such activities with well-deyeloped
jaws.
1t is a simple matter to control
moths where the proper precautions
are observed. All clothing that is
stored should be frequently brushed
or beaten and well summed at regular
intervals. The larvae and eggs OF.
clothes moths are very delicate, and
thorough brushing or beating win
either crush or remove them. In
brushing, pay special attention to the
seams and pockets where dust and
/ lint have collected.
All clcthing Should be well cleaned
before it is packed away in chests, as
clothes moths prosper upon soiled
spots in wearing APPAREL, Alter thor
oughly brushing, beating and summing
articles TO be stored away should be
wrapped tightly in several thick
nesses Of newspapers or heavy wrap
ping paper, making certain THAI the
paper at the end az Tie bundle is so
we'll bent back upon itself that no
opening is left through which the
moths can crawl These pests will
not eat through paper. While tight
wrapping makes firm mass of cloth.
ing which still further protects It,
Fumigation with carbon dsulphide
lis a most effective treatment, Cloth
ing s:iould be thoroughly brushed and
then packed in a tight trunk or chest
and fumigated While carbon disul-
lnhide fumigation kills the clothes
imcths it win not Keep moths from en-
1 tering later and deyeiopre new n
festations A saucer should be paced
on top OF the clothing and the carbon
disulphi,a poured into ii. This chemi.
cal evaporates liberating gas t;eat
sinks down into the clothing and kills
the moths. It may be necessary to
treat clothing several times a year
where these articles are not kept in
a tight storage place
Although the odor of carbon d!sul-
phide is very foul it soon disperses
and does not injure the fabric. This
material can be purchased at any drug
store The gas which is formed Is
heavier than air and must be kept
away from fire the same as gasoline.
Another excellent method Of pro
tecting clothing comes through the
liberal use of naphthalene in the
form Of moth balls of flakes In tight
chests or trunks ore pound of naph.
thalene, we'll distributed among the
clothes. VIII kill all moths. and eggs
and larvae Well-grown larvae are
killed with difficulty by naphthalene,
so it is essential to brush clothes
thoroughly before placing them in the
chests and exposing them to such