THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 239 



PRACllCAL'AiNl) POPULAR ENTOMOLOGY.— No. 15. 



Mites Affecting Farm Homesteads. 



by tennyson d. jarvis, ontario agricultural college, guelph. 



Of late years there has been a considerable demand for information 

 relating to insects which are found in houses, and which either annoy the 

 occupants by their direct attacks or are injurious to household goods and 

 provisions. It is therefore hoped that the contents of this article will 

 be found of interest and practical benefit to those who have experienced 

 the ravages of these minute insects. 



It was upon the urgent request of Mrs. R. Eby, whose house was 

 infested with mites, and situated at Alma, in Wellington County, about 20 

 miles from Guelph, that 1 decided to go down and make a personal 

 investigation, and, if I deemed it necessary, to fumigate the house. 

 When I arrived I found the conditions of the house to be exactly those 

 that harbour mites. The house was poorly lighted, and left in a semi- 

 dark condition, owing to blinds being drawn to exclude flies. The 

 interior finish of the house was rough and poor, the wardrobes being 

 made of unfinished rough lumber, and therefore admirable hiding places 

 were afforded the mites by the numerous crevices and dark corners. The 

 walls were badly cracked, and the partitions of the house were poorly 

 fitted together, exposing loose joints and holes. The walls w^ere covered 

 with dark paper. 



After having made a thorough examination of the house and its 

 internal conditions, I proceeded to ask Mrs. Eby for information regarding 

 the outbreak, and when the presence of the mites had been first observed. 



It would appear that about two years ago the cellar was overrun with 

 mites, but these were most likely of different species to those affecting the 

 house at this time. The cellar had been thoroughly whitewashed, using 

 a spray pump, and an effectual extermination resulted. Since that time 

 no more mites had been seen in the cellar. 



Next, mites were found in the barn on hay, and the inhabitants of 

 the house then thought that they had been introduced by being carried in 

 on the clothing of the men. This, however, did not account for the 

 present outbreak in'the house, as these also were of different species. 



Food Habits and Life-history. 



It might be as well, before entering further into a discussion of what 

 methods were adopted for the eradication of the mites, to briefly discuss 

 the life-history and a few characteristics of the species found. 



July, 1906 



