THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 439 



loosen the soil with the crow-bar (unless the soil is not very hard) for a 

 distance of two feet on each side of the hole. If the colony is a very 

 large one, it will be necessary to loosen the soil for even a larger radius 

 around the hole. With the hoe scrape out all the loose dirt and 

 immediately afterward pour some of the liquor over the dirt that has 

 been scraped out. This is necessary, for there are sure to be some 

 queens and workers in this dirt and they will burrow their way out 

 sooner or later and start a new colony. 



After this has been done, loosen the dirt in the hole as deeply as 

 possible with the crow-bar and pour in about three or four gallons of 

 the dilute creoline liquid. As the ground softens under the action of 

 the fluid, loosen it still more deeply with the crow-bar to enable the 

 creoline to percolate further down. Vigorous punching with the crow- 

 bar into the bottom of the hole while the insecticide is still in the hole will 

 send the liquid much deeper. 



The ant colony is usually large and housed in a large and extensive 

 nest, often several feet in diameter and several feet deep. The top of 

 the nest is very near to the surface and from there down it consists of 

 an intricate series of galleries and narrow passages. The eggs and 

 young may be found in small pockets in all parts of the nest. The 

 above description is, of course, of a well established colony. 



The creoline is very destructive to ants and if it is applied thoroughly 

 according to the directions above, the colony will be exterminated. The 

 more rapidly one works, the more successful the operation will be, for 

 fewer ants will escape. It may happen sometimes that a small portion 

 of the colony together with one or two of the queens may escape being 

 killed in the operation, by being covered in the dirt first scraped out of 

 the hole. In one instance known to the writer this occurred and a 

 feeble attempt was made by the remnant to establish a new^ colony. The 

 same procedure, on a smaller scale, was followed against this remnant a 

 few days later and the colony was then wholly exterminated and no 

 signs of them were visible thereafter. Careful watch was kept for 

 some time, but nothing reappeared. 



The trouble connected with this process is slight and the expense is 

 small. One quart of creoline sheep dip is enough to make five gallons, 

 sufficient for a large colony. The whole operation need not take over 

 a half hour. It is worth this to be wholly rid of the little pests. 



If the ant hole is very near to a plant or a tree, dilute the creoline 

 with thirty parts of water, in order not to injure the roots of the plant. 



Creoline is a cheap liquid and may be purchased at almost any drug 

 store. It is a combination of crude carbolic acid, soap, and a little crude 

 oil and water. It is very efi'ective against many kinds of insects. An 

 equally effective substitute for the commercial creoline sheep dip may be 

 made as follows : 



Crude carbolic acid 1 pint 



Soap (dissolve in hot water) 1 pound 



Water 2 pints 



Shake and thoroughly mix the above ingredients and then dilute with 

 about thirty parts of water to one part of the stock solution. If it is to 

 be used very near to a plant, dilute with fifty parts of water. It is 

 some trouble to mix these properly, and therefore it is usually more 

 advantageous to purchase the sheep dip whenever that is possible. 



