Insect Pests of House and Garden. 0^6,'] 



new colonies. The comparatively large, white objects found in ant 

 nests and popularly called ant eggs, are not eggs, but the white, de- 

 veloping, early stages of the insect {e and / in Fig. 20.) 



The red ants, the little black ants, and the pavement ants are the 

 three kinds which most often invade New York houses. The tiny, 

 red ants usually have their homes under stones or in the open fields 

 near by, where it is difficult to get at them. The little black ants 

 (Fig. 20) usually have their homes under stones or in the adjacent 

 fields, where they may be recognized from the little pyramids of fine 

 grains of soil which surround the entrances to the homes. The black 

 pavement ants are two or three times larger than the other two kinds, 

 and their homes are made under stones, broken pavements, or under 

 the stone flagging of walks. 



The first step in discouraging the visits of these little pests is to remove 

 the attracting substances, either into other rooms or upon stands whose 

 legs are set in cans of oily water, or it is sometimes sufficient to simply 

 place the cake-box on top of another dish, like a pan. Often their 

 visits may be discouraged and stopped by attracting them to bits of 

 sponge moistened with sweetened water, and when these are swarming 

 with ants drop them into hot water; resweeten the sponge and repeat 

 the operation. A syrup made by dissolving borax and sugar in boiling 

 water is said to attract and destroy many of the little pests. A college 

 girl accidentally discovered, much to her disgust, that a bottle of syrap 

 of hypophosphites with a loose-fitting cork formed a very attractive bait 

 for the little red ants, which swarmed into it and were drowned by 

 thousands in the liquid. As the bottle was kept in a dark closet, the 

 student did not discover the cause of the unusual thickening of the 

 liquid until she brought the bottle out to the light. Some housewives 

 report success in driving ants away with pieces of gum-camphor placed 

 about in the pantry or other situations infested with ants. When the 

 nests of household ants can be located they can be killed in enormous 

 numbers by pouring an ounce or two of carbon bisulfide into each of a 

 number of holes made in the nests with a stick, and promptly closing 

 the hole with the foot. A little kerosene oil or boiling water poured 

 along the cracks in pavements or walks, or into the holes in the little 

 pyramids of soil thrown up by the ants around their homes will destroy 

 most of them or force them to seek new quarters, and thus discourage 

 their visitations to the house. 



