PARASITES 



373 



Just how important bedbugs are in transmitting disease is not known, but 

 it would seem that they might act as transmitters for almost any blood 

 infection of the host or even for those diseases spread through the waste 

 products of the body for they readily travel from one cage to another. In 

 laboratory experiments they have been shown to be capable of transmitting 

 relapsing fever, bubonic plague, and tularemia. 



It is putting it mildly to say that the eradication of a bedbug infestation 

 from a laboratory is a dififiicult task. Fumigation by the use of hydrocvanic 

 acid gas or by burning sulfur is effective in 

 homes, but such treatment in the labora- 

 tory necessitates putting all the experi- 

 mental animals in sterilized cages and 

 removing them to another building or 

 room which would obviously be impracti- 

 cal unless the colony of animals were 

 small. About the best attack is to clean 

 each room systematically and thoroughly, 

 removing the cages of animals from the 

 racks, transferring the animals to 

 sterilized cages and returning them to the 

 racks only after the racks have been 

 painted with kerosene with special atten- 

 tion given to the crevices where the bugs 

 may be hiding. All the crevices in the 

 walls of the room and the cracks in the 

 floor should be thoroughly treated with 

 kerosene. The racks should then be 

 placed so as not to come in contact with the walls. It is even advisable to 

 stand the legs of the racks in cans of the oil. A few days following this 

 procedure an application of a solution of i ounce corrosive sublimate to 

 I pint alcohol and }'i pint turpentine can profitably be applied. The solu- 

 tion should be painted into the cracks of the racks or about the room and 

 other places where the bugs are likely to come in contact with it in their 

 attempt to make their way to the animals. This solution retains its eft'ec- 

 tiveness for some time after the application. Corrosive sublimate is 

 extremely poisonous, and great care should be taken in handling it. The 

 solution should not be permitted to come in contact with the skin. It also 

 has a corroding eft'ect on metals, necessitating the handling of the solution in 

 glass or wooden containers. 



Fig. 

 tulariiis 

 (Xio.) 



149. — Bedbug, Cimcx Icc- 

 Linne, from the mouse. 



