28 HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



containing a few horses, two days, 8700 flies ; same place, 

 one day, 12,000 flies; same place one and a half days, 

 18,800 flies. These instances suffice to show the effective- 

 ness of such a trap in certain situations. 



Insect powder. — There is a powder known as pyre- 

 thrum, Persian insect powder, or buhach, that is sold 

 a great deal for killing all kinds of insects, especially 

 household pests. When the pyrethrum can be obtained 

 in a fresh condition it is an excellent insecticide. There is 

 no more satisfactory way of ridding a kitchen of house- 

 flies than by the use of this powder. Go into a kitchen 

 at night, close all the doors and windows and then sprinkle 

 fresh insect powder over the stove, on the window ledges, 

 tables, in the air, everywhere. In the morning flies will 

 be found lying around dead or stupefied. They may 

 then be swept up and burned. It is often difficult to get 

 fresh pyrethrum and for this reason its use is not always 

 a success. The buhach is a California product made 

 from the pulverized heads of a species of Chrysanthemum 

 grown near Stockton, California. This powder costs a 

 little more than the Persian powder, but it is apt to be 

 fresher and stronger. It will pay to buy the buhach 

 whenever possible. 



Another method of using pyrethrum or buhach is to 

 moisten the powder with water and mold it into small 

 cones. These cones are then placed in an oven until 

 they are thoroughly dry. Then they may be set on end 

 in pans and lighted at the tips. The fumes, which are 

 not unpleasant and are harmless to human beings, will 

 kill the flies. 



It is said that the vapor produced by placing 20 drops 

 of carbolic acid on a hot shovel will also kill the flies. We 



