INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOTHES 207 



furnishes ideal conditions for this pest to thrive and 

 increase. As was urged in the case of fleas, so here we 

 would urge a change from carpets to rugs if possible. 

 Where bare floors, covered more or less with rugs, are 

 maintained, the carpet beetles will not find hiding places 

 suited to their development. Moreover, the rugs can be 

 examined without difficulty at any time and, in fact, are 

 usually dusted and aired too often for the larvae to gain a 

 foothold. The tendency among modern homes is toward 

 polished floors and rugs with a consequent diminution of 

 the carpet beetles as a household pest. 



Where the insect has become well established in a house, 

 nothing but heroic measures and long-continued efforts 

 will avail. Housecleaning should certainly occur twice 

 a year instead of once and should be very thoroughly done, 

 at least, so far as the carpets are concerned. The carpets 

 should be removed, thoroughly dusted and beaten, sprayed 

 with gasoline, and hung in the air and sunlight as long as 

 possible. 



The floors should be thoroughly washed and scrubbed 

 with soap and water, especially along the baseboards and 

 cracks. It would be of advantage to spray the cracks 

 beneath the baseboards with benzine or gasoline and clean 

 out all the dirt possible from the cracks in the floors 

 and pour in benzine or kerosene oil. Before the carpet 

 is replaced on old floors, the cracks should be filled 

 with a crack-filler, thus eliminating the favorite hiding 

 places for the larvae. In badly infested houses, tarred 

 building paper may be placed beneath the carpets, but the 

 odor from such paper is not always pleasant. 



The carpet may be very loosely tacked about the edges, 

 thus affording an opportunity to examine it often to see if 



