CHAP. XIX. 1 HOUSEHOLD PESTS. 175 



sometimes suffer. A liberal supply of Hake Naphthaline (5 to 10 

 11).) spread over them and left on for twenty-tour hours with the 

 room totally closed up (jalousies and all holes pasted over with 

 paper) will often effect a cure and the Naphthaline may afterwards 

 be swept up again and kept lor future use ; or the carpet may be 

 taken up and fumigated in a tight box or room. 



Beetles ol various kinds often bore holes in furniture especially 

 when this is made of cane. Painting on kerosine or almost any 

 oil, or even soaking the affected parts in oil, is a simple cure. If a 

 fumigation chamber is available the furniture may be fumigated by 

 hydrocyanic acid gas or carbon bisulphide. 



77. Stegomyia fasciata, .1 coi in Household Mosquito. (After 



in Brumpt.) 

 Eye-flies, Sand-flies and Mosquitos are not essentially house- 

 hold pest- although they often cause great annoyance in houses. 

 As the breeding-habits of Eye-flies are as yet unknown, we can 

 only deal with the adult insects; these are in the habit of settling 

 gregariously on some hanging support a cobweb, lamp-hook, piece 

 of string, rope, or straw, etc. and may be marked down and slain 

 wholesale after nightfall by burning them off with a torch. Sand- 

 flies pas> their early stages in dark, damp (not wet) places contain- 

 ing decaying organic matter, and it is very difficult as a rule to 

 discover where thej arc coming from. To reduce the number of 

 Sand-Hies in a house all rooms should be kept as tree as possible 

 from any dark places for them to rest in during the daytim 

 behind pictures, almirahs, writing-tables, hanging 1 lothes, etc.), 

 and all dark corners should be Sprayed daily witli a weak (about 

 one per cent.) solution of formalin. It is a good plan to paint 

 the backs of almirahs, writing-tables and the under sides of tables, 

 etc., with white paint, or simply to whitewash them, to reduce any 

 dark corners in which Sand-Hies ,md Mosquitos rest during the 

 daytime. 



1 he US( -I a -mill hand-net is a simple and efficacious method 



lor reducing mosquitos in a house where this is not fated -as all 

 Indian bungalow- should be with mosquito-proof screens. It is, 

 however, as a rule much better to attack them in their breeding- 

 places, which will always be found to be collections of water in or 



