NOXIOUS INSECTS OF THE HOUSEHOLD. 



Ill 



about three-sixteenths of an inch long, white, soft-bodied, with 

 eight pairs of legs, and continues its destructive attacks during 

 the summer and fall. Late in the fall it closes the ends of its 



Fig. 61. Clothbs-moth; a, adult; b, case enclosing larva; c, pupa; cl, larva. ( The 

 natural lengths of larva and pupa approximate the line at the side of the 6, the case. 



case, and lies torpid through the winter. In spring it pupates 

 within the case, and issues as the adult moth in May or later. 

 The insect in all of its stages is easily distinguished from the 

 •'buffalo moth," which as an adult is a beetle, and which as a larva 

 does not live within a case. 



Remedies. — Dr. Riley's suggestions for combating this house- 

 hold pest are as follows : 



During the latter part of May, or early in June, a vigorous campaign 

 should be entered upon. All carpets, cloth-covered furniture, furs and 

 rugs should be thoroughly shaken and aired, and, if possible, exposed 

 to sunlight as long as practicable. If the house is badly infested, or if 

 any particular article is supposed to be badly infested, a free use of 

 benzine, in the manner mentioned in my last article [as in case of 

 Buffalo Beetle, see page 110], will be advisable. All floor cracks and 

 dark closets should be sprayed with this substance. Too much pains 

 cannot be taken to destroy every moth and every egg and every 

 newly-hatched larva, for immunity for the rest of the year depends 

 largely, almost entirely, upon the thoroughness with which the work 

 of extermination is carried on at this time. The benzine spray will 

 kill the insect in every stage, and it is one of the few substances 

 which will destroy the egg. I would, however, repeat the caution as to 

 its inflammability. No light should be brought into a room in which 

 it has been used until after a thorough airing, and until the odor is al- 

 most dissipated. 



The proper packing away of furs and winter clothing through the 

 summer is a serious matter. A great deal of unnecessary expenditure 



