“(WHITE ANTS’’ AS PESTS IN THE UNITED STATES. 7 
__ with coal-tar creosotes and carbolineums have proved to be the most 
effective. The most permanent known practical method is_ to 
impregnate the wood under pressure with coal-tar creosotes | Where 
it is impracticable to treat such timbers, as poles, posts, ete., to be 
set in contact with the ground, they should be selected from woods 
noted for durability and resistance to attack by white ants. 
Fic. 14.—Earthlike shelter tubes of the white ant Leucotermes flavipes, constructed of earth mixed with 
finely digested, excreted wood, and built over brick wall in heated, dark, damp basement. These tubes 
extend through cracks between the basement pine flooring and the wall near a steamradiator. Note 
the granular structure. The insects use these tubes in passing over impenetrable substances and to 
protect them from the light in extending their galleries—in this case up te the next floor in an old build- 
ing in Washington, D.C. (Original.) 
PROTECTION OF STORED MATERIAL. 
Injury to books, paper, documents, and other stored material or 
products is usually indirect, the insects as a rule burrowing through 
such material only where it is in contact with infested wood. Hence, 
if the insects are kept out of wooden structures, by the means already 
described, such damage can be prevented. Books, valuable docu- 
ments, etc., should not be packed away in warm, unventilated cham- 
bers where they may become moist and moldy, and, therefore, par- 
ticularly subject to attack by white ants. It should be borne in 
mind that termites are likely to be present in old buildings, even 
though their work has not been sufficient to attract attention. Once 
contact with the source of moisture (damp earth) is shut off, the 
