68 SOME COMMON HOUSEHOLD INSECTS. 



CLOTHES MOTH. 



It is well to remember that camphor, napthaline, moth balls, 

 etc., kill neither this insect nor its eggs, but act merely as repel- 

 lants, nor will storing furs and woolens in a cedar chest, the 

 odor of which may be repulsive to the insect, be of avail if 

 there are already eggs or larvae of the moth in the same 

 when so stored. 



As a rule, clothes which are used occasionally, or brushed 

 or shaken, in order to dislodge any eggs thereon are not 

 appreciably injured. These eggs hatch in about six or seven 

 days. If their presence is suspected in any furs or other mate- 

 rial, a mild beating and brushing of such articles will remove 

 most, or all. When one is absolutely sure that no eggs or 

 larvae (worms) are present, a very good practice is to store 

 articles in pasteboard boxes which are afterwards thoroly 

 sealed by pasting paper over the cracks. It is usually not 

 safe to let woolens, furs or feathers remain undisturbed a 

 long time in an ordinary trunk, since, as a rule, such trunks 

 are not moth proof. 



Fig. 55.— Egg of clothes moth, much enlarged. (Author's illustration.) 



Cold storage is much resorted to for the preservation of 

 furs during the summer, and this is quite a feature in the 

 business of many of the cold storage plants in cities. The 

 pest cannot work in a temperature below 40 degrees Fahr. 

 Frequent beating of furs, furniture, curtains, woolens, etc., 

 during the spring and summer, say, in May, June, July and 

 August, is helpful. 



The writer, in his own house, has practiced the following 

 method for several years with marked success. A galvanized 



