AN INSTITUTION Libra. S 
5 NI 
Drenching the nests with boiling water or Pic: pe ae a 
oil, which latter aiso may be introduced into cracks in pavements or 
walls, is effective in abating the nuisance of this ant. 
There are several other ants closely resembling this last, mostly 
species of Lasius, some foreign and some native, which form large 
colonies in yards, throwing up earthen ant hills, beneath which are 
extensive systems of underground galleries. These may often get into 
near-by houses and become quite as troublesome as the ants already 
mentioned. 
MEANS OF ERADICATING ANTS. 
In the foregoing account the important remedies for each species of 
ant discussed have been briefly indicated. A more detailed deseription 
of some of the methods of control or extermination follows: 
Excellent success has been had in destroying these ants with the use 
of bisulphid of carbon applied in their nests. This substance, the 
writer believes, was first used against ants by Doctor Howard, in the 
summer of 1886. The method consists in pouring an ounce or two of 
the bisulphid into each of a number of holes made in the nest with a 
stick, promptly closing the holes with the foot. The bisulphid pene- 
trates through the underground tunnels and kills the ants in enormous 
numbers and, if applied with sufficient liberality, will exterminate the 
whole colony. 
Whenever the nests of any of these ants can not be located, there is 
no other resource than the temporary expedient of destroying the ants 
wherever they occur in the house. The best means of effecting this end 
is to attract them to small bits of sponge moistened with sweetened 
water and placed in the situations where they are most numerous. 
These sponges may be collected several times daily and the ants 
swarming into them destroyed by immersion in hot water. It is 
reported also that a sirup made by dissolving borax and sugar in boil- 
ing water will effect the destruction of the ants readily and in numbers. 
The removal of the attracting substances, wherever practicable, should 
always be the first step. Ants are attracted to houses by food mate- 
rials or scattered sugar left about by children, and the nuisance of their 
presence can be largely eliminated by keeping all food products in a 
pantry or storeroom and limiting the amount of such products as strictly 
as possible to daily needs. 
That it is possible to drive ants away from household supplies by the 
use of repellent substances, particularly campher, has been asserted. 
The use of most repellent substances in connection with food supplies 
would be impracticable. Gum camphor has recently been the subject 
of a careful test by Dr. William T. Watson, of Baltimore, who found 
that while having slight repellent properties, it does not bring any really 
practical benefit. 
Approved: 
JAMES WILSON, 
Secretary of Agriculture. 
WasHINGTON, D. C., May 24, 1907 
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