14 FARMEES BULLETIX 846. 



OTHER ENEMIES. 



A small mite ^ feeds on the eggs of the tobacco beetle, and at Key 

 West, Fla., a large jointed spider ^ (see fig. 5) and a much smaller 

 scorjoion-like spider^ were found to feed on the larvae. The jointed 

 spiders frequently tear large holes in cigars in search of their prey. 



REPRESSION. 



PREVENTIVE MEASURES. 



In cigar stores and small establishments it is not difficult to eradi- 

 cate the tobacco beetle. Infested stock may be treated and the build- 

 ing thoroughly cleaned. The humidors or storage closets should be 

 perfectly tight, and infested stock should be destroyed or treated as 

 soon as signs of infestation are noticed. 



In large factories and tobacco warehouses, however, complete 

 eradication in many instances is extremely difficult, or perhaps 

 impossible. The factories in some cases are old Avooden buildings, 

 roughly built and containing innumerable cracks and crevices in 

 which tobacco dust and refuse have accumulated, offering ideal hid- 

 ing and breeding places for the beetles. Even in modern factories of 

 brick or concrete construction it is difficult to eradicate the insect 

 completel}' after it has once become established, but it is much easier, 

 of course, to keep such buildings clean and free from accumulations 

 of refuse material in which the beetles may breed. The measures to 

 be employed in eradication Avork or in sterilizing buildings will 

 depend upon local conditions. 



For destroying the different s-t:\ges of the beetle in crevices of 

 floors or walls, live steam applied through a nozzle from movable 

 pipes or hose, hot water, gasoline, carbon disulphid, or dilute am- 

 monia ma}^ be used. Suction cleaners also may be used to advantage 

 for such work. (See fig. 6.) In cigar factories the stock of leaf 

 tobacco should be kept in a tight or screened room, as far as possible 

 from the rooms in which the cigars are made or handled. Trays 

 of unsorted cigars should be covered or kept overnight in a screened 

 compartment, as eggs deposited on the cigars at this time, €ven from a 

 single beetle, may be the cause of heavy losses afterwards. 



SOURCES OF INFESTATION IN FACTORIES. 



In cigar and tobacco factories the greater number of beetles are 

 brought in with the leaf tobacco. Beetles also breed from infested 

 stock and from accumulations of refuse material. Factories in some 



1 Che;ihtiis sp. ; class Arachnidii. oidor Acarina. 

 -Class Arachnitia, order Solpugida. 

 'Class Arachnida, order Pseudoscorpiones. 



