INSECTS INJURIOUS TO MUSHROOMS. 9 
REMEDIES. 
Where the mushroom house is small in extent it is possible materi- 
ally to reduce the numbers of sowbugs by means of hand picking. 
The house may be visited at night, when, by the aid of a lantern, 
numbers of sowbugs may be seen crawling about on the earthen 
casing of the beds and upon the boards and supports of the benches. 
These may be destroyed with a small wooden paddle. 
It is also possible to secure good results by pouring hot water along 
the cracks in the boards and in other places where the “ bugs ”-may 
be concealed by day. This is effective in small establishments, but is 
somewhat difficult of application in large houses. In such a case, 
fumigation with hydrocyanic-acid gas is an effective remedy. Treat- 
ment with sulphur dioxid* is also effective, but this remedy should 
be applied after the mushroom crop has been harvested and the com- 
post has been removed. 
Another method is to cut small pieces of raw potato, plastering the 
wet surface with Paris green, and laying them about on the beds in 
the localities affected by the sowbugs. This method is frequently 
successful in entirely ridding houses of this pest. 
CRICKETS. 
Among other injurious forms which at times attack mushrooms, 
certain crickets are reported as eating into the caps of the mush- 
rooms. On the Pacific coast a species known scientifically as Ceuw- 
thophilus pacificus Thom. has been reported as causing extensive 
injury to cultivated mushroom beds. 
The remedies for crickets in their injurious occurrence are the 
same as those recommended for sowbugs in a previous section of this 
circular. Potatoes and carrots may be minced before applying the 
Paris green, in order to secure a somewhat thicker coat. 
GENERAL SUMMARY. 
In the construction of mushroom houses care should be taken to 
make the building as tight as possible and with few outlets. If 
windows are necessary they should be small and should be screened 
with fine wire gauze, which forms an excellent prevention against 
the entrance of both maggots and mites, as previously mentioned. If 
possible all compost should be steamed before being placed in the 
house and the temperature should be kept below 55° F., as all insects 
are more or less dormant at this temperature, and their otherwise 
1See reprint from Bul. 60, Bur. Ent., U. 8S. Dept. Agriculture, pp. 139-163, Sulphur 
Dioxid as an Insecticide. 
