648 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



reach the length of one fourth inch. It lives in the habitations of 

 man, especially in old or poorly kept houses where it has plenty 

 of cracks and crevices in which to hide or where it is little disturbed 

 by the housekeeping process. The eggs are deposited in secluded 

 places and the young resemble the adults. They feed to some 

 extent on mice and on domestic animals and in addition can 

 exist for long periods without food as they are often found in 

 houses which have been vacant for months. 



Control is a matter of eliminating all hiding places possible 

 and treating the others with benzine, kerosene, carbolic acid or 



FIG. 568. Bedbug: a, and b, adult females from above and below, gorged 

 blood; c, and d, structural details. (After Marlatt, U. S. Dept. of Agr., 

 Ent. Bui. 4, n. s. 1896.) 



other substances and repeating the treatment until all signs of the 

 bugs disappear. Fumigation and heating, to 120 or higher are 

 effective when practical. 



Lice* 



Lice are the most disgusting of the human parasites and are 

 no longer common among enlightened peoples except in situa- 

 tions where the ordinary sanitary precautions can not be observed 

 The louse, or "cootie" of the armies in the war is an example 

 of extraordinary development of a species under unusual con- 



* Pediculidce. Order Siphunculata. 



