PESTS ON THE FAKM AND THEIR CONTROL 495 



close the opening with a piece of sod, well stamped dowTi. If 

 there are two or more entrances to a burrow, all but the one in 

 which the cotton is to be placed should be tightly closed before 

 fumigation. 



Rabbits. — Damage done. — Girdle young fruit trees and after 

 deep snows often eat the buds and twigs. Eats growing crops, 

 especially garden vegetables such as cabbage. 



Control. — Poison wash. — Dissolve one ounce of strychnine 

 (sulphate) in three quarts of boiling water. Dissolve one-half 

 pound of laundrj^ starch in one pint of cold water, stirring thor- 

 oughly. Pour the starch into the vessel containing the strych- 

 nine and boil the mixture a short time until the starch is clear. 

 Add six ounces of glycerin and stir. AVhen the paste is cool 

 enough apply to tree trunks with a paint brush. 



For poisoning jack rabbits in winter the following formula is 

 recommended : 



Poison halts. — Good oats, twelve quarts; powdered strj'ch- 

 nine, one ounce; laundry starch, one tablespoonful ; soda (bicar- 

 bonate), one ounce; saccharin, one-eighth ounce; water, one 

 quart. Prepare as directed for mixing prairie-dog poison. Not 

 over a tablespoonful of the poisoned grain should be used in a 

 single bait, and this should be scattered considerably. A little 

 alfalfa hay may be used to attract rabbits to the grain. The 

 poison is especially effective when snow covers the ground. 



Partly ripened or ripe heads of barley or wheat soaked in a 

 sweetened solution of strychnine or coated with the starch- 

 strychnine paste just described have also proved effective bait 

 for rabbits, but care must be exercised in using them, as they are 

 likely to be eaten by live stock. 



Moles. — Damage done. — Eats the roots of crops. Especially 

 bad on lawns, burrowing close to the surface. 



Control. — Special mole traps on traveled burrows. Fresh 

 corn treated with strychnine placed in the burrows is effective. 



Mosquitoes. — Control. — Cover rain barrels, drain off stand- 

 ing water or fill in the hollows. Eliminate all breeding places 

 by disposing of the water or covering the container. One ounce 

 of kerosene to fifteen square feet of water will destroy the larvae 

 as they come to the surface to breathe. Top minnows, sunfish, 

 sticklebacks and goldfish will destroy the larvae. 



House ants.*— Co»fro?.— The distinctively house-inhabiting 

 ants, such as the little red or Pharaoh's ant, and other imported 



* F. B. 740, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



