INSECTS AFFECTING HOUSEHOLD GOODS 219 



may be positively dangerous to infants. Wherever this pest 

 appears it should be vigorously combated. 



One of the best means of controlling the last species, 

 which should be equally effective for others, is by means of a 

 poisoned syrup. Dissolve 125 grains of arsenate of soda 

 in a little water and add it to a syrup made of one pound 

 of sugar dissolved in a quart of water. After boiling the 

 solution saturate a sponge with it and place it in a glass 

 jar with a perforated cover. This enables the ants to reach 

 it, but it is not open to animals or children. The ants will 

 enter the jar and feed on the syrup and even carry it to 

 their nests. 



A method of destroying colonies of ants in their nests is 

 to saturate the upper surface of the nest with a solution of 

 cyanide of potassium made at the rate of one ounce to a 

 gallon of water, but this does not seem to be effective against 

 the Argentine ant. Injecting carbon bisulphide into the 

 nests is even more effective where the nests can be found 

 and it can be used. In many cases kerosene, crude petro- 

 leum or boiling hot water poured on the nest will destroy the 

 colony. A favorite way of ridding pantries of ants is to 

 trap them on a sponge saturated with syrup or sugar water. 

 The ants will swarm through it, and when it is well covered 

 drop the sponge into boiling water; then wash it thoroughly 

 of dead ants and repeat. Where this is kept up, they will 

 soon leave. To prevent ants from crawling up table legs and 

 into refrigerators, place the legs in small dishes of kerosene, 

 being sure that the article does not touch anything else. 

 Corrosive sublimate seems to be very offensive to ants and 

 throughout the South " ant-tape" is sold, which is placed 

 around the legs of tables or around anything to be protected 

 from ants. It is merely tape soaked in a saturated solution 

 of corrosive sublimate. It may be made by heating an 



