51 



There is some confusion as concerns the attacks of the bed bug or its 

 parasitism on other animals tlian man. Packard (Guide to the Study of 

 Insects, p. 551) states that " it lives as a parasite on the domestic birds, such 

 as the dove." and further, same book and page, that " Mr. James Macdonald 

 writes me that he has found a nest of swallows on a court house in Iowa 

 swarming with bugs." In the American Entomologist (Vol. 1., p. 87) the 

 following statement occurs: — 



" Ordinarily the bed bug is confined to the dwelling-places of man and 

 lives on the blood of us great lords of creation, but we have known it to swarm 

 in prodigious numbers in a chicken house, where it must have fed exclusively 

 upon cV.ickens' blood, and it is said to occur also in European pigeon houses." 



Whatever its foundation, there is a widespread belief that birds and bats 

 carry bed bugs from place to place, and considering the snddeness with which 

 they appear in new buildings, and sometimes in buildings never used for 

 dwellings, it seems hard to otherwise account for their appearance. Still, to 

 those familiar with the habits of the bed bug and its opportunities for trans- 

 portation, there will be no insuperable ditticulty in accounting for all such 

 a[iiiearances. .\nother impression seems to be that bed bugs occur in the 

 woods and under liark. 



Prevention and Rcinedif. 



Cleanliness and the application of the common remedies, such as benzine, 

 corrosive sublimate, and hot water, will usually suffice to keep these pests 

 reduced in ordinary dwellings, but in large buildings more general measures 

 may sometimes be necessary, and in such cases there is probably nothing more 

 eflectual, when it can be done, than thorough fumigation with sulphur, brim- 

 stone or perhaps bi-snl()hide of carbon. 



" I have known a house which had long stcKHl empty, and yet swarmed 

 with them, thoroughly cleansed by fumigation with brimstone." — WrstKood. 



We know personally of an instance where a large building, badly infested 

 with this pest, on being thoroughly fumigated with sulphur as a disinfectant 

 against scarlet fever, remained for some time comparatively free from bugs. 



Attention to the cracks in the walls a\id around casing.?, as well as to Hhe 

 joints of bedsteads, will do nujch to keep jiests under control. 



For immediate relief in a sleeping room, pyrethrnm is most available, since 

 it can be used while a room is occupied. Dusted between the sheets of a bed, 

 it will protect the sleeper from the most voracious hotel bug. — Bulletin Ko. 5, 

 V. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Entontolora/. 

 Lice of Human Beings. 



Children and people of dirty habits are especially subject to infestation by 

 tliese. perhaps the most objectionable of all insects. Three kinds are commonly 

 known to attack human beings. These are the head-louse {Pediculus caijiti.i), 

 the body louse {P. restimenti), and the crab (Phthirins inynlnalix). When 

 once these insects appear they can only be exterminated by thorough watch- 

 fulness and cleanliness. Children (who are frequently attacked by the head- 

 louse) require their hair to be frequently combed, as all lice are prolific 

 lireeders. Many children obtain lice at school by hanging their hats up near 

 those of others. The head-louse seems to prefer the region just above the ears. 



