INSECTS, HARMFUL AND OTHERWISE 215 



furniture infested are preventives as well as remedies for 

 them. 



Another disgusting household insect is the Cockroach, of 

 which there are several kinds. The small kind is called the 

 Croton-bug or German cockroach. The large, black kind is 

 the Oriental roach. They are hard to get rid of. They are 

 unpleasant to meet with in the night; they run over the food 

 in the pantry, and congregate in cracks and crevices near 

 sinks and drains. The most effective remedy for them is 

 probably to pour gasoline or carbon bisulphide into their hid- 

 ing places. They are sometimes caught in cockroach traps. 

 The eggs are laid in cracks in little bundles, which the female 

 may sometimes be seen carrying about with her. 



Clothes-moths (several species) are very destructive of 

 wearing apparel, tapestry, carpets, etc. Many a fine fur 

 garment, or cloth suit, has been ruined while being stored 

 during the summer or left uncared for in a closet or trunk. 

 Clothes-moths have been associated with man for ages. The 

 Bible speaks of treasures that moths do not corrupt, and Job 

 is made to speak of "a garment that is moth eaten." 



The common clothes-moth is a small, buff-colored moth, 

 about half an inch in length. In the summer this moth lays 

 her eggs upon clothing, and the larva or caterpillar that 

 hatches out of the egg begins to eat off the nap of the cloth or 

 the hairs of the fur, and proceeds to make itself a felt case. 

 This it carries around with itself, and enlarges when too 

 small by adding to the end, and to make it wider puts in 

 gores. Then it turns around in the case and does the same 

 at the other end. The case is further lined with silk spun 

 by the larva itself. The caterpillar lives on the material of 

 the garment or the dirt that may be on it, and passes 



