92 REMEDIES FOR FLEAS 



floor, such as books, boxes, and papers : consequently it is de- 

 sirable that rugs and mats should be substituted for carpets, 

 because the former can easily be taken outside and aired; 

 there they should be beaten and shaken to remove the esres 

 and larvae of the fleas as well as the adult insects. 



Floors Should be Treated. — All unnecessary material 

 should be removed from the floor. If the floor contains cracks 

 and crevices the immature stages of the intruders are sure to 

 be there ; such floors should be scrubbed with a five per cent, 

 solution of creolin. 



Treatment of the Resting Places. — Where fur-bearing 

 pets are kept in dwelling-houses their bedding should be thor- 

 oughly saturated occasionally with a five per cent, solution of 

 creolin. When a rug or mat or some old piece of clothing is 

 used, this may be most easily accomplished by submerging it in 

 the solution prepared for that purpose. 



Hydrocyanic Acid Gas. — Should the infestation be such a 

 desperate one that all these measures fail, as a last resort the 

 house may be fumigated with hydrocyanic acid gas. This, 

 however, is so dangerous a process, on account of the deadly 

 qualities of this gas, that no attempt will here be made to give 

 directions for its use. A complete treatise upon it will be 

 found in Johnson's Fu7nigation Alethods.^ and general printed 

 directions may be obtained on application to the U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Washington. 



