i6o INSECTS OF ECONOiMIC IMPORTANCE 



species most prevalent in houses in the North. In 

 Louisiana, ]\Iississippi, Texas and California, the 

 Argentine ant is becoming a great and serious pest. 



Some ants make their nests on the lawns, in the 

 walls of the houses, etc., while others make them 

 in old logs, decaying beams, and stumps, others un- 

 der stones in the pavement, etc. 



Control — Isolate food products; use sponges 

 soaked in sweetened water; locate nests and use 

 carbon bisulphide ; squirt kerosene in entrance holes 

 and plug with cotton; use ant tape; use a mixture 

 of tartar emetic i part, sugar lo parts and water 

 to moisten well. 



Clothes moths (three species) 

 Order — Lepidoptera. Manual, p. 257 



There are three species of these moths in the 

 United States but only two are common in the 

 North; the larvae of these often do serious injury 

 by eating holes in w^oolen garments and by damag- 

 ing furs. 



Control — Air and shake clothes frequently ; use 

 moth balls ; put woolens away in tight paper sacks ; 

 use a fumigation box. 



Carpet beetles (two species) 

 Order — Coleoptera. Manual, p. 539 



There are two species of carpet beetles, the so- 

 called "Buffalo bug" and the black carpet beetle; 

 they deposit their eggs about the edges of the car- 

 pet w^here they are feeding; these hatch and the 

 hairy larvae feed on the carpet. 



Control — Use rugs and finished floors; trap 

 larvae with woolen cloths ; spray carpets with ben- 

 zine, whip and hang in the sunlight; wash floors 

 with strong soapsuds. 



