BED-BUG 



293 



tion against lights being brought near gasoline should be observed. 

 This moth is seldom found in houses with polished floors and 

 removable rugs. 



The Black Carpet Beetle. The habits of the black carpet 

 beetle (Attagenus piceus Oliv.) (Fig. 302) are practically the same 

 as those of the preceding species, and its extermination calls for 

 similar treatment. 



The Bed-Bug. This well-known household pest (Cimex lec- 

 tularius Linn.) needs no specific description. Its eggs are deposited 

 in cracks of bedsteads and base boards, sometimes in picture 

 frames and in mattresses. About eight days are required for 

 hatching, and if the young bugs get an abundance of food they 



FIG. 301. The carpet beetle: a, larva; b, larval skin showing pupa within; c, pupa; d, adult. 



(After Riley.) 



complete their growth after five moults, becoming adults in about 

 forty-five days. The days are spent in hiding places; at night the 

 young and adults come out to feed (Fig. 303). 



Control. Like other household bisects, if once established, 

 bed-bugs are hard to eradicate. Even a most careful housekeeper 

 is liable to find them established in the servants' quarters, if 

 careful supervision is not maintained. Badly infested buildings 

 should be fumigated with hydrocyanic acid gas. This calls for 

 two fumigations at intervals of about twelve days. The author 

 has used this method successfully. Fumigation with sulfur 

 candles is only partially effective. Gasoline may be used freely 

 in every crack where these pests might be expected and in every 

 tuft of the mattress. Special precautions must be taken, in using 

 this agent, against accident by fire. Gasoline might possibly 



