HOUSEHOLD AND CAMP INSECTS 51 



blankets, and may be found in felting, furs, skins, carriage 

 upholstery, etc. 



Control measures. Clothes moths, like carpet beetles, fleas and 

 some other household pests, thrive -bes& in situations where there is 

 relatively little disturbance. Clothing used almost daily and other 

 fabrics subject to frequent handling, brushing or sweeping are rela- 

 tively immune from injury. Woolens and furs are most likely to 

 be damaged while in storage during warm weather. These, before 

 being laid away, should be thoroughly aired, brushed and carefully 

 examined for the presence of the destructive larvae. Then they 

 should be packed in cedar chests or tight boxes, preferably with 

 some naphthalene or camphor, as these latter materials are of some 

 service as repellents. A very effective and cheap method of storing 

 articles for the summer is to put them in tight pasteboard boxes 

 and seal the covers firmly with strips of gummed paper. 



Fig. 17 Tapestry moth: adult, enlarged. (After Riley) 



Valuable furs and similar articles are frequently deposited with 

 storage companies. Experiments conducted under the direction of 

 Doctor Howard, chief of the Bureau of Entomology, have shown 

 that all danger of injury by clothes moths and their associates may 

 be obviated by keeping the temperature at about 40 F. This is 

 sufficiently low so that insects, even if present, will remain in a 

 dormant and therefore harmless condition. 



It is quite possible that fumigation with nitrobenzene (see page 

 80) would be a very effective as well as safe method of destroying 

 household pests. 



A very effective and safe method of destroying insects in stored 

 furs and garments is by fumigation with carbon tetrachloride, using 

 6 pounds to 100 cubic feet of space. The insecticide is placed in 

 large, shallow pans so as to assure rapid evaporation, and these in 

 turn set on hot soapstones and the fumigation continued for a period 

 of 24 hours. It is essential that the pans be large enough and the 

 heat sufficient to vaporize the insecticide speedily ; otherwise the 

 results may not be entirely satisfactory. 



