REMEDIAL MEASURES 613 



PREVENTIVE OR REMEDIAL MEASURES 



Handpicking of insects is recommended wherever practicable, 

 as in the case of borers, large caterpillars, etc.; these may be killed 

 when collected by dropping them into diluted kerosene oil, boiling 

 water, or in a pot of tar. 



Light Traps and Smoke. Lights are useful traps for certain 

 insect pests, especially such as fly at night. Acetylene Lamps 

 are thus used with good effect in the vineyards of Europe as a 

 means of catching moths and other injurious insects. The method 

 adopted is to set the lamps out at night (preferably on dark 

 nights) at distances of about 500 yards apart. The insects are 

 attracted in swarms by the flame, and are killed in a weak solution 

 of kerosene which is placed in a shallow basin adjusted a few inches 

 below the burner. In a similar way an ordinary Kesroseue Lamp 

 with reflectors, hung over a broad tray containing jaggery and 

 water, or water with a film of kerosene, may be used for catching 

 cockchafers, moths, ants and other insects. Smoke from Fires 

 is a deterrent to some insects, and is sometimes recommended for 

 such as attack Rice and other dense crops. 



Rolling Pasture-land, net-dragging, etc. For caterpillar pests 

 in rice fields and such like, it is recommended to draw wooden 

 rollers over the pasture land in the neighbourhood, if practicable. 

 The use of a bag or a net dragged over the ground is advised by 

 the Imperial Entomologist of India, thus : "A bag can be made 

 to suit all circumstances ; with a width of about 12 ft. and an 

 opening 3 ft. high or less, it may be attached to a frame of bamboos, 

 and a single man draws it between the rows of crops, along grass 

 strips, or in any narrow places. The simplest pattern has only two 

 upright bamboos to hold open the sides ; a better one has four 

 bamboos, the two cross ones with projecting handles, and this 

 pattern closes up automatically at the end of each sweep. In some 

 cases it is desirable to smear the inside of the bag with oil or tar 

 to catch the insects as they fly in." 



Entomogenous or Parasitic Fungi. Locusts or grasshoppers 

 and beetles are reputed to be successfully destroyed by means of 

 a parasitic or entomogenous fungus disease; this is distributed 

 either by spraying spores on the trees or by inoculating live locusts 

 or beetles, which on being let loose spread the disease amongst 

 their fellows with, it is supposed, fatal effect. The actual results, 

 however, under average conditions appear to be a moot point. 



