household insects and their remedies i25 



Head Lice. 



{Pediculus capitis De G.) 



This is the most common insect that attacks man. It receives 

 its name from being found on the head, although it sometimes 

 is found on the hairs of the beard. It is parasitic in habits, and 

 belongs to the same order as the bedbug. They puncture the 

 scalp end suck the blood. The nits or eggs adhere very closely to 

 the hairs and are found some distance from the scalp. These eggs 

 hatch in two weeks and are very prolific. 



I. 



The louse may be combed out of the hair with a fine comb. 

 Kerosene put on the roots of the hair will kill all nits and the 

 r.dult louse. 



II. 



Mercurial ointment is very effective. 



III. 



Vaseline is another that checks this pest by clogging up the 

 breathing pores. Whatever remedy is used, should be kept up 

 every two or three days for at least twenty-one days. 



Termites. 



{Termes aavipes Koll.) 



Termites, or white ants, as they are sometimes called, are not 

 really a true ant. They have nests and live together similar to 

 the ants but live on decayed wood and vegetable matter. The 

 workers are white, blind, wingless, sexually undeveloped insects. 

 The winged males and females are produced each spring but their 

 wings are not strongly developed, so they are poor flyers. They 

 usually nest in a hollow stump or other infested material. The 

 winged males and females are blackish in color and resemble the 

 true ants, except the crossviens in the wings. They reproduce 

 yearly in the spring. 



I. 

 If this pest infests a building, the surest way is to tear off the 

 pieces that are infested as they bury themselves in the wood and 

 cannot easily be reached by fumigating. 



II. 

 Wood soaked in creosote is~ excellent in keeping them away. 



