FLIES AND OTHER HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 37 



of ants can be destroyed by the use of carbon bisulfid. Make 

 a hole several inches deep with a broom handle and put therein 

 about I ounce of carbon bisulfid and cover quickly. In the case of 

 a large nest, several holes should be made at a distance of a foot 

 or a foot and a half and each charged with carbon bisulfid. A more 

 recent method is scooping out a portion of the soil and filling the 

 cavity with a solution of cyanide of potassium, using i ounce of this 

 deadly poison to a gallon of water. Another probably equally effec- 

 tive method is the sprinkling of the surface of the nest with fine 

 particles of potassium cyanide. This material, it should be re- 

 membered, is a most dangerous poison and every precaution should 

 be taken to avoid disastrous results. The nests of the large black 

 ant are usually found in timbers, such as studding in the walls and 

 are therefore wellnigh inaccessible. The writer has seen 2x4 joists 

 badly riddled by the operations of this insect. 



Trapping the ants by means of sponges dipped in sweetened 

 water is frequently advised and gives good results if conscientiously 

 carried out. First, attractive foods should be removed, so far as 

 possible, prior to the distribution of the pieces of sponge saturated 

 with sweetened water. These latter should be gathered from time 

 to time and the ants clinging thereto destroyed by dropping in 

 boiling water. ' 



Cockroaches 



Cockroaches and their smaller cousins, the croton bugs, are 

 frequently the bane of the neac housekeeper, particularly in old 

 city dwellings. These species are distributed through commercial 

 agencies and have become well established in most large cities and 

 villages on the principal routes of travel, especially seaports and 

 places on rivers or canals, since these pests are invariably found 

 on ships and boats. The old houses with their numerous inac- 

 cessible crannies and crevices afford a multitude of hiding places 

 and enable the roaches to exist year after year, in spite of strenuous 

 efforts to exterminate them. 



Description. At least three species of cockroaches may be 

 found in houses. The American cockroach^ is a large, dark brown 

 species nearly an inch and a half long and has well developed 

 wings. The Oriental cockroach or black beetle- is a nearly wing- 

 less, dark brown or black form about an inch long. The Australian 



^Pcriplancta americana Linn. 



'Periplaneta oricn talis Fabr. 



