30 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



are relatively 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. 



Valuable furs and similar articles are frequently deposited with 

 storage companies. Experiments conducted under the direction of 

 Dr Howard, Qiief 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° Fahrenheit. This 

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

 dormant and therefore harmless condition. 



Occasionally a clothespress becomes badly infested by clothes 

 moths. All garments should then be removed, aired, thoroughly 

 brushed and care taken to destroy any larvae which may not have 

 been dislodged by this treatment. The clothespress itself should be 

 thoroughly brushed and cleaned. These measures should afford 

 relief. It is a very poor plan to have in the attic or some unused 

 part of the house miscellaneous woolens or other materials in which 

 the pests can breed unrestricted, as such places are likely to serve as 

 centers for the infestation of more valuable articles. Methods of 

 fumigating are briefly discussed on pages 22, 48-50. 



Spraying with benzine or naphtha two or three times during 

 warm weather is advisable for the purpose of preventing injury 

 to cloth-covered furniture, cloth-lined carriages and similar articles 

 in storage or unused for extended periods. Care should be exer- 

 cised to prevent the inflammable vapor of these oils gaining access 

 to fire of any kind. 



Carpet beetles 



Housekeepers of Albany, N. Y., at least, are seriously troubled 

 by carpet beetles. These destructive insects, it will be seen by 

 referring to page 28, are very different from the clothes moths 

 though operating somewhat in the same manner. 



Description. The Buffalo carpet beetle^ is a stout, oval beetle 

 j4 of an inch long or less and easily recognized by its black and 

 .■^Anthrenus scrophulariae Linn. 



