Ftirniture Beetles. 19 



Til.— METHODS OF PREVENTION AND 

 CONTROL 



As the furniture beetles all possess wings it is possible for 

 them to fly into the house at the open doors or windows, but far 

 more often they are introduced as larvae in some infested piece 

 of wood or furniture. Once in the house, they may when the 

 time comes, lay their eggs on any unprotected wood whether 

 previously attacked or not. When two pieces of wood are in 

 direct and close contact, the larvae can and very often do burrow 

 from the one into the other, but except when newly hatched or 

 very young, they have the greatest difficulty in walking or in 

 moving at all upon the open surface and never travel in that way 

 from one piece of wood to another. 



Fresh damage has its source in the eggs laid by the female 

 beetles, and as the eggs are laid generally in May or June, 

 sometimes a little later, special attention should be given to the 

 furniture at that time of year. 



Its treatment at intervals with paraffin oil or turpentine, 

 applied more particularly to the joints and all rough and un- 

 polished parts of the wood should be sufScient to protect it from 

 the egg-laying of the beetles, and thus make it immune from a 

 first attack. 



In order to destroy the grubs in wood or furniture already 

 infested and beginning to show worm-holes, the same treatment, 

 if continued over a sufficiently long period, might in the end prove 

 successful. For quicker action other liquids than paraffin oil or 

 turpentine would have to be substituted, or some other method of 

 treatment adopted. 



The method best to use depends upon the circumstances of 

 each particular case, and regard must be had not only to the 

 facilities for its application, but also to any ill effects on the wood 

 or furniture which might be likely to arise from the treatment. 

 "Were it not for considerations of this kind, there would be little 

 difficulty in dealing with the pest, and in most cases Dean Swift's 

 suggestion might be acted upon, for he was certainly right 

 when in reference to the "wood-worm" he said, that "a 

 kettle' of scalding hot water injected, infalUbly cures the timber 

 affected." 



Unfortunately, the Dean's drastic method, although a perfectly 

 sound one in principle, and always fatal to the worm, can seldom 



