MUSHROOM PESTS AND THEIR CONTROL 5 



germicide and fungicide, but the gas from burning sulfur is about 

 as good, and is also a useful insecticide, and is specific for mites. 

 Before the house or room is fumigated or sterilized it should be made 

 as airtight as possible by tightly closing all ventilators and other 

 openings and by pasting paper or plastering mud over all cracks. 



In cellars and other places close to dwellings it is not advisable 

 to use sulfur or other materials as fumigants, unless such places 

 can be sealed tightly enough to prevent all fumes from escaping. 

 These vapors and fumes are poisonous to human beings. Sulfur 

 should not be used where there is any possibility of the fumes reach- 

 ing mushroom beds in production, as the growing mushrooms will 

 be damaged. 



FORMALDEHYDE FUMIGATION 



Formaldehyde is used at the rate of 1 quart to 1.000 cubic feet of 

 the air space to be fumigated. One pound of permanganate of pot- 

 ash is used to the quart of formaldehyde. Crocks, wooden buckets, or 

 other containers of about 10-gallon capacity are needed, each of 

 which will take care of 1 gallon of formaldehyde. Four pounds of 

 the permanganate is placed in each of these, and a gallon of the 

 formaldehyde in a wide-mouthed container beside it. Starting at 

 the end of the house farthest from the door, the operator pours the 

 formaldehyde into the containers with the permanganate as he moves 

 toward the door, and leaves the house or room at once, closing and 

 sealing it. The reverse of this procedure, dropping the permangan- 

 ate into the containers containing the formaldehyde, is sometimes the 

 easiest method. Do not attempt to re-enter the room without Avear- 

 ing a suitable gas mask, until it is thoroughly ventilated. The use 

 of a gas mask while the chemicals are being mixed would insure 

 safety, particularly to people who are sensitive to these poisons. It 

 would also prevent danger from splashing. 



SULFUR FUMIGATION 



In sulfur fumigation, a good grade of flowers of sulfur should be 

 used at the rate of 5 or 6 pounds per 1,000 cubic feet of air space to 

 be fumigated. It is most commonly burned in pans or metal trays 

 with the edges high enough to prevent the molten sulfur from flowing 

 over the edge and setting fire to the house, or in oil drums cut in half 

 lengthwise. A little excelsior or crumpled paper is placed along the 

 bottom of four or five pans, and the sulfur is poured along each side 

 of it. Some growers prefer to use less sulfur per pan, covering the 

 bottom of each tray with an inch layer of excelsior and sifting the 

 sulfur over this. Still another method is to put excelsior in the bottom 

 of the container and over this to place a piece of coarse screen, cover 

 the screen with a piece of newspaper, and pour the sulfur on this. 

 The use of a larger pan containing water, into which the smaller one 

 containing the sulfur is placed, is an effective aid in preventing fire 

 and accidents. In houses having dirt floors, pits may be dug therein 

 and the sulfur burned as in the pans. Sulfur should not be burned 

 on concrete floors, as the heat is likely to cause the concrete to 

 crack and buckle, thus throwing the burning sulfur about and 

 setting fire to the house. 



