30 BULLETIN" 248, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICULTTJEE. 



found that guinea pigs left free in rooms picked up considerable 

 numbers of fleas of different species. Men also acted as traps by 

 going about in an infested room, and the fleas thus picked up were 

 caught. Xo doubt rabbits, cats, or dogs could be utilized in the same 

 way and the fleas destroyed by the methods mentioned under "De- 

 struction of fleas on hosts.'" This method of picking up fleas is some- 

 times applicable to certain places in districts where plague exists and 

 it is desirable to capture and destroy the few fleas which might other- 

 wise get upon man. 



The use of fresh meat to attract fleas onto fly paper and into traps 

 has been considered to have some merit, but tests made by Drs. How- 

 ard and Mitzmain and by others show that it is without value. 



REPELLING FLEAS. 



The usefulness of repellents is even more limited than that of 

 traps. Many things have been advocated from time to time, or in 

 different sections of the country, for the driving away of fleas. 

 Oil of pennyroyal is probably most widely used for this purpose, 

 and it seems to have considerable virtue as a repellent. This sub- 

 stance may be applied to the shoe tops, hose, and trousers, or placed 

 elsewhere on the body or clothing, and its use on bedding and floors 

 has been advocated by those in flea-infested regions. The penny- 

 royal plant is used for the same purpose where it grows. Buhach, 

 oil of cedar, eucalyptus oil, or camphor sprinkled between the sheets 

 give a degree of protection to those compelled to sleep in flea -infested 

 places. 



ISOLATION FROM FLEAS. 



Frequently in many parts of the country outbreaks of fleas are 

 experienced. In such cases extreme measures are necessary for any 

 degree of comfort. Knowing that fleas have very limited powers of 

 jumping in a vertical direction and of crawling on smooth surfaces, it 

 is practicable to exclude them from beds. The higher the bed is from 

 the floor the better, but one may isolate the bed from fleas in most 

 standard-height beds if care be taken to keep the clothing from hang- 

 ing down. Of course it is essential that no fleas be taken into the bed 

 on the body or the night clothing and that the bedding does not touch 

 the walls or baseboard. It is possible also to isolate a bed or cot or a 

 person sleeping on the floor, if the floor itself is not infested, by plac- 

 ing a band of sticky fly paper or paper covered with a sticky sub- 

 stance 11 inches wide around the bed. In case the legs of a bed are 

 rough, which permit fleas to crawl up them, a band of sticky sub- 

 stance may be painted around the bottoms from 4 to 5 inches above 

 the floor, or, if more convenient, the legs of the bed may be placed in 

 large pans of water. 



