68 PRINCIPAL HOUSEHOLD INSECTS. 



REMEDIES. 



There is no easy method of preventing the damage done by clothes 

 moths, and to maintain the integrity of woolens or other materials 

 which they are likely to attack demands constant vigilance, with fre- 

 quent inspection and treatment. In general they are liable to aftect 

 injuriously only articles which are put away and left undisturbed for 

 some little time. Articles in daily or Aveekly use, and apartments fre- 

 quently^ aired and swept, or used as living rooms, are not apt to be seri- 

 ously aft'ected. Carpets under these conditions are rarely attacked, 

 except sometimes around the borders, where the insects are not so much 

 disturbed by walking and sweeping. Agitation, such as beating, shak- 

 ing or brushing, and exposure to air and sunlight are old remedies and 

 still among the best at command. Various repellants, such as tobacco, 

 camphor, naphthaline cones or balls, and cedar chips or sprigs, have a 

 certain value if the garments are not already stocked with eggs or 

 larvie. The odors of these rej)ellants are so disagreeable to the parent 

 moths that they are not apt to come to deposit their eggs as long as 

 the odor is strong. As it weakens the protection decreases, and if the 

 eggs or larvie are already j^resent, these odors have no effect on their 

 development; while if the moths are inclosed with the stored material 

 to be protected by these repellants, so that they can not escape, they 

 will of necessity deposit their eggs and the destructive work of the 

 larv?e will be little, if at all, restricted. After woolens have been given 

 a vigorous and thorough treatment and aired and exposed to sunlight, 

 however, it is of some advantage in packing them away to inclose with 

 them any of the repellants mentioned. Cedar chests and wardrobes 

 are of value in proportion to the freedom of the material from infesta- 

 tion when stored away; but as the odor of the wood is largely lost with 

 age, ill the course of a few years the protection greatly decreases. 

 Furs and garments may also be stored in boxes or trunks which have 

 been lined with the heavy tar i^aper used in buildings. New papering 

 should be given to such receptacles every year or two. Similarly, the 

 tarred-paper moth bags are of some value, always, however, first sub- 

 jecting the materials to the treatment outlined above. 



To protect carpets, clothes, and cloth-covered furniture, furs, etc., 

 they should be thoroughly beaten, shaken, brushed, and exposed as 

 long as is practicable to the sunlight in early spring, either in Ai>ril, 

 May, or June, depending on the latitude. The brushing of garments is 

 a very important consideration, to remove the eggs or young larv*, 

 which might escape notice. Such material can then be hung away in 

 clothes closets which have been thoroughly cleaned and, if necessary, 

 sprayed with benzine about the cracks of the floor and the baseboards. 

 If no other i^rotection be given, they should be examined at least once 

 a month during summer, brushed, and, if necessary, exposed to the 

 sunlight. 



