HANDBOOK OX INSECT ENEMIES OF FLOWERS AND SHRUBS 13 



to the direction? given on page 103. 

 Undiluted derris or cube powder (con- 

 taining 4 to 5 percent of rotenone) is 

 often effective when placed or blown 

 into the entrance holes or applied in an 

 unbroken ring around the anthills. 

 Several applications may be necessary, 

 especially if rains occur within a day 

 or two after treatment. 



In small lawn areas ants that like 

 sweet materials can sometimes be 

 controlled by broadcasting a mixture 

 consisting of 1 pound of brown sugar 

 and 1 ounce of paris green. This 

 mixture should be scattered thinly so 

 that there will be no danger of animals 

 picking up lumps of the bait. One 

 pound of this mixture is sufficient for 

 two treatments of 10,000 square feet 

 of lawn. The second treatment, if 

 necessary, should be applied after an 

 interval of 10 days. 



Poisoned-sirup baits are effective in 

 combating certain species of ants, 

 especially when choicer foods are scarce. 

 The worker ants will feed on the sirup, 

 carry it back to the nest, and feed it to 

 the queens and the young and in this 

 way poison the colony. Xo one bait 

 can be depended on to destroy all 

 kinds of ants. Some ant- like only 

 sweets, whereas others eat only meats 

 and grease. Poisoned-sirup baits must 

 be carefully prepared in clean uten-ils 

 or the ants may not eat them. If a 

 bait is too strong with poison the worker 

 ants may detect the poison before the 

 queens get a toxic dose, and discard the 

 bait before it has had an appreciable 

 effect upon the colony. It is therefore 

 most satisfactory to purchase one of the 

 ready-prepared ant baits sold by re- 

 liable dealers and to follow the direc- 

 tions given on the package. If the bait 

 is to be prepared at home the active 

 ingredients should be purchased from 

 a druggist in the exact quantities to be 

 used. 



The following mixture is used against 

 the cornfield ant ILasius niger alines 

 americanus Emery): Dissolve 4 ounces 

 of sugar in 1 quart of water and 

 then add )i ounce (14 grams) of tartar 

 emetic. Another bait is made by 

 dissolving H pound of sugar in a pint 

 of hot water and adding 62.5 grain- 

 4 grams) of disodium arsenate. This 

 mixture should be brought to a slow 

 boil and strained. Small pieces of 

 sponge or blotting paper may be sat- 

 urated with the poisoned sirup and 

 distributed about the infested places, 

 with an inverted flowerpot or other 

 shelter placed over them. A small 

 quantity of the sirup can also be put in 

 a covered tin can or paraffined pill 



74^493°— 48 2 



box, tbe cover or sides of which should 



be perforated with large hole- so that 

 the ants may easily roach the bait. 

 If pieces of sponge are placed h. the 



containers >o that they come in contact 

 with the sides, the ants will find ea-i<-r 

 access to the poison. 



For ants that will not eat sweets but 

 prefer grease and meat, use a bait made 

 up by working small quantiti< - 

 tartar emetic with grease or piec 

 bacon rind. Put small quantities in 

 shallow tins and place them about the 

 ant runways. 



The Argentine ant (Iridomyrmex hu- 

 milis Mayn, which occurs throughout the 

 Southern States and in parts of Califor- 

 nia, is very destructive. It is best con- 

 trolled, by a campaign conducted by 

 the communities affected, by u-ing the 

 poisoned bait discussed below. The 

 bait i- placed in perforated tins or waxed 

 containers, and a few cans are attached 

 to the foundations of buildings or 

 trunks of trees on the premises. The 

 bait is prepared as follows: '1' Mix 9 

 pounds of granulated sugar, 93 grains 

 (6 grams) of crystallized tartaric acid, 

 and 130 grains (8.4 gram- 1 of -odium 

 benzoate in 9 pints of water; boil the 

 mixture slowly for 30 minutes and allow 

 it to cool. (2) Dissolve 231 grains (15 

 grams) of sodium arsenite (c. p.) in 

 Vi pint of hot water and allow it to cool. 

 Add (2) to (1) and stir well, then add 

 1% pounds of strained honey and mix 

 thoroughly. 



Caution. — Since tartar emetic, so- 

 dium arsenite, and disodium arsenate 

 are poisonous, children and domestic 

 animals must not be allowed access to 

 them. 



TERMITES 



Occasionally termites work in the 

 roots of living plants hollowing them 

 out and extending their burrows up into 

 the stems. These plants wither and 

 die. Although the stems may be honey- 

 combed, there is usually no external 

 evidence of termite work above ground 

 because the outer surface of the stem is 

 left intact. These termites are sub- 

 terranean in habit, living in colonies in 

 the soil. They normally feed on dead 

 or decaying wood, such as old root-, 

 stumps, loszs, dead tree-, stakes, and 

 other wood or dead vegetable matter 

 in, or in contact with, the ground. 

 When termite- are numerous in the soil 

 and this type of food becomes scarce, 

 they may attack living root- oi trees, 

 shrubs, and flowering plant-, especially 

 those of a more woody type. They 

 may also enter plant- through dead or 



