METHODS OF REPRESSION. 87 
food supplies could be protected merely by having the poison near 
them. In practical work it was found that the placing of two or three 
saucers containing a little of the arsenical solution about a room or 
under tables bearing honey, meats, etc., would effectually rid the 
vicinity of ants in from one to three days' time, and, what was more to 
the point, the ants would not return in numbers so long as the dishes 
of poison were kept there. 
CONTROL OF THE ANT IN RESIDENCES. 
No one measure will afford satisfactory relief from tins pest , and the 
householder who would find permanent immunity from attack must 
plan a warfare based upon an intelligent appreciation of the facts 
above set forth. Of utmost and primary importance is cleanliness. 
By tins is meant not merely absence of dirt in the usual sense, but 
that precautions must be taken not to leave particles of food where 
the ants can have access to them. Even crumbs of bread or cake 
left on a kitchen floor will attract the pests. Above all else fruits, 
sweets, oils, and meats must be kept where the ants can not reach 
them. The more abundant the food supply the more abundant will 
the ants become, and it has been repeatedly observed that there are 
many more colonies in residences occupied by shiftless owners than 
in those occupied by careful housekeepers. 
Foodstuffs can not be isolated from the ants except by the use 
of repellents such as have been described, particularly ant tape. 
This last should be placed around the legs of all tables, benches, 
etc., on which food supplies are kept, and the tables must not be 
allowed to touch the wall or other objects by means of winch the 
ants can find access to them. 
The corrosive sublimate tape is, of course, poisonous, and when 
there are children in the house precautions must be taken that they 
do not get hold of it. At the same time we have never known of 
a case of poisoning resulting from its use. It is wise, also, to wash 
the hands well with soap and warm water after handling the tape. 
To assist in repelling the ants the sweetened arsenical mixture, 
described on page 85, containing one-fourth of 1 per cent of arsenic, 
should be placed in small dishes or saucers in pantries and beneath 
tables, refrigerators, etc. 
Along with these repelling measures colonies of the ants should 
be destroyed at every opportunity. Hot water, kerosene, or crude 
oil can be used for destroying every colony that is accidentally 
exposed to view by the overturning of leaves, boxes, pieces of wood 
etc. For this purpose we have found a small coinpiessed-air sprayer, 
filled with kerosene or crude oil and kept in a handy place, very 
useful. Colonies nesting in the ground can be quickly destroyed 
