155 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
June, 1918 
Household Insects Injurious to 
Fabrics 
Prof. J. G. Sanders 
Several insect pests injurious to 
various fabrics in the household 
and in storage, particularly to 
woolens, furs and feathers, are 
very destructive if allowed to con- 
tinue their work uninterrupted by 
treatment. Three of these are 
commonly found in Wisconsin and 
are briefly discussed. 
The ‘ ‘ Buffalo Moth,” a dark 
brown, bristly or hairy larva which 
is often found infesting carpets 
and rugs along the cracks and 
floors or near baseboards, in spite 
of its common name, is in no way 
related to the moths but is really a 
larval stage of a tiny, black and 
red checkered beetle which must 
not be confused with the larger 
spotted, beneficial ‘‘ladybird 
beefle. ” Two species are com- 
mon — the true ‘‘Buffalo Carpet 
Beetle,” and the ‘‘Black Carpet 
Beetle,” the larva of which can be 
distinguished from the former by 
the longer brown bristles at the 
posterior end of the body. The 
destructive habits of both are simi- 
lar and the control measures are 
identical. The presence of these 
pests need cause no great alarm, 
but constant vigilance is necessary 
to hold them in check. 
Control: Apply a half and 
half mixture of kerosene and gaso- 
line with a small spring-bottom 
oil-can to the cracks and crevices 
of the floor and around baseboards 
and shelving in closets. Fumiga- 
tion methods discussed later are 
effective controls. 
Clothes Moths : The two 
species of genuine clothes moths 
found in this state show preference 
for woolen goods, furs and feath- 
ers; and, like most other house- 
hold pests, prefer to breed in dark 
rooms; — sunlight being obnoxious 
to them. 
Before storing away winter 
woolen clothing, furs or feathers, 
such materials should be thor- 
oughly brushed and hung out in 
the sun for three or four hours 
and then turned inside out and 
allowed to remain the rest of the 
day, so that all parts of the cloth- 
ing will be exposed. If the cloth- 
ing is freed from eggs and larvae 
it can then be safely wrapped in 
two or three thicknesses of news- 
paper, tied up tightly and laid 
away for the summer without fear 
of damage. Exposed woolen cloth- 
ing should be frequently brushed 
and aired during summer months, 
or if kept in steam heated apart- 
ments during winter. 
Moth balls, red cedar chests, etc., 
are worthless for controlling clothes 
moths in infested clothing, al- 
though they may act as a deterrent 
but will not drive away or kill 
larvae in the clothing. 
Fumigation : The safest and 
most effective way to store fabrics 
is by fumigation treatment in boxes 
or trunks made air-tight at the 
bottom by pasting strips of paper 
over all the cracks. Place mater- 
ials for storage within and evapor- 
ate an ounce of carbon bisulfide in 
a flat dish set in the trunk, closing 
the lid as tightly as possible for 
forty-eight hours. This treat- 
ment kills moths or other insects 
in all stages and no further danger 
need be feared. 
Caution : Keep all lights from 
the gas of the carbon bisulfide 
which is a colorless, heavy, inflam- 
mable and explosive liquid. Air 
rooms when applying gasoline- 
kerosene mixtures. 
Spray Irrigation 
Spray irrigation, one of the most 
recent methods of applying water 
to crops to be adopted in the Unit- 
ed States, has come into use over a 
wide area, especially in the Atlan- 
tic Coast States, within the past 
ten years, according to a recent 
publication of the Office of Public 
Roads and Rural Engineering of 
the U. S. Department of Agricul- 
ture, Bulletin No. 495. The bul- 
letin discusses the conditions under 
which spray irrigation may be un- 
dertaken profitably, water supplies, 
and the various distribution sys- 
tems. It includes instructions for 
the installation of a typical spray 
system, and tables from which the 
farmer, orchardist, or truck grow- 
er can compute sizes of pipe, 
capacity of pumps, and approxi- 
mate costs. 
Among the advantages of spray 
irrigation are the facts that it can 
be practiced satisfactorily on both 
light and heavy soils, and on hill- 
sides as well as on level ground. 
By this system water may be ap- 
plied, very lightly to delicate crops 
and plant seedlings, or when 
weather conditions require only a 
slight supplemental supply of 
moisture; and, on the other hand, 
it may be applied heavily during 
protracted dry periods. 
Where economic conditions are 
favorable to the adoption of spray 
irrigation, the most important 
question then becomes the possi- 
bility of securing an adequate wat- 
er supply. Since the system is in 
use chiefly in the humid or semi- 
humid regions, practically all in- 
stallations are made by individuals 
and do not involve the development 
and transportation of distant sup- 
plies, as is common for community 
irrigation in the arid regions. The 
sources of water supply for spray 
