August, ’23] 
FULTON: POISONING EUROPEAN EARWIGS 
371 
The curves for sodium arsenate show that while this substance acts 
rapidly it is not as poisonous or at least no more poisonous than arsenious 
oxide. 
Sodium fluoride costs no more than arsenious oxide, at least when 
purchased in small quantities, and has certain advantages for use in a 
poison bait mixture. It is very soluble in water and does not need to be 
mixed with bran dry, as in the case of arsenious oxide. It can be dis¬ 
solved in water with the attractive ingredients of the bait and any 
amount of bran desired for immediate use can be wet with this mixture 
and applied. It has marked antiseptic qualities so that mixtures con¬ 
taining it will keep indefinitely. It is also less toxic to humans than 
arsenious oxide. Sodium fluoride has been accidentally taken in doses 
of five, six and nine grams without causing death although severe 
sickness resulted. 2 In the case of arsenious oxide much less than a 
gram is said to cause death. 
Preliminary tests of attractiveness of various materials were made 
during the first summer. Ground meat was one of the most eagerly 
devoured of all substances. The use of this material however, is im¬ 
practical on account of cost and the difficulty of mixing with poison and 
scattering. Sweetened wheat bran seemed attractive enough for prac¬ 
tical purposes but an effort was made to improve upon it if possible by 
the addition of other substances. One of the first substances tried 
was amyl acetate which has been found to be a valuable addition to 
poison bait for grasshoppers. 3 This was added to bran sweetened with 
molasses, as recommended for grasshoppers, enough to give a pro¬ 
nounced odor of banana, and eight small piles deposited at regular 
intervals along the top of a board fence, alternating with piles of the 
same material but without the amyl acetate. After a time the ear¬ 
wigs feeding at each pile were counted, with the following results: 
With amyl acetate 6, 15, 8, 10, 10, 9, 10, 6. 
Without amyl acetate 3, 16, 6, 6, 6, 8, 10, 25. 
Totals: with amyl acetate, 74; without, 80. 
In another similar test with eleven piles of each bait, the results were 
as follows: 
With amyl acetate 10, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6, 10, 12, 6, 1, 3. 
Without amyl acetate 9, 4, 6, 5, 6, 10, 10, 8, 6, 3, 6. 
Totals: with amyl acetate, 65; without, 73. 
2 Baldwin, H. B. The Toxic Action of Sodium Fluoride. Jour. Amer. Chem. 
Soc. 21, pp. 517-521, 1899. 
3 Parker, T. R., and Seamans, H. L. Jour. Ec. Ent. 14 pp. 138-141, 1921. 
