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Household and Garden Pests: Protect

To Protect Carpets from Moths.- Sprinkle the floor with turpentine, benzine, gasoline, or petroleum, or scatter peppermint or other fragrant herbs upon it, before the carpet is laid.

Or, if a carpet becomes infested while on the floor, sponge the infested spots with a solution of 60 grains of corrosive sublimate dissolved in 1 pint of alcohol.

Or apply gasoline freely to the carpet by means of a sponge, brush, atomizer, or sprinkler.

Or apply turpentine freely. Any of these will destroy the eggs and larvæ.

Or sprinkle borax freely about the edges of the carpet and work it into the pile of the carpet beneath heavy pieces of furniture and other spots that cannot be easily swept.

Or spread a damp towel above the suspected places in the carpet and iron it dry with a very hot iron.

Do the same round the edges of the carpet, under heavy furniture, and at other places not frequently swept.

The hot steam destroys the eggs and larvæ.

Or, if necessary, take up the carpet, beat it as clean as possible, remove the grease spots, and sponge carefully on both sides with a mixture of 1 pint of turpentine to 1 gallon of water. Wash the floor with hot suds made of borax with the addition of turpentine, and apply around the edges a strong solution of alum, carbolic acid, or creolin.

To Protect Furs from Moths.- Beat the furs, using preferably a piece of rubber hose. This will not "Beat Furs with Rubber Hose. cut or tear them. Comb them over with a steel comb and expose them to direct sunshine in the open air.

Shake and brush each piece carefully, wrap it separately in newspaper, paste the edges tightly, label it, HOUSEHOLD AND GARDEN PESTS and lay it away in a drawer, chest, or wooden box where the paper in which it is wrapped will not be broken.

Or, to prevent accidental breaking of the wrappers, lay the packages in pasteboard or wooden boxes and seal the joints with newspaper and paste.

Cedar chests, moth balls, or other repellents are not necessary if all moths, eggs, and larvæ are first removed and the furs are packed tightly; but there can be no objection to sprinkling naphthaline crystals, red or black pepper, various essential oils, and other substances having strong odors among the furs, or to wrapping up in them pieces of gum camphor, tallow candle, etc.

Or, instead of newspapers, put the articles in tight pillow slips or unbleached cotton bags, tying these tightly at the tops. Moths will not penetrate cotton or newspaper. Or furs may be washed in a solution of 12 grains of corrosive sublimate in 1 pint of warm water.

Cold Storage for Furs. Many furriers and most of the large department stores in cities have arrangements for placing valuable furs in cold storage during the summer months.

A temperature as low as 40° F. will prevent the depredations of moths, and many warehouses maintain as low a temperature as 20° F. These establishments insure furs against loss or damage. - Mixtures for Moths. Dissolve 4 ounces of clum in 1 pint of water.

Add 4 ounces of salt and pint of spirits of turpentine.

Or dissolve 1 ounce of camphor and 1 ounce of carbolic acid in 1 pint of benzine.

Or dissolve 1 ounce of gum camphor and 1 ounce of red pepper in 8 ounces of alcohol.

Petroleum Products for Moths. - Gasoline, benzine, and naphtha may be freely applied to all woolen goods, garments, carpets, upholstered furniture, and the like by sprinkling or saturating the articles by means of a small watering pot having a fine spray, an atomizer, a sponge, brush, or rag.

Or they may be applied freely to floors, the inside of wardrobes, and other receptacles.

Or turpentine may be used in the same manner as petroleum products.

Corrosive Sublimate for Moths. - Mix in a glass bottle 1 ounce of corrosive sublimate and pint of water. Let stand a day or two and shake occasionally. Then add pint of alcohol. Apply to cracks in floors, wardrobes, drawers, and other receptacles, or other suspected places. The liquid soaks into the wood, leaving a thin powder of corrosive sublimate on the surface. Do not allow this mixture to touch brass or copper. It is very poisonous to human beings.

Camphor for Moths. This is merely a repellent and does not destroy moths. Gum camphor may be wrapped up in articles to be stored, or placed in and about articles in wardrobes and chests, or it may be dissolved in alcohol and sprinkled upon them, but the former is the better method.

Tobacco for Moths. -Tobacco may be used in the form of snuff sprinkled on articles stored away, or in and about floors, wardrobes, etc. Or finecut tobacco may be sprinkled freely in the receptacles, or among the articles themselves, or about floors or under woolen carpets; or a strong infusion of tobacco steeped in water may be used to wash or sprinkle woodwork, or applied to cracks and crevices, etc. Pepper for Moths. -Black or Cayenne pepper may be freely sprinkled in receptacles or among the articles themselves.

Borax for Moths. - Borax may be used with water to make suds to wash woodwork, or scattered dry about floors or the inside of receptacles. -- To Trap Moth Millers. - A deep dish partly filled with sweetened milk, on which a candle is floated, supported by a piece of light wood or a cork, is said to form an effective trap for moth millers where they are very numerous.