Household pests are annoying, dangerous to health, and destructive to
property. They carry disease germs from one person to another and from
the lower animals to human beings. Absolute cleanliness is essential, if
the house is to be kept free from pests. As a rule, they flourish in
dark, damp, dirty places. With proper care the housekeeper can keep her
house free from them and, if they are noticed, she should know how to
exterminate them.
A few simple methods of extermination are here given:
_Bedbugs._--Kerosene should be poured into all the cracks, and a brush,
dipped in kerosene, run briskly over all surfaces. Care must be taken to
have no fire in the room while this is being done. The windows should be
open, and the room should be kept free from dust. In four days this
should be repeated, in order to kill any bugs that may have just
hatched.
_Cockroaches and water-bugs._--A solution of one pound of alum to three
pints of water should be poured into all the cracks. Insect-powder and
borax are also effective. Absolute cleanliness and freedom from dampness
are necessary, if the house is to be kept free from cockroaches.
_Ants._--Oil of cloves or pennyroyal on pieces of cotton-batting
scattered about in the places where ants appear will drive them away.
Saturating the nests with coal-oil will destroy them. Food which
attracts ants should be removed from places which they are able to
reach.
_Rats and mice._--These are best exterminated by the use of a trap or
some preparation such as "Rough on Rats". Traps should be set nightly
and should be scalded and aired after a mouse has been caught. Rat holes
may be stopped by sprinkling with chloride of lime and then filling with
mortar or plaster of Paris.
_Mosquitoes._--These breed in swampy places, or in old barrels or kegs
or tin cans which hold stagnant water. Therefore, if the swampy places
are drained and the grounds about the house are kept free from stagnant
water, the housekeeper will, as a rule, not be troubled with mosquitoes.
Empty barrels or kegs should be inverted, and old tin cans should have a
hole punched in the bottom, so that they will not hold water. All high
weeds near the house should be cut down and destroyed, so that they will
not provide a damp place in which to harbour mosquitoes. If it is
impossible to get rid of all standing water, the breeding of mosquitoes
can be checked by pouring kerosene oil on the water. One ounce of oil on
fifteen square feet of water is sufficient, and this will have to be
renewed at least once in ten days. The doors, windows, and ventilators
of the house should be well screened, as a protection against
mosquitoes.
_Flies._--These are one of the greatest carriers of typhoid and other
germs, as well as filth of all sorts. They can be got rid of only by
destroying the breeding places and killing the flies as rapidly as
possible. Materials that attract them should not be exposed in and about
the house. The house should be well screened with wire mesh or mosquito
netting, in order to keep out the flies. A fly swatter should be kept at
hand. The stables should be cleaned daily. Manure piles should be
screened, and every effort should be made to kill the larvae by frequent
spraying with kerosene, creoline (dilute creosote), or lime.
_Fleas._--These will be troublesome if cats or dogs are kept in the
house. These pets should be given frequent baths, the rugs on which they
lie should be brushed and shaken daily, and the floors should be washed
with soap and water and wiped with kerosene.
_Moths._--These are apt to develop in woollen clothes unless the
garments are thoroughly shaken and absolutely protected by wrapping in
newspapers before being put away. Woollen garments that are used only
occasionally should be kept in a light, dry place, examined frequently,
and hung in the sun occasionally. Moths or carpet beetles can be
exterminated by the use of kerosene.