Part 77

II.—Powdered cloves 1 ounce Insect powder 1 ounce

Scatter around where ants infest.

III.—Cape aloes 1⁠/⁠2 pound Water 4 pints

Boil together and add camphor gum, 3 ounces. Sprinkle around where the ants infest.

«BEDBUG DESTROYERS.»

A good bug killer is benzine, pure and simple, or mixed with a little oil of mirbane. It evaporates quickly and leaves no stain. The only trouble is the inflammability of its vapor.

The following is a popular preparation: To half a gallon of kerosene oil add a quart of spirit of turpentine and an ounce of oil of pennyroyal. This mixture is far less dangerous than benzine. The pennyroyal as well as the turpentine are not only poisonous but exceedingly distasteful to insects of all kinds. The kerosene while less quickly fatal to bugs than benzine is cheaper and safer, and when combined with the other ingredients becomes as efficient.

Where the wall paper and wood work of a room have become invaded, the usual remedy is burning sulphur. To be efficient the room must have every door, window, crevice, and crack closed. The floor should be wet in advance so as to moisten the air. A rubber tube should lead from the burning sulphur to a key-hole or auger-hole and through it, and by aid of a pair of bellows air should be blown to facilitate the combustion of the sulphur.

«Pastes.»—Some housewives are partial to corrosive sublimate for bedbugs; but it is effective only if the bug eats the poison. The corrosive sublimate cannot penetrate the waxy coat of the insect. But inasmuch as people insist on having this a few formulas are given.

I.—Common soap 1 av. ounce Ammonium chloride 3 av. ounces Corrosive sublimate 3 av. ounces Water enough to make 32 fluidounces.

Dissolve the salts in the water and add the soap.

This will make a paste that can be painted with a brush around in the cracks and crevices. Besides, it will make an excellent filling to keep the cracks of the wall and wainscoting free from bugs of all kinds. The formula could be modified so as to permit the use {421} of Paris green or London purple, if desired. A decoction of quassia could be used to dissolve the soap. The latter paste would, of course, not be poisonous, and in many instances it would be preferred. It is possible to make a cold infusion of white hellebore of 25 per cent strength, and in 1 quart of infusion dissolve 1 ounce of common soap. The advantage of the soap paste is simply to keep the poisonous substance thoroughly distributed throughout the mass at all times. The density of the paste can be varied to suit. Kerosene oil or turpentine could replace 6 ounces or 8 ounces of the water in making the paste, and either of these would make a valuable addition.

Another paste preparation which will meet with hearty recommendation is blue ointment. This ointment, mixed with turpentine or kerosene oil, can be used to good advantage; especially so as the turpentine is so penetrating that both it and the mercury have a chance to act more effectually. It can be said that turpentine will kill the bedbug if the two come in contact; and kerosene is not far behindhand in its deadly work.

II.—Blue ointment 1 ounce Turpentine 3 ounces

Stir well together.

«Liquid Bedbug Preparations.»—There is no doubt that the liquid form is the best to use; unlike a powder, or even a paste, it will follow down a crack into remote places where bugs hide, and will prevent their escape, and it will also kill the eggs and nits. The following substances are the most employed, and are probably the best: Kerosene, turpentine, benzine, carbolic acid, corrosive sublimate solution, oil pennyroyal, and strong solution of soap. Here are several good formulas that can be depended upon:

I.—Oil of pennyroyal 1 drachm Turpentine 8 ounces Kerosene oil, enough to make 1 gallon.

Put up in 8-ounce bottles as a bedbug exterminator.

II.—Oil of eucalyptus 1 drachm Eucalyptus leaves 1 ounce Benzine 2 ounces Turpentine 2 ounces Kerosene enough to make 16 ounces.

Mix the turpentine, benzine, and kerosene oil, and macerate the eucalyptus leaves in it for 24 hours; then strain and make up the measure to 1 pint, having first added the oil of eucalyptus.

«FLY-KILLERS.»

A fly poison that is harmless to man may be made from quassia wood as follows:

Quassia 1,000 parts Molasses 150 parts Alcohol 50 parts Water 5,750 parts

Macerate the quassia in 500 parts of water for 24 hours, boil for half an hour, set aside for 24 hours, then press out the liquid. Mix this with the molasses and evaporate to 200 parts. Add the alcohol and the remaining 750 parts of water, and without filtering, saturate absorbent paper with it.

This being set out on a plate with a little water attracts the flies, which are killed by partaking of the liquid.

«Sticky Preparations.»—

I.—Rosin 150 parts Linseed oil 50 parts Honey 18 parts

Melt the rosin and oil together and stir in the honey.

II.—Rapeseed oil 70 parts Rosin 30 parts

Mix and melt together.

III.—Rosin 60 parts Linseed oil 38 parts Yellow wax 2 parts

IV.—Rosin 10 parts Turpentine 5 parts Rapeseed oil 5 parts Honey 1 part

«Sprinkling Powders for Flies.»—

I.—Long peppers, powdered 5 parts Quassia wood, powdered 5 parts Sugar, powdered 10 parts

Mix, moisten the mixture with 4 parts of alcohol, dry, and again powder. Keep the powder in closely stoppered jars, taking out a sufficient quantity as desired.

II.—Orris root, powdered 4 parts Starch, powdered 15 parts Eucalyptol 1 part

Mix. Keep in a closely stoppered jar or box. Strew in places affected by flies.

«Fly Essences.»—

I.—Eucalyptol 10 parts Bergamot oil 3 parts Acetic ether 10 parts Cologne water 50 parts Alcohol, 90 per cent 100 parts

Mix. One part of this “essence” is {422} to be added to 10 parts of water and sprayed around the rooms frequently.

II.—Eucalyptol 10 parts Acetic ether 5 parts Cologne water 40 parts Tincture of insect powder (1:5) 50 parts

«REMEDIES AGAINST HUMAN PARASITES:»

By weight

I.—Yellow wax 85 parts Spermaceti 60 parts Sweet oil 500 parts

Melt and add:

Boiling distilled water 150 parts

After cooling add:

Clove oil 2 parts Thyme oil 3 parts Eucalyptus oil 4 parts

II.—Bay oil, pressed 100 parts Acetic ether 12 parts Clove oil 4 parts Eucalyptus oil 3 parts

«For Head Lice in Children.»—One of the best remedies is a vinegar of sabadilla. This is prepared as follows: Sabadilla seed, 5 parts; alcohol, 5 parts; acetic acid, 9 parts; and water, 36 parts. Macerate for 3 days, express and filter. The directions are: Moisten the scalp and hair thoroughly at bedtime, binding a cloth around the head, and let remain overnight. If there are any sore spots on the scalp, these should be well greased before applying the vinegar.

«To Exterminate Mites.»—Mix together 10 parts of naphthalene, 10 parts of phenic acid, 5 parts of camphor, 5 parts of lemon oil, 2 parts of thyme oil, 2 parts of oil of lavender, and 2 parts of the oil of juniper, in 500 parts of pure alcohol.

«Vermin Killer.»—

Sabadilla, powder 2 av. ounces Acetic acid 1⁠/⁠2 fluidounce Wood alcohol 2 fluidounces Water sufficient to make 16 fluid ounces.

Mix the acetic acid with 14 fluidounces of water and boil the sabadilla in this mixture for 5 to 10 minutes, and when nearly cold add the alcohol, let stand, and decant the clear solution and bottle.

Directions: Shake the bottle and apply to the affected parts night and morning.

«INSECTICIDES FOR PLANTS.»

Two formulas for insecticides with especial reference to vermin which attack plants:

I.—Kerosene 2 gallons Common soap 1⁠/⁠2 pound Water 1 gallon

Heat the solution of soap, add it boiling hot to the kerosene and churn until it forms a perfect emulsion. For use upon scale insects it is diluted with 9 parts of water; upon other ordinary insects with 15 parts of water, and upon soft insects, like plant lice, with from 20 to 25 parts of water.

For lice, etc., which attack the roots of vines and trees the following is recommended:

II.—Caustic soda 5 pounds Rosin 40 pounds Water, a sufficient quantity.

Dissolve the soda in 4 gallons of water, by the aid of heat, add the rosin and after it is dissolved and while boiling add, slowly, enough water to make 50 gallons. For use, 1 part of this mixture is diluted with 10 parts of water and about 5 gallons of the product poured into a depression near the root of the vine or tree.

«For Cochineal Insects.»—An emulsion for fumagine (malady of orange trees caused by the cochineal insect) and other diseases caused by insects is as follows:

Dissolve, hot, 4 parts of black soap in 15 parts of hot water. Let cool to 104° F., and pour in 10 parts of ordinary petroleum, shaking vigorously. Thus an emulsion of _café au lait_ color is obtained, which may be preserved indefinitely. For employment, each part of the emulsion is diluted, according to circumstances, with from 10 to 20 parts of water.

«For Locusts.»—Much trouble is experienced in the Transvaal and Natal with locust pests, the remedies used being either a soap spray, containing 1 pound ordinary household soap in 5 gallons of water, or arsenite of soda, the latter being issued by the government for the purpose, and also used for the destruction of prickly pear, and as a basis of tick dips. A solution of 1 pound in 10 gallons of water is employed for full-grown insects, and of 1 pound in 20 gallons of water for newly hatched ones, 1 pound of sugar being added to each pound of arsenite dissolved. The solution sometimes causes sores on the skin, and the natives employed in its use are given grease to rub over themselves as a measure of protection. An advantage of the arsenite solution over soap is that much less liquid need be used.

A composition for the destruction of pear blight, which has been patented in {423} the United States, is as follows: Peppermint oil, 16 parts; ammonia water, 60 parts; calomel, 30 parts; and linseed oil, 1,000 parts.

«For Moths and Caterpillars.»—

I.—Venice turpentine 200 parts Rosin 1,000 parts Turpentine 140 parts Tar 80 parts Lard 500 parts Rape oil 240 parts Tallow 200 parts

II.—Rosin 50 parts Lard 40 parts Stearine oil 40 parts

«For Non-Masticating Insects.»—For protection against all non-masticating and many mandibulate insects, kerosene oil is much used. It is exhibited in the form of emulsion, which may be made as follows:

Kerosene 2 gallons Common soap 8 ounces Water 1 gallon

Dissolve the soap in the water by the aid of heat, bring to the boiling point, and add the kerosene in portions, agitating well after each addition. This is conveniently done by means of the pump to be used for spraying the mixture.

«For Scale Insects.»—For destroying scale insects dilute the cochineal emulsion (see above) with 9 times its volume of water; in the case of most others, except lice, dilute with 14 volumes, and for the latter with 20 to 25 volumes.

For the extermination of scale insects, resinous preparations are also employed, which kill by covering them with an impervious coating. Such a wash may be made as follows:

Rosin 3 1⁠/⁠2 pounds Caustic soda 1 pound Fish oil 8 ounces Water 20 gallons

Boil the rosin, soda, and oil with a small portion of the water, adding the remainder as solution is effected.

For the San José scale a stronger preparation is required, the proportion of water being decreased by half, but such a solution is applied only when the tree is dormant.

«Scale Insects on Orange Trees.»—Scale insect enemies of orange trees are directly controlled in two ways: (1) By spraying the infested trees with some liquid insecticide, and (2) by subjecting them to the fumes of hydrocyanic acid gas, commonly designated as “gassing.” The latter method is claimed to be the most effective means known of destroying scale insects. In practice the method consists in closing a tree at night with a tent and filling the latter with the poisonous fumes generated by treating refined potassium cyanide (98 per cent) with commercial sulphuric acid (66 per cent) and water. The treatment should continue from 30 to 40 minutes, the longer time being preferable. The work is done at night to avoid the scalding which follows day applications, at least in bright sunshine.

The oily washes are said to be the best for the use by the spraying method. “Kerosene emulsion” is a type of these washes. A formula published by the United States Department of Agriculture follows: Kerosene, 2 gallons; whale-oil soap, 1⁠/⁠2 pound; water, 1 gallon. The soap is dissolved in hot water, the kerosene added, and the whole thoroughly emulsified by means of a power pump until a rather heavy, creamy emulsion is produced. The quantity of soap may be increased if desired. The insecticide is applied by spraying the infected tree with an ordinary force pump with spraying nozzle.

«Coating Against the Plant Louse.»—(_a_)—Mix 75 parts of green soap, 50 parts of linseed oil, and 25 parts of carbolic acid. Afterwards mix the mass with 15,000 parts of water.

(_b_) Mix 4 parts of carbolic acid with 100 parts water glass.

«Louse Washes.»—

Unslaked lime 18 parts Sulphur 9 parts Salt 6.75 parts

Mix as follows: A fourth part of the lime is slaked and boiled for 2⁠/⁠3 of an hour with the sulphur in 22.6 parts of water. The remainder of the lime is then slaked and added with the salt to the hot mixture. The whole is burned for another half hour or an hour, and then diluted to 353 parts. The fluid is applied lukewarm when the plants are not in active growth.

«For Slugs on Roses.»—

Powdered pyrethrum 8 ounces Powdered colocynth 4 ounces Powdered hellebore 16 ounces

«Flea Powder.»—

Naphthalene 4 ounces Talcum 10 ounces Tobacco dust 2 ounces

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«To Keep Flaxseed Free from Bugs.»—As a container use a tin can with a close-fitting top. At the bottom of the can place a small vial of chloroform with a loose-fitting cork stopper. Then pour the flaxseed, whole or ground, into the can, covering the vial. Enough of the chloroform will escape from the vial to kill such insects as infest the flaxseed.

«INSECT POWDERS.»

Pyrethrum, whale oil (in the form of soap), fish oil (in the form of soap), soft soap, paraffine, Prussic acid, Paris green, white lead, sulphur, carbon bisulphide, acorus calamus, camphor, Cayenne pepper, tobacco, snuff, asafetida, white hellebore, eucalyptol, quassia, borax, acetic ether are most important substances used as insecticides, alone, or in combination of two or more of them. The Prussic acid and Paris green are dangerous poisons and require to be used with extreme care:

Insect powder is used for all small insects and as a destroyer of roaches. The observations of some experimenters seem to show that the poisonous principle of these flowers is non-volatile, but the most favorable conditions under which to use them are in a room tightly closed and well warmed. There may be two poisonous principles, one of which is volatile. Disappointment sometimes arises in their use from getting powder either adulterated, or which has been exposed to the air and consequently lost some of its efficiency.

The dust resulting from the use of insect powder sometimes proves irritating to the mucous membranes of the one applying the powder. This is best avoided by the use of a spray atomizer.

Persistence in the use of any means is an important element in the work of destroying insects. A given poison may be employed and no visible result follow at first, when in reality many may have been destroyed, enough being left to deceive the observer as to numbers. They multiply very rapidly, too, it must be remembered, and vigorous work is required to combat this increase. Where they can easily migrate from one householder’s premises to those of another, as in city “flats,” it requires constant vigilance to keep them down, and entire extermination is scarcely to be expected.

The ordinary insect powder on the market is made from pyrethrum carneum, pyrethrum roseum, and pyrethrum cinerariæ-folium. The first two are generally ground together and are commercially called Persian insect powder; while the third is commonly called Dalmatian insect powder. These powders are sold in the stores under many names and in combination with other powders under proprietary names.

The powder is obtained by crushing the dried flowers of the pellitory (pyrethrum). The leaves, too, are often used. They are cultivated in the Caucasus, whence the specific name Caucasicum sometimes used. Pyrethrum belongs to the natural order compositæ, and is closely allied to the chrysanthemum. The active principle is not a volatile oil, as stated by some writers, but a rosin, which can be dissolved out from the dry flowers by means of ether. The leaves also contain this rosin but in smaller proportions than the flowers. Tincture of pyrethrum is made by infusing the dried flowers in five times their weight of rectified spirit of wine. Diluted with water it is used as a lotion.

Borax powder also makes a very good insectifuge. It appears to be particularly effective against the common or kitchen cockroach. Camphor is sometimes used, and the powdered dried root of acorus calamus, the sweet flag. A mixture of white lead with four times its weight of chalk is also highly recommended. The fish-oil soaps used in a powdered form are made from various recipes; of which the following is a typical example:

Powdered rosin 2 pounds Caustic soda 8 ounces Fish or whale oil 4 ounces

Boil together in a gallon of water for at least an hour, replacing some of the water if required.

The following insect-powder formulas are perfectly safe to use. In each instance insect powder relates to either one of the pyrethrum plants powdered, or to a mixture:

I.—Insect powder 8 ounces av. Powdered borax 8 ounces av. Oil of pennyroyal 2 fluidrachms

II.—Insect powder 8 ounces av. Borax 8 ounces av. Sulphur 4 ounces av. Oil of eucalyptus 2 fluidrachms

This formula is especially good for cockroaches:

III.—Insect powder 14 ounces av. Quassia in fine powder 6 ounces av. White hellebore, powdered 2 ounces av.

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«Beetle Powder.»—

Cocoa powder 4 ounces Starch 8 ounces Borax 37 ounces

Mix thoroughly.

«Remedies Against Mosquitoes.»—A remedy to keep off mosquitoes, etc., is composed as follows: Cinnamon oil, 1 part; patchouli oil, 1 part; sandal oil, 4 parts; alcohol, 400 parts. This has a pleasant odor.

Oil of pennyroyal is commonly used to keep mosquitoes away. Some form of petroleum rubbed on the skin is even more efficient, but unpleasant to use, and if left on long enough will burn the skin.

A 40 per cent solution of formaldehyde for mosquito bites gives remarkably quick and good results. It should be applied to the bites as soon as possible with the cork of the bottle, and allowed to dry on. Diluted ammonia is also used to rub on the bites.

«Roach Exterminators.»—Borax, starch, and cocoa are said to be the principal ingredients of some of the roach foods on the market. A formula for a poison of this class is as follows:

Borax 37 ounces Starch 9 ounces Cocoa 4 ounces

«Moth Exterminators.»—Cold storage is the most effective means of avoiding the ravages of moths. Where this is impracticable, as in bureau drawers, camphor balls may be scattered about with satisfactory result. The following is also effective:

Spanish pepper 100 parts Turpentine oil 50 parts Camphor 25 parts Clove oil 10 parts Alcohol, 96 per cent 900 parts

Cut the Spanish pepper into little bits, and pour over them the alcohol and oil of turpentine. Let stand 2 or 3 days, then decant, and press out. To the liquid thus obtained add the camphor and clove oil, let stand a few days, then filter and fill into suitable bottles. To use, imbibe bits of bibulous paper in the liquid and put them in the folds of clothing to be protected.

«Protecting Stuffed Furniture from Moths.»—The stuffing, no matter whether consisting of tow, hair, or fiber, as well as the covering, should be coated with a 10 per cent solution of sulphur in carbon sulphide. The carbon sulphide dissolves the sulphur so as to cause a very fine division and to penetrate the fibers completely.

«Powder to Keep Moths Away.»—

Cloves 2 ounces Cinnamon 2 ounces Mace 2 ounces Black pepper 2 ounces Orris root 2 ounces

Powder coarsely and mix well together.

«Book-Worms.»—When these insects infest books they are most difficult to deal with, as the ordinary destructive agents injuriously affect the paper of the book. The books should be well beaten and exposed to the sun, and a rag moistened with formalin passed through the binding and the covers where possible. In other cases the bottom edge of the binding should be moistened with formalin before putting on the shelves, so that formaldehyde vapor can be diffused.

INSECT POWDERS: See Insecticides.

«INSECT TRAP.»

Into a china wash-basin, half filled with water, pour a glass of beer; cover the basin with a newspaper, in the center of which a small round hole is cut. Place it so that the edges of the paper lie on the floor and the hole is over the center of the basin. At night beetles and other insects, attracted by the smell of beer, climb the paper and fall through the hole into the liquid.

INSTRUMENT ALLOYS: See Alloys.

INSTRUMENT CLEANING: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods.

INSTRUMENT LACQUER: See Lacquers.

«Insulation»

«ELECTRIC INSULATION:»

«Insulating Varnishes.»—For earth cables and exposed strong current wires:

I.—Melt 2 parts of asphalt together with 0.4 parts of sulphur, add 5 parts of linseed-oil varnish, linseed oil or cottonseed oil, keep at 320° F. for 6 hours; next pour in oil of turpentine as required.

II.—Maintain 3 parts of elaterite with 2 parts of linseed-oil varnish at 392° F. for 5 to 6 hours; next melt 3 parts of asphalt, pour both substances together, and again maintain the temperature of {426} 392° F. for 3 to 4 hours, and then add 1 part of linseed-oil varnish and oil of turpentine as required.

III.—Insulating Varnish for Dynamos and Conduits with Low Tension.—Shellac, 4 parts; sandarac, 2 parts; linoleic acid, 2 parts; alcohol, 15 parts.