Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 September 1880 — BUC EXTERMINATORS. [ARTICLE]

BUC EXTERMINATORS.

Water Bugs and Roaches.—l. Vigorously force into every crack and cranny that they haunt, and all neighboring ones, too, along the edges of -oil-cloth, the seams of wood-work, etc., hellebore. 2. A teacupful of well-bruised plaster of Paris, mixed with double the quantity of oatmeal, to which add a little sugar. Strew it on the floor or in the chinks which they frequent. To Exterminate Beetles. — l. Place a few lumps of unslaked lime where they frequent. 1. Set a kish or trap, containing a little beer or sirup in the bottom, and place a few sticks slanting against its sides, so as to form a sort of gangway for the beetles to climb up by, when they will go headlong into the bait set for them. 3. Mix equal weights of red lead, sugar and flour, and place it nightly upon their haunts. This mixture, made into sheets, forms the beetle wafers sold at the oil shops. To Destroy Ants. —Drop some quicklime on their nest, and wash it in with boiling water; or dissolve some camphor in spirits of wine, then mix with water and pour into their haunts; or tobacco water (strongly), which has been found to be effectual. They are averse to strong scents. Camphor will prevent their infesting a cupboard, or a sponge saturated with creosote. To prevent their climbing up trees, place, a ring of tar about the trunk, or a circle of rag moistened occasionally with creosote.

To Remove Vermin from Canary Birds. —Put a piece of cotton aroundtlie end of each perch at night, remove the cotton in the morning (with the vermin). Put in new, clean perches; clean the cage every day. Give the bird a bath every morning in a good large dish; remove it as soon as the bird has finished; scald the ends of the perches every day before putting them in the cage again : renew the cotton around the perches every night, and remove in the morning until the bird is free from the vermin. To Get Rid of Cockroaches. —A correspondent writes as follows : “I beg to forward you an easy, clean, and certain method of eradicating these loathsome insects from dwelling houses. A few years ago my house was infested with cockroaches (or ‘clocks,’as they are called here), and I was recommended to try cucumber peelings as a remedy. I accordingly, immediately before bed-time, strewed the floor of those parts of the house most infested with the vermin with the green peel, cut not very thin from the cucumber, and set up half an hour later than usual to watch the effect. Before the expiration of that time, the floor where the peel lay was covered with cockroaches, so much so that the vegetables could not be seen, so voraciously were they engaged in sucking the poisonous moisture from it. I adopted the same plan the following night, but my visitors were not near so numerous—l should think not more than a fourth of the previous night. On the third night I did not discover one, but, anxious to ascertain whether the house was quite clear of them, I examined the peel after I had laid it down about half an hour, and perceived that it was covered -with myriads of minute cockroaches, abeut the size of a flea. I therefore allowed the peel to lie till morning, and from that moment I have not seen a cockroach in the house. It is a very old building, and I can assure you the above remedy only requires to be persevered in for three or four nights"to completely eradicate the pest. Of course it should be fresh cucumber peel every night.”