p. 174 | HOUSEHOLD PESTS by Mary Alice Hare Loper, M. S.

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Mar 24, 1914

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 41, No. 11.

HOUSEHOLD PESTS

By Mary Alice Hare Loper, M. S.

ADVANCED METHODS FOR SAFEGUARDING HEALTH—BETTER TO PROTECT HEALTH THAN TO KNOW HOW TO GET WELL WHEN SICK—FLIES, MOSQUITOES, RATS, AND MICE AS COMMUNICATORS OF DISEASE

By MARY ALICE HARE LOPER, M. S.

THE fly problem, which for so long has puzzled the best brains of both city and country, is at last partially solved. Flies have been tolerated for centuries, seemingly as a "necessary evil"; but it is a satisfaction to know that their reign of terror is on the decline.

SCREENING OF DOORS AND WINDOWS

It has not been many years that the finishing of a dwelling-house has been made to include the screening of windows and doors against flies and mosquitoes. In those ante-screen days, the fancy fly-brush, sometimes made of gay peacock feathers, was one of the conveniences of the esthetic housekeeper; while more frequently was seen the fringed newspaper brush—the paper being attached to a stick or standard somewhat after the fashion of a flag—or a fresh branch from some friendly shade-tree.

The old-fashioned "safe," with its perforated tin doors, served to keep food from the ravages of flies between meals; but as soon as food was placed upon the table for serving, the task of wielding the fly-brush presented itself. Often this task was assigned to some child, who, perchance, becoming weary or forgetful, permitted his brush at times to come into contact with the food, thereby bespattering the immaculate table-linen.

IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE "LONG AGO"

We sing pathetically of "auld lang syne," while sweet memories cling around the days of long ago. But however much those days may have surpassed the present in the matter of wide-spread hospitality, we would not wish to return to the fly-brush era, with its darkened dining-rooms and frequent invasions by the winged enemy.

House screens surely met a long-felt want; but they left the fly to roam at will, ready to enter whenever opportunity came his way. The thought of exterminating flies by the wholesale, and of annihilating their breeding-places, was yet to be born. For the twentieth century remained the idea of placing the mammoth fly-trap in the city streets, and putting a bounty on these household pests.

Many and varied have been the inventions for capturing flies indoors, each of which has had its own particular virtue to commend it. The simple little wire swatter is a very satisfactory remover of stray flies, but it should not be used on a table, a pantry shelf, or in any unsuitable place. Catch the fly while he is on the floor or on the wall, where a slight stroke will terminate his career. On sunny mornings, if window-shades are drawn down for a short time, flies may be driven out at the door, as they have a tendency to collect where there is sunshine.

A few moments spent occasionally in getting rid of flies, will keep the home that is properly screened free from the fly pest, with all its train of deadly human ills. It is well known that flies are a very common source of disease, and they surely should not be tolerated within a human habitation. The slogan, "Swat the fly," should not only be adopted officially in every city and village, but it should find an echo in every home. With all the present-day facilities for getting rid of flies, there is absolutely no excuse for harboring them.

JOHNNIE WILL KEEP THE DOORS OPEN

"Well," says one, "my house is screened, but the flies get in anyway. It is so hard to persuade Johnnie to keep the screens closed, and I just do not have time to get rid of the flies." Yes, many homes are regular summer resorts for flies, the inmates little realizing that death lurks where flies assemble. But when illness comes, one always has time to be sick, even though the cause may have been wholly unnecessary. It is much better to take time to exterminate the flies or even drive them out of the home than to be ill because of their presence.

Children should be made to understand that it is a misdemeanor to hold a screen door open. The screen door is there to keep flies out, and should be used for that purpose. If Johnnie is accustomed to keep it open, he may shed a few tears over the means used to break the habit up, but not such bitter tears as might be shed over his untimely grave should he continue to have his own way about the flies. The only safe rule is, to live wholly apart from flies, if one would avoid the germs of disease which these pests constantly carry from place to place.

KIND OF CAMPS TO AVOID

Encampments, of whatever kind, that make no provision against the free assembling of flies, would better be shunned at meal-time by all campers who prize life and health. Surely it is little less than a crime to board where flies are permitted to collect in swarms about the food, with not even the old-fashioned fly-brush as a protection. I once heard a picnic experience described as "oceans of coffee and islands of flies," and that description was surely not without a semblance of truth.

HOUSEHOLD PESTS ADVANCED METHODS FOR SAFEGUARDING HEALTH-BETTER TO PROTECT HEALTH THAN TO KNOW HOW TO GET WELL WHEN SICK-FLIES, MOSQUITOES, RATS, AND MICE AS COMMUNICATORS OF DISEASE By MARY ALICE HARE LOPER, M. S.

Every morsel of a picnic lunch should be wrapped in oiled paper, or safeguarded in some other way, so that it can be served first to those for whom it was prepared. True, some persons seem to be germ proof, and possessed of appetites that do not wane because of the presence of flies. But not every one is thus fortified, or can afford to run such risk. No doubt many a case of severe illness following an encampment has been due wholly to the presence of flies.

THE MOSQUITO AND FEVERS

The mosquito is another disease carrier, and consequently it should not be tolerated in the home. Although much has been said and written concerning the prevalence of disease resulting from poisonous mosquito bites, many persons do not seem to realize this danger.

House screens should be of such fine mesh as to render it impossible for mosquitoes to get through. Then the few that find entrance at the doors may be got rid of easily at twilight, when they come from their hiding-places and collect on the screens. This should be diligently looked after every evening in localities where mosquitoes abound, so as to keep the home free from them.

It is definitely known that the mosquito is the chief means of the distribution of malarial poison, causing the various types of malarial fever, and is also the chief distributor of the deadly germs of yellow fever in the more tropical countries. Therefore swat the mosquito diligently.

DANGERS FROM RATS AND MICE

Rats and mice are dangerous pests that infest many homes. Rats especially have been proved to be carriers of the terrible bubonic plague, while both are filthy and dangerous to human life. Much of the old-fashioned architecture permits rats and mice to gain easy access to buildings by finding their way in the walls. Modern architecture, however, which renders the walls mouse and rat proof, is a source of satisfaction and comfort, as well as an important safeguard to health.

"The surest road to health, say what they will, Is to avoid the things that make you ill."

ONE INNOCENT LOOKING FLY HAS MORE THAN 100,000 GERMS ON HIS LEGS AND MOUTH