GRANNYS REMEDIES AND WISDOM

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2005-06-01

Grannys Pest Control

NOTE: Our grandmothers were enlightened
amateurs at best. Before actually using any
of their remedies, you should consult your doctor

Ants

To make an Ant Trap:

Soak a sponge in water and wring it nearly dry. Sprinkle with sugar and lay on a plate by the ants' haunts. As soon as it's full, plunge it into boiling water.

Ants, To Exterminate in Gardens:

Mix a tablespoonful of carbolic acid with a basin of water and apply to nests. In the house, place cayeene where they are most seen, and scrub shelves, etc., with carbolic soap.
Another way is to boil 1lb of Cape aloes in a gallon of water and add 6oz of powdered camphor. Excavate an ant hill, pour a quart of this into it, and cover as much area as possible, then fill the excavation. When the nest cannot be found, mix this largely with water and sprinkle on the leaves, etc., through the rose of a watering can.

Crickets:

Put cucumber peel on the floor at night near their hiding places. This will destroy them. It also destroys beetles.

Flies:

The best remedy for getting rid of flies is Myocom or fly-gum. Also a piece of flanel saturated with turpentine put on a plate will get rid of flies. Pyrethrum or Persian insect powder will free a room of flies if blown about with a small rubber bellows. Wood ashes thrown into drains and on rubbish heaps destroys the files' eggs. A 7/8 oz of quassia chips boiled in a pint of water and mixed with 4oz of treacle draws flies and kills them. Fried camomile flowers scattered about gets rid of fleas. They cannot tolerate the smell.
To protect yourself from flies and gnats, sponge weak carbolic acid on the skin and sometimes, clothing. The solution should not contain more than 7% carbolic acid.

Insects and Vermin:

Dissolve 2lbs of alum in 3 quarts of water. Wait until the alum is dissolved, then with a brush apply boiling hot to every joint and crevice infested by bugs, earwigs, or other insects. Keep it boiling whilst using. Strong boiling hot tea of cayenne used with a brush is also a good remedy.

Moths:

Anything moth-infested should be damped with benzine. It harms nothing but the moth.
A brick kept damp, and raised 1/8 of an inch from the floor will collect moths under it. Once weekly, raise the brick and crush the moths or take a small bunch of red wool, place on a piece of paper on the floor of a cupboard, and the moths will collect there. Every few days, if the wool is shaken, put down a piece of paper and the moths will drop there and can be destroyed. When clothes are infested, take a large linen cloth and wet thoroughly. Lay it folded two or three times over the affected part, and press with a very hot iron. This will destroy the larvae and eggs.
Moths like the turnings and corners of carpets. Wring a cloth out of hot water and lay over the bindings and edgings long enough for the floor to dry before replacing. Wring a clean cloth dry out of hot pepper tea, and wipe the binding and carpet edge rubbing hard. Salt sprinkled on peices of cotton wool dipped in turpentine, put under the carpet edges can also be successful.
Finally, for a good moth preventative, mix 12 drops of oil of cloves, 12 drops of caraway, 6 drops of oil of lavender, a glass of whiskey, and a piece of camphor. Sprinkle with it. Cedar-wood shavings are also death to moths.

Slugs:

Put cabbage leaves in an oven till soft; rub with fresh dripping and lay wherever the slugs are. The leaves will soon be fouond covered with slugs and snails.

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