Fumigation with brimstone, or fresh leaves of penny-royal sewed in a bag, and laid in the bed, will have the desired effect.
325. Liquor for destroying Caterpillars, Ants, and other Insects.—Take a pound and three-quarters of soap, the same quantity of flower of sulphur, two pounds of champignons, or puff-balls, and fifteen gallons of water. When the whole has been well mixed, by the aid of a gentle heat, sprinkle the insects with the liquor, and it will instantly kill them.
326. To destroy Rats.—Cut a number of corks or a piece of sponge as thin as sixpences; stew them in grease, and place them in the way of the rats. They will greedily devour this delicacy, and will die of indigestion.
327. To kill Rats, another way.—There are two objections to the common mode of killing rats, by laying poison for them; first, the danger to which it exposes other animals and even human beings; second, the possibility that the rats may cause an intolerable stench, by dying in their holes. The following method is free from these objections, and has proved effectual in clearing houses infested with these vermin.
Oil of amber and ox-gall in equal parts, add to them oatmeal or flour sufficient to form a paste, which divide into little balls and lay them in the middle of a room which rats are supposed or known to visit. Surround the balls with a number of vessels filled with water. The smell of the oil will be sure to attract the rats, they will greedily devour the balls, and becoming intolerably thirsty, will drink till they die on the spot.
328. To expel Rats.—Catch one in a trap; muzzle it, with the assistance of a fellow-servant, and slightly singe some of the hair; then smear the part with turpentine, and set the animal loose; if again caught, leave it still at liberty, as the other rats will shun the place which it inhabits. It is said to be a fact that a toad placed in a cellar will free it from rats.