. Circular. Insect pests; Insect pests. 6 INSECTS INJUKIOUS TO MUSHEOOMS. fected by drenching with boiling water, or it may be hauled to a dis- tance and spread upon the ground as fertilizer, or it may be destroyed by burning. The ground occupied by the mushroom beds should be thoroughly scalded, and the woodwork of the mushroom house treated to a wash of creosote or crude carbolic acid, either of which is distaste- ful to the mites. After complete disinfection has been accomplished the house should be screened, to guard against subsequent introduction of the pest by means of flies. All manure
. Circular. Insect pests; Insect pests. 6 INSECTS INJUKIOUS TO MUSHEOOMS. fected by drenching with boiling water, or it may be hauled to a dis- tance and spread upon the ground as fertilizer, or it may be destroyed by burning. The ground occupied by the mushroom beds should be thoroughly scalded, and the woodwork of the mushroom house treated to a wash of creosote or crude carbolic acid, either of which is distaste- ful to the mites. After complete disinfection has been accomplished the house should be screened, to guard against subsequent introduction of the pest by means of flies. All manure forming the beds should be steamed, according to the directions under the head of mushroom maggots. Care should be used to purchase spawn only trom unin- fested houses. With these precautions it is unlikely that trouble will be experienced from the attacks of the mushroom mite. Close watch should be kept, however, for any signs of the presence of the mites in the beds, and the compost destroyed upon their first appearance, as it is impossible to secure good results with mushrooms when in- fested by these mites. All applications of suffi- cient strength to destroy the mites are likewise injurious to the mushrooms, and it is futile to attempt to control by any artificial means, once the mushroom bed becomes infested, as the mites are buried so deeply in the compost that no insec- ticide will reach them. A predaceous mite belonging to the Gamasidse frequently occurs in beds infested by the mush- room mite, feeding upon the latter, and at times Pig. 1—a common in- |[)ecomin£: SO numcrous as entirely to wipe out the Junous springtail, *= i i • i Achorcutcs arma- pest. The gamasid may be known by its longer Hm. Much en- j _^j 'i^ niauuer of running swiftly over the larged. (Original.^ «= Y . compost or the mushrooms. The writer has seen cases where the gamasid has occurred in such abundance as greatly to outnumber its host. This predaceous enemy does not feed on the mushrooms
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