Letter from Boston
Household Pests
By MASAKO YAMADA
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家庭の虫害
雅子さんはこのところ、とても小さなガの発生に悩まされています。台所で見かけるたびに退治していますが、いなくなる気配はなく、戸棚に卵があったり、小麦粉の入った瓶やパスタ袋の中に幼虫がいたり…。一番安全で効果的と思われる駆除装置を仕掛けましたが、果たしてガを一掃できるでしょうか?
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Recently, our apartment has been infested with very small moths that hover around leftover
cookies and other grain products. Perhaps "infested" is too strong a word, since we
probably see only about five moths a day. However, they are impossible to ignore, since they lay
their eggs inside our cabinets and the little maggots occasionally find their way into our
flour bins and pasta packages.
I don't know whether these moths are actually harmful, but they are certainly upsetting,
and I find myself chasing after them and swatting them full-force whenever I see one in the
kitchen. I've cleared out all the cabinets and wiped all the corners with bleach, and I've
killed almost every live moth I've seen. However, they haven't disappeared. They always seem to
re-emerge from somewhere, even after such thorough cleanings.
One of my health-nut friends suggested that we try putting bay leaves around our cabinets,
since moths apparently dislike the smell. This would only serve to drive the moths from one place
to another without killing them, so I've been reluctant to try this method.
Recently, I've visited three stores to see whether any of them had a pesticide that could be
used around food. Not too surprisingly, most chemical pesticides for moths are extremely toxic
and they can be used only in clothing closets (and even then, not around children or the elderly).
My boyfriend suggested that we look for a bug zapper that attracts bugs with light and then
kills them using electricity. It turns out that these are only used outdoors, but there's a
similar device available for indoor use: The moth trap attracts moths using a moth pheromone
and then traps them inside a device that has a sticky surface. No harsh chemicals are used, so
it is completely safe.
A couple of years ago, we had a sudden infestation of large flies. We've also had fruit flies
hover around the kitchen for a few days. These flies went away on their own. They disappeared
rather quickly, in spite of our not having had a special plan to get rid of them.
We have never used insecticide, but perhaps it's not too surprising that they went away
naturally, since we've been trying to cover any food in the kitchen more thoroughly.
At least we don't have a problem with roaches. Those seem truly impossible to get rid of.
One of my friends in my lab recently moved into an apartment that has roaches so large that they
cannot fit into roach traps, even though they are attracted to the traps and hover around the
entrance. He and his wife are going crazy trying to get rid of them.
The only way to really get rid of roaches is to exterminate all the units in the apartment
at the same time. Some landlords are willing to do this for their tenants, but others are
understandably reluctant to spend so much money on a problem that probably won't go away.
It remains to be seen whether our new moth traps are successful in luring love-starved
moths away from the comfort of the grain bins in our cabinet. The reasoning sounds good enough.
What living being wouldn't be attracted to the scent of an attractive mate? If these traps
don't work, we'll probably have to continue on our quest to find the perfect moth insecticide. I
can't imagine how else we could trick those moths, however.
Until we get rid of the moths, I suppose I should try to live with them as comfortably as I
can. Two of my roommates have lived in countries in which one must sift flour and other grains
before every use because of the bugs inside. To them, these moths are cute and harmless
creatures that are slightly annoying, but nothing to get ruffled over.
It's true that we live in an otherwise comfortable apartment with many modern amenities.
Perhaps I should count my blessings and enjoy my surroundings.
But there's something about those moths that makes me want to chase after them and get rid of
them. I don't really know what it is. Perhaps I'm releasing some kind of latent aggression by
targeting these moths!?
Shukan ST: Sept. 8, 2000
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