moths in carpet

1870s Tips for Keeping Bugs Out of the Home

/ sandramervillehart

Under the heading of “General Suggestions,” I found several interesting tips about keeping bugs out of the home in an 1877 book, Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping.

To keep red ants away, store a small bag of sulphur in a cupboard or drawer.

Having a problem with cockroaches? Sprinkle hellebore (a winter flower also known as a Christmas Rose) over the floor at night. Cockroaches eat the poisonous plant.

To keep moths away: Add 1 ounce of gum-camphor and 1 ounce of powdered red pepper to 8 ounces of alcohol. Mix together and allow it to set for a week and then strain it. Sprinkle clothing with the strained solution then wrap the clothes in strong paper or cloth.

To keep moths out of the carpet, wash the floor with benzine or turpentine before laying the carpet.

Flies on gilt frames? Boil 3 to 4 onions in a pint of water. Brush on the mixture with a soft brush. (I’m assuming it is cooled when applying.)

Alum is crystalline powder used in cooking vegetables and fruits. It is also used in pickling. If you have a problem with ants and other insects, dissolve 2 pounds of alum in 3 quarts of water. Brush hot solution over crevices where ants are found.

Alum is also good to keeping moths away from furs. Dust powdered alum into the roots of the fur.

As a writer of historical novels, I’m always looking for fascinating facts to include in my stories. It’s fun to find out how folks lived and coped with issues a century or two ago.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.

“Helleborus niger – Christmas Rose,” Cornell University, 2018/12/22

https://poisonousplants.ansci.cornell.edu/christmasrose/christmasrose.html.

“Spices,” McCormick, 2018/12/22 https://www.mccormick.com/spices-and-flavors/herbs-and-spices/spices/alum.

1870s Advice on Maintaining the Sitting Room

/ sandramervillehart

As the sitting room in the nineteenth century was the most used, the author of Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping advised homemakers to make it the most pleasant one in the home. This compares to the family rooms of today.

If mats were kept at the door, the room could get by with one cleaning a week.

Don’t lay Brussels carpet (a heavy wool rug with a strong linen backing) in the family’s room because they hold a lot of dust and are difficult to clean.

Moths often get under the carpet. To prevent this, mix coarse black pepper with camphor-gum. Spread in thick proportions all around the carpet edges.

When cleaning with oil-cloth, use warm water (no soap.) Mixing milk into the water improves the cleaning.

Have a soiled carpet in the winter? Sprinkle snow onto the stains and sweep before it melts.

Attach a scrap bag to the sewing machine for bits of cloth and thread to keep them off the floor.

“Wire doors and mosquito-nettings” allow fresh air inside the home while keeping out the flies.

Wash windows weekly. Wipe doors after sweeping.

Interesting advice!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.