How to get rid of those pesky nezekim. TB Berachot 6

The Gemara TB Berachot Daf 6a begins with a discussion about the mezekim (sometimes translated as evil angels, demons, or evil forces in the world). When I was a rabbinical student I once entered the dorm room of my friend and colleague Rabbi Martin Cohen now the Rabbi of the Shelter Rock Jewish Center. I noticed that there was a dried up lulav on the top of one of his bookshelves. I asked him why does he still have a lulav when Sukkot had been observed months ago? He told me that it rids his room of the mezekim. I told him that there are no mezekim. He just looked at me and said, “See, it’s working!” Only 2705 more days on his journey to study all of the Talmud.