How to get rid of clothes moths!

In May 2008 I wrote my Clothes Moths Attack! post about my attempts to get rid of clothes moths in a friend’s home. It soon became clear that many other people were hard at work battling the seemingly indestructible clothes moths as many comments after comment started to roll in.

clothes moth in carpet

After receiving over 100 reader stories about your attempts to get rid of clothes moths I thought I should put some of the collective wisdom together and produce a page of tips for getting rid of clothes moths (although much of this advice will apply to other types of moths as well).

Know your enemy

Common clothes moths (tineola bisselliella) appear in the Spring, Summer and Winter. The larvae which look like white maggots eat your carpets or clothes. You’ll see them crawling in the carpets, up walls, and over your fabrics. They later turn into flying moths. The flying moths don’t cause any direct damage to fabrics, but they can each lay many 10’s of eggs. Their numbers can multiply very quickly and you can soon end up with a very bad infestation.

Daily tips to reduce moth numbers

If you already have clothes moths you are going to have to work to keep the numbers down. If the infestation is bad this could turn into a war!

  • Vacuum the carpets regularly. Especially in any areas that you know the moths gather, such as under the bed, in quiet areas of the room, and around the skirting boards.
  • Immediately kill any live moths or larvae that you see. The larvae will eat your clothes and carpets, and the flying moths will lay eggs. Neither is good to have around!
  • Keep doors, windows and cupboard doors shut. You want to make it difficult for them to move around.

clothes moth larvae in carpet

Creating a less attractive home for moths

  • If the moths are eating the carpets then either remove the carpets completely, or replace wool carpets with synthetic ones.
  • Fill in small gaps around the walls, floorboards, and cupboards. You want to reduce the amount of places the moths have to hide, feed and lay their eggs.
  • Further reduce the number of places that moths can hide themselves or their eggs by keeping your home tidy. They love dark undisturbed areas under the bed, or behind junk that you may leave on the floor. If your home stays uncluttered and clean there are fewer places for them to go.
  • Keep windows shut so the moths can’t get in. Consider putting an insect screen over windows that you regularly open.
  • Open curtains and let as much natural light into the rooms as possible. Clothes moths seem to prefer it when it is darker.
  • Don’t leave clothes or other natural fabrics in the open unless necessary.
  • Keep the doors of clothing cupboards and wardrobes shut. Ideally they should be sealed shut so that a live moth or larvae can’t crawl through the gaps. You could make modifications to your wardrobes using rubber strips (e.g. like the ones for excluding draughts from windows) so that they have a near air tight seal when closed.
  • Vacuum regularly as stated in the daily tips. A vacuum cleaner with a rotating brush in the head may be better than a suction only vacuum cleaner at dislodging eggs that are in the carpet.

clothes moths eggs

clothes moths eggs under carpet

Protecting clothes and fabrics

  • Store fabrics and clothes in sealed wardrobes or behind sealed cupboard doors.
  • If you aren’t going to wear certain natural fibre clothes for a while put them in one of those vacuum bags so there is no way for any insect to get in them.
  • If you have to store rugs then roll them up with some moth balls inside.
  • If you suspect that an item of clothing may have got moth eggs in it you can put it in the freezer for three days to kill the eggs.
  • Or alternatively give the item a hot wash (if it is suitable for hot washing).
  • Dry cleaning may help to remove the moth eggs from more delicate clothing items.
  • Use moth balls or lavender moth repelling scents in the wardrobe to reduce the chances of them going near the clothes.
  • Get rid of old clothes that you don’t need or aren’t going to wear again. If you keep unnecessary clothes lying around you are only increasing their potential food supply.

Home extermination and prevention options

You have a number of options for killing moths and their eggs in the home. Some are free and other will cost money.

  • Squish the larvae!
  • Sweep or vacuum up any lose eggs.
  • Swat the moths!
  • Use moth traps or moth killer strips to catch ones that are flying around.
  • Use direct moth insecticide sprays on the moths or eggs to try to kill them. I’m not convinced that the consumer poisons are very effective on the clothes moths eggs – they seem fairly indestructible :( If you do try them the most effective thing seems to be to spray the area, wait a few days and spray again, and then keep repeating.
  • Moth balls, cedar wood balls, lavender smelling fragrances, or moth killing hanging units can be used inside cupboards and wardrobes to keep moths away.
  • Fumigation kits are available which release a poisonous gas into the room. I’m sceptical about their effectiveness – they may kill some adult moths, but I doubt they do much harm to the eggs.

Here are some more links to moth killing products on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Professional moth extermination options

If your moth prevention and elimination attempts aren’t working you may have to call in the professionals. This is where you may end up paying big money.

First you might want to check in your lease if you or your landlord is responsible for pest problems. If the landlord is responsible for getting rid of pests, and doesn’t then you may well be able to claim some form of compensation off him for damage to your clothes or fabric items.

You might also want to try contacting your local authority to see if they have a free or cheap professional moth extermination option. If not you could end up spending hundreds of pounds or dollars to call someone in.

If you do call in the professionals make sure they give you some kind of guarantee that if the moths aren’t eliminated they will come back to deal with the problem again. You may well need two or three (or more!) visits.

If the infestation is very well established then multiple visits may not be effective. For example if the eggs are deeply embedded in carpets or floorboards then it is unlikely that any professional spraying will get rid of 100% of the eggs. You may need to do something more structural (removing carpets, filling gaps) to get rid of them.

The nuclear option!

Move out to a new home. You wouldn’t be the first person to abandon a home because of moths.

However it you do this there is a high risk that you will transport the eggs to your new place in your clothes and fabrics. Do thoroughly wash and seal all clothes away so you can try to eliminate the chances of transporting them to your new home.

And when you arrive at your new home be vigilant for signs of new moths. Deal with them as soon as you see them so they don’t spread.

Let us know how you get on

There are 150 comments and reader stories on my previous Clothes Moths Attack!. There is some great reader advice amongst those comments. I’ve had to close that post for new comments as it was getting too big! But please do continue to share your stories and tips on this page instead.

Good luck :)

106 Comments on “How to get rid of clothes moths!”

  1. Oy! I am so depressed that no one on this site appears to have fought a successful campaign against clothes moths. I thought I had gotten rid of them last fall, but they came back this spring (possibly they went dormant for the winter, even though it doesn’t get that cold here).
    The local pest control people tell me I (and my elderly cat) have to move out for 2 days if they spray, so if they have to come back several times, this is going to get really expensive.
    Like someone else here, I dearly love my one remaining carpet and would really like to keep it!

  2. Ok – I wont bother you with my tales of woe regarding ‘them’. Your posts pretty much sum it up. Same crap, different moth addled victim :(

    I might have a situation I can take advantage of here. I’m moving flat next week and I’m sure if I wash everything at 60 degrees plus, shake and examine everything – I might have a chance of getting rid of them.

    If there’s any tips anyone can give me, I’d be most grateful. Thanks.

    Oh, and if there’s anyone who has a happy ending, please post it up – we need to know how you done it!

  3. It’s so depressing reading everyone’s posts. I’ve spent a fortune and turned my house upside down to get rid of moths and I’ve seen a number of them in the past few days.

    I cleaned and put down diatomaceous earth the first year I saw a lot of moths. (I live in a house that was new. I think the moths came in through my garage where I had been keeping an old bluebird nest.) Anyway, after that summer where there were a number of moths and holes in some of my clothing. I cleaned my clothes, my carpets, my drawers (where a moth flew out) and put traps around. After that I only saw a few in the summer and one or two in the winter. But after two years of trying to rid myself of them completely, I resorted to drastic measures.

    I had the carpeting pulled up and installed wood floors upstairs in my house. This cost upwards of $5000! (I live in the States.) I had an exterminator come in and spray, $400. I took my clothes to the cleaners, and washed the rest of my linens and clothes in hot water.

    After thinking all was well, I went out and bought a small rug for my bedroom. It was a remnant, but new. Yesterday and today I’ve seen moths. This time they were downstairs. (I had only had them upstairs.) I called the exterminator who inspected the rug and said he didn’t see any signs of the moths there though I still have the rug downstairs.

    In any event, after spending all that money, emptying out my closets and cleaning just about everything, I’m still totally depressed and overwhelmed. Maybe the best I can do is keep them at bay. I’m feeling very defeated.

    Please someone, tell a positive story!

  4. Last week discovered hundreds of larvae under a piece of furniture which had not been moved for some months. Carpet had been eaten away! Rest of house is also carpeted (wool) but when bought about 15 years ago it was “mothproofed” and doesn’t appear to have been attacked.
    Carpet that was attacked was bought 25 years ago and was an almost new Axminster, and I suspect, being ex-pub dining room, not mothproofed.
    I vacuumed up all larvae and sprayed insectide on carpet, and put mothballs down, also in every other possible place in the room. Moths flying round the house have virtually disappeared (what’s their life?), so here’s hoping!

  5. Hi!

    Thought I’d share my story. Like many people I first realised we had a problem when we came back from holiday a few weeks ago and seen the moths regularly flying at night. I’d noticed one or two moths before we went away (end of May) but didnt think anything of it. When I came back I found 1 or two moths in my bedroom every day for a few days then realised we must have a problem.

    We have been having a clear up mission and although we’ve found some larvae under the bed and the odd one elsewhere, we havent found any eggs yet so I’m not convinced we’ve found the source of the problem yet!

    We’ve steam cleaned the carpets this weekend and have emptied the wardrobes (in process of washing all clothes and cuddly toys at 50 degrees!). We have also let off one of those foggers tonight but apart from an awful smell doesnt seem to have done anything! We have bought some of the Pro Active C spray and plan to use that next. Any tips on that would be appreciated.

    Any stories of success would be welcomed although I’ve read most of this thread and the previous one and must say I am not optimistic! Looks like it is maybe going to be a case of managing them and keeping on top of checking clothes, cleaning, moving furniture!

    Cheryl

  6. Not sure how helpful this is or if it has been mentioned before but i having complained several times to my landlord about the problem they contacted a pest controller who suggested using ant powder around the room and any dark corners they might lurk. Since i have done this i have noticed a drop in the number of moths i have seen flying around and an increase in the ones i find dead around the powder. I haven’t seen any of the larvae. I am hoping this is helping to stop the eggs from hatching and the ones that do are being killed immediately and so not laying more eggs.

    Hope this is of some use to you all.

    Kel x

  7. Depressing, but helpful posts. Depressing as it seems even if you go to a huge amount of effort the moths will never leave you. However it’s good to know that I’m not crazy.

    Yesterday discovery my favourite winter wool dress full of holes, also my favourite t-shirts ruined. Now slowly going through the process of inspecting, washing and storing everything. Also vacuuming…

    One of my friends used flea powder to some success so I will be trying that. Also encouraged by Kel’s post above.

    Please if you do something that works come back and post!!!

  8. Thanks Kel – I will try some powder once I have finished the insectide treatment.

    I havent seen any moths flying around since using the fogger on Sunday night. I’ve now sprayed round the skirting boards and under edge of carpet with the Pro Active C too. I am a bit frustrated that I still havent found any eggs though so I’m not convinced I have found the main problem.

    I am left wondering if our Divan bed may actually be the source of the problem. It was a fairly expensive bed which has a matress called cashmere which is very soft. I am now panicking that there could be an infestation within the matress or base. How gross!!!

    Cheryl

  9. Hi, Last night i went to put on my new $500 dollar woolen jumper to go out (which I hadn’t dared to wear yet as i didn’t want to wreck it) to find two moth holes in the chest!…Arghhhhhh!!!…A search of the wardrobe found more holes in other things…always the best ones!..They’ve got great taste these moths……..I hate them!

  10. Hi guys, having read through most of your very informative posts, I can identify somewhat with your distress having experienced my second moth season. When I say ‘moth season’, I mean I have had some luck in that, with a little swatting, and spraying of Rentokil and plain old Raid, I have been lucky enough to experience a completely moth-free Autumn and Winter (as far as I could see in terms of actual moths flying around). That seems to be unusual from the posts I am reading? Another unusual thing is that I haven’t found ANY damage to clothing yet! That said, I’ve yet to do a thorough enough inspection to be able to say that with full confidence. The other thing is, since these moths are light-shy, I’ve adopted the strategy of leaving the clothes I most frequently wear during summer draped over a chair near a very bright window. I take it this might stop the moths attacking them, or has anyone else had any experience with this? Secondly, I haven’t seen any of the eggs or larvae described, but have seen things that look like hanging cobwebs from the ceilings. Could this be them or just plain old spider-webs? Finally, I have (synthethic but fluffy) carpet all over upstairs, which I have not inspected fully yet, as would involve moving heavy furniture. (I know I’m sounding lazy here, but I have a VERY busy job, so time has really been an issue). One pattern I noticed in the posts I was reading was that with people who had carpets, they seemed to be eating the carpets and NOT the clothes! From reading the posts, it seems to me, that the moth problem, once it strikes, tends to be virtually impossible to fully eliminate. Since it would be preferrable to most of us for them to eat the corners of carpets under beds rather than expensive designer clothing (I have an Armani silk jacket and a couple of high grade silk dresses that I do know have remained completely untouched, touch wood!), would it be then reasonable to assume that carpets are actually a GOOD preventative strategy?! Would be interested to know your thoughts and experiences on this. And thanks again for all your thoughts and experiences.

  11. Bearing the above in mind, what about the idea of a type of mothproof wardrobe conservatory?! Could someone experiment with the idea of keeping some typical moth-attracting clothes on rails in a garden or house-extension conservatory? Surely, if they don’t like light they wouldn’t go there?! Would be really interesting to see how that would pan out!

  12. Hi All, I don’t think there is any precise science here to our collective moth problems; ie. what the larvae choose to chomp away at and where, and the cure for complete eradication (it is an impossible pipedream?). Though general rule of thumb is the darker/less disturbed an area, the more likely damage will ensue! I moved into an old Victorian flat with the problem (which was cleverly concealed during both viewings!) and five months, four carpet treatments, cedar/lavendar hangings, Protector C and Zero Moth kller on and, hey presto, my faithful traps are still catching the odd one or two (is this bad?). Not in their droves mind you, but, for example, where one had met his grizzly end a while back, two more decided to join him this weekend gone! They seem to be congregating by my front door (where there is some damage to the berber wool carpet), which makes me speculate, are they flying in under the front door from the communal hallway? Thankfully my landlady has now agreed to rip up the carpet and replace with synthetic throughout the flat, but I can’t help wondering if this will (as the post above ponders) simply cause the moths to flock to where my clothes (as yet spared) are located? The saddest thing of all is they chose to attack my precious rag doll of some 40 years and in a moment of haste (I regret) I chucked her out!! Also, I have some rather lovely persian rugs throughout my flat that I am hoping, with powder, vacuuming, and thrashing the life out of against a wall, the moths will leave alone. But again once an infestation is established I’m guessing that constant inspections & vigilance become the norm. Very very (VERY) tedious……and I empathise with everyone who is going through similar!

  13. IMPORTANT everyone i have found something that killed them but will have to do tester(material test). i found them about a year ago and tried everything but nothing worked, so i went in the kitchen cupboard got the bleach out and put in a spray bottle (diluted with water 50/50) sprayed all over the carpet as i had nothing to loose and you wont believe it, it killed them. i sprayed a couple more times to get any eggs left over, but its been over a month now and not a sign hip hip finally got the critters hope it helps some of you out and i most also say that the carpet has looked as clean in ages, which was a added bonus

  14. That’s fantastic, Martin!!! Isn’t it amazing the way, despite all the sophisticated insecticides etc. out there, it’s very often the simple old things that work! Am going to try it over the weekend! And Liz, yes, it really did seem like a common thread going through all the posts that they tend to go for carpet or clothes, not both (unless I missed a post, but read through most of them!), so I would actually be quite wary now of getting rid of the carpet! I wonder what anyone else thinks?

  15. Interesting about the bleach Martin; at least its another “option” to try and we need all we can get!! I’ve also heard wormword repels clothes moths; has anyone tried this with any success? Dee, unfortunately my landlady has made a firm decision to replace the carpet; which is chewed in various spots throughout the flat. She has asked that the day the carpet is ripped up, the pest control company spray around the floorboards, and just generally check for eggs; a great idea in my opinion. As for my clothes; I have one built in wardrobe and one pine stand alone wardrobe, plus all my coats are hanging in the hallway in breathable bags. The bags aren’t a complete deterent to moths as they can crawl in through a gap at the top of the bag, but I am going to place a cedar ball in each bag as an added deterent; makes me feel better at least even if ineffectual! So far, my coats are all OK, touch wood!! I know the larvae can do damage very quickly, but surely if you check, shake, brush clothes and vacuum rugs (top and underside) regularly, how is anything going to have enough time to establish itself and wreck havoc? An article I read the other day which had carried out experiments to see how clothes moth eggs/larvae thrive in different conditions stated that in a dark, undisturbed place moth damage was 90% likely, than the 30% cited where items were left in semi lit conditions. Whereas this is not completely reassuring it goes some way to prove the point that what we should really keep an eye on are items stored in drawers, or simply left undisturbed for a long period in wardrobes rather than those things we are constantly using, washing, moving around.I have a few “test” items of clothing I have left out in the kitchen and as yet no damage to anything. What I do agree with, having scrutinised all the posts here, is for it not to stop your enjoyment of where you live because at the end of the day, not everything I own can be consumed by moth larvae….thank God!!

  16. Hi I have got larvae appearing on a daily basis in my daughters bedroom which has laminate floor, I am picking them up and flushing them down the toilet every morning and they only appear when th daylight is let in so not staying in the dark at all, I am also finding them in the centre of the room not corners. I cannot work out where they are coming from. I cant find any casings or threads and there is no sign at all from where the eggs are laid, there is carpet outside her room but there is no signs of damage at all. I am completely confused. Any ideas gratefully received. Nikki

  17. Well, I first found clothes moths in my home last summer. Found about 50 of them, dead and alive under a pillow in my spare room.I went on a cleaning spree. I washed every article of clothing in my house. Shampooed all the area rugs, couches, cleaned out all the closets, and put everything into space saver bags. I put up a few traps. I had to leave for a couple of months. When I came back, no more moths. Yeah!! That lasted from October until Valentine’s Day. They came back!!. No surprise. Anyway, I tried traps again and kept catching them. I was getting really depressed about the whole situation. So, finally, in April I broke down and called a pest company. Again, I washed ALL my clothing, linens and cleaned and cleaned. The house got sprayed and I didn’t see everything for two weeks. As soon as I saw another moth I called them in again. Then, I went out and bought some diatomaceous earth and a hand duster. I dusted the shelves in all the closets and under every baseboard in the house. To be honest, I’ve never worked so hard in my life because of those stupid things. It’s been two months, in prime moth season, and I haven’t seen anything since. So, I’m extremely hopeful. And if they do come back, I’ll be getting sprayed again and again. (And that from a lady who won’t even use bathroom sprays because I hate chemicals that much) I haven’t put anything back in the closets. I’m living out of tote boxes. I’m ready for them if they show up again. But, I have alot of faith in the (food grade) diatomaceous earth. I just know I’m going to win this war

  18. Hi Everyone,

    I am absolutely close to having a breakdown – the thought of larvae crawling around in clothes and elsewhere in the house makes my stomach turn. I have been trying to get rid of them for months now and now luck either! I have tried everything and now thinking of getting the professionals in. The only problem is that I am worried that I will spend alot of money getting them in and that it won’t work. I have done EVERYTHING that everyone has mentioned in the posts and still no joy. I have most of our clothes that were washed at 60C, sitting in black bin bags in our sitting room because I am afraid to put them back in wardrobes. I haven’t see any larvae at all which is a bit strange given that I am seeing 5-6 moths every day. I am soooooo sick of this and am close to tears. Anyway sorry enough of my self-pity – can someone tell me what this diatomaceous earth is? I have never heard of it and have no idea where to buy it.
    Jackie you seem to be the last person that has mentioned this stuff so if you had a few minutes, could you let me know what it is?
    Many thanks to everyone for all your help as it is good to know you are not going mad (especially when your husband tried to convince you that they are flying in – funny that I haven’t opened the windows in weeks just in case!!!!)
    From one VERY frustrated and depressed moth killer on a mission.

  19. Hi Roisin, Diatomaceous earth is a safe powder made of ground up coral which is harmless to pets, children etc but deadly to insects. Some people even eat it to clean out their intestines. It’s like razors to insects so it kills them. I got mine at a seed store. There are a few websites that explain about it. Be sure to get the food grade kind, not the kind they use in swimming pools. I bout a little hand duster online, found out how to use it on youtube and did my whole house. It’s a little messy but it can’t hurt.

  20. Hi Jacquie,
    That’s great – thanks so much for your help. I have looked it up a bit and wasn’t sure whether to buy the pest control version or food grade – thought the stronger the better, but I do have children so was a bit worried so thanks for clarifying. I will try ANYTHING at this stage. Am also going to try the suggested bleach so will let you all know if this works!!! Still have to find the source of it all though so here’s to weeks of more work and hard slog. Thanks to everyone for their feedback as it really helped me know how to go to war against these pests. Best of luck to everyone and lets hope some of us win the war :-)

  21. Hi all,
    I have noticed a number of months in the flat I share with my boyfriend. He seems to think I am going mad and overreacting as they are harmless! Anyway, I have swatted them whenever I have seen any and have sprayed under the bed and all over the room. How can I know if this is a proper infestation? There seem to be a few small and very light coloured moths around. On and off.

  22. Hi everybody, I have noticed clothes moths in my apartment for quite a while now, at first I didn’t pay too much attention, and it’s never seemed like a HUGE problem, but I would see maybe 5 or 6 adult moths on average per week (sometimes more, sometimes less).

    I did discover some holes in clothing, and a few times I have cleaned out my drawers and vacuumed everything, but not really realizing that this is such a difficult problem to get rid of. I really didn’t worry that much about it.

    I’ve been more diligent about cleaning and the problem has definitely lessened in recent months, but they still pop up every once in a while so they’re obviously not gone.

    However, here is where I am looking for your help. I am now planning to move in less than 2 months and I’m terrified that I will somehow transfer these buggers to my new condo. I am throwing out a great deal of my belongings as I have a tendency to hold onto things I don’t need, and I’ve already thrown out a ton of linens and clothing. I’ve been cleaning and cleaning every day, and I continue to find larvae in my carpet, it’s gross and it’s making me itch just thinking about it. I think that they are living in the carpet more than anywhere else, but of course I can’t be sure.

    So what is my best bet here, wash all my clothes in hot water and dry in hot and then seal up until I move into the new place? I’m not even taking much furniture with me, but I’m slightly concerned about my bed as it’s the only other thing I’m taking that is fabric and could potentially be a home to larvae.

  23. I have not been on here for a while but came back to say don’t lose hope! I seem to be winning the war with the moths at the moment. I steam cleaned my carpet, washed and ironed all of my clothes, soft toys etc etc and was getting really down about it as I kept finding moths flying on a daily basis. I bought insecticide spary online and after spraying under the carpets, round the skirting boards approx 5 weeks ago I have not seen any more moths. I was advised to do a re-spray after about 30 days and have just done this over the last few days. Will keep you posted!
    p.s. I never did find the ‘source’ of the problem…although I found lots of moth cases under my bed I did not find any visable clusters of eggs.

  24. Hello everyone,

    I thought I would share what I have done to get ours under control with only occasional sightings in the past few months. Chemical products alone did not work. In combatting what became an obsessional daily massacre, I have spent about £60 on a steam mop, vacuum bags and sticky pheromone traps (and many hours cleaning) in preference to £1000s as a lifelong Rentokil regular.

    1) ISOLATION
    All natural fibre clothes are in resealable plastic bags.

    Our natural fibre clothes in daily use are in resealable freezer bags and labelled.

    Anything for seasonal storage (including shoes) is washed and put in large sealed vacuum bags. You can buy them in Poundland and they’re strong and airtight.

    2) STEAM CLEAN AND HOOVER
    I bought a steam mop in Robert Dyas (£30) and mop everywhere after hoovering everywhere as I believe the steam will at least kill larvae, if not eggs and moths.

    3) STICKY TRAPS
    Place as many sticky pheromone moth traps as you can face dotted about the house and in wardrobes (mine bought from ebay “bugbusters” about £1 per trap incl. postage). They DO NOT CATCH all moths, some of which will sit 1cm away from the trap without actually going for it, but they’re great for monitoring and some dead moths are better none.

    4) CHEMICALS?
    Since the day we discovered them I went straight out and spent a terrific amount of money putting Rentokil moth killer strips everywhere, only to see moths crawling over them without dying, and the moth population increased overall while we were trying the chemical only route. Similarly we’ve had moth balls in every nook and cranny early on (napthalene) yet a moth was crawling over a jumper that stank of that horrible mothball smell. However, I won’t rule out that without the chemicals my problem might be worse and it may be that only the strong moths survive the smell, so I would still recommend use of chemicals but with the sticky traps and isolation.

    5) SAY NO TO WOOL CARPET
    My dreams of beautiful Persian rugs have been replaced with a moth free world (our carpet is synthetic, but I tihnk if you have moths, the carpet really should be the first thing to go as there’s no way of isolating the problem, it can only spread/feed them. Let’s face it, are you really going to be sure to clean under everywhere at least monthly?)

    CONCLUSION
    I really think the key is removing or isolating anything that they might eat. This is preventative by removing their food source, rather than chemicals which just seem to be reactive. Alas they will never go away while they can eat the hair between floorboards etc, but by restricting their food to this, you’ll keep their numbers down.

    NOTE:
    Moths eat protein, found in natural fibres, so will eat amongst other things: viscose, wool types, cotton, silk, sisal, leather, hair, skin. They will eat wool blend items as well. My boyfriend’s 50% wool – polyester blend coat was properly munched.

    ABOUT OUR PROBLEM
    I think we’re “under control” though without moving no thanks to my other half who, despite my battling them daily and him losing a beloved coat and various sweaters, > 1 year later thinks they will magically go away. Anna B, be firm and try and persuade him to support you! They’re harmless healthwise, but a nightmare to control once they set in, and from our experience/extensive research if it’s not a proper infestation now, it only takes a couple of months and you’re swarmed with them.

    We too moved into an already infested flat. The population was initially very low thanks to all these green plastic killer strips from the previous tenants. However, to us they looked like fresheners, and the population has since ballooned as they’ve munched through merino sweaters & cardigans, wool coats and cashmere socks. Landlord denying all responsibility or knowledge. It’s a grey area, and fair enough it’s not negligence on his part as far as I can see – I would be more inclined to go after the previous tenants.

  25. Hello again!

    Time for me to ask for advice!

    In summary, I plan to hire out a freezer van for removal to freeze everything we own. Is this wise? is there a better bet?

    We plan to move flat (we also have a mice visiting regularly, wooly bears and really awful neighbours) and would like to ensure that we do not bring any moths or wooly bears with us to the new place. Apart from planning to destroy any potential bugs in the new place before we move in, I’m also thinking along the lines of freezing everything we own to ensure we don’t being it with us.

    What do you guys think of hiring out a freezer van and using it as a removal van? It’s about the same price as professional spraying, but with the benefit that we’d get to freeze everything we own to “guarantee” we don’t reintroduce the problem to the new place.

    I’ve read others here mention the moths moved with them as I am fearing – even with clothes isolated, there’s always the risk of eggs stuck to a bag or something which we introduce to the new place (the ever moth-unhelpful boyfriend suggested they’ll magically die anyway when we move. Apparently moths even damage relationships! I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to punch him more.)

    Anyway, I envisage parking it packed and freezing for the recommended 3-4 days with all our stuff in it and then moving in when it’s moth free.

    What do you guys think? my boyfriend thinks it’s too much effort and borderline crazy, but he’s played little part in our battle and he’s very good at burying his head in the sand when it comes to “real world” issues.

    It is a little mad, but then I’m very keen to eliminate them.

    Will this work? Any reason why it wouldn’t?
    My first thought is that freezing might not actually kill them all and that some can “hibernate”. Anyone know?

    Can anyone think of any other way to ensure we don’t bring them with us?

    Even if we smoke bomb the removal van, there’s surely a risk that they’ll be in a waterproof jacket pocket or something the smoke doesn’t penetrate.

    Also there’s freezing in batches, but then we won’t find a freezer big enough for bigger things, and surely with batches you can’t get certainty because things could be reinfested. With the van you “sterilise” everything in one go, no risk of reintroduction, surely?

    I would really appreciate other people’s thoughts, particularly those who have suffered so understand better the extremeness of lengths I am prepared to go to to rid us of them!

    Thank you for your help!
    also good luck with your moth ridding!
    Gemma

  26. Hi Gemam the Mothslayer! Hiring a freezer van sounds very extreme – and expensive :0 You’d only need a few to survive, or for one to fly in through a window and you’d have moths all over again. I don’t think there is anyway to guarantee you don’t bring them with you.

    Maybe it would be better to spend your effort/money on making your new home unwelcoming to moths by making sure that it has no unnecessary natural fibres, keeping unneeded clothes sealed away, and making sure there are no little holes / dark spaces where they can lay their eggs.

    Good luck with the move – hope you manage to leave the moths behind.

  27. So I have come to the realization that I do have some clothes moths but the larvae that I’ve primarily been finding is actually from carpet beetles (at least I think– I’m no professional). It seems like they do the same kind of damage and I think are actually often found together.

    I’m really not as concerned about my clothes as I am about my furniture– mainly my bed. There aren’t any signs of an infestation but how am I supposed to know for sure? Does anybody know if carpet beetles infest areas other than carpet?

  28. I have re-read the comments above as just wanted to get the name of an insecticide and came across the new comments. I just wanted to say to whoever reads this – if you see moths flying around – you have a problem – I too didn’t think much of it when saw a couple of moths flying around in May and now have a really bad problem. The problem is that once you see the little critters, they are already in doing damage somewhere. I have found holes in clothes and to date have only found one larvae in the casing. As a result of a suggestion from one of the comments above, after weeks of trying everything else, I purchase the diatomaceous earth and whilst I have only used it in one room and the hallway so far, there has been a marked decrease in moths. It’s white so looks dreadful on the carpet in hallway but it seems to be working so I don’t care! I tackled the spare room properly last week and found holes in the mattress there and since I removed it, I haven’t seen another moth in there since, so perhaps that was the source in that room! (If you suspect they are in the mattress lift it up and inspect it properly as I didn’t some weeks ago and regret not doing that now as there are definite holes chewed in the side. No further moths in our bedroom either, so perhaps the diatomaceous earth is the way to go??? I think hiring the freezer van is a great idea – I too would try anything not to bring them with us as we are looking to move and I am so worried about brining everything – I would be so tempted to just ditch everything we own at this stage and move – it’s that bad!!! I am definitely seeing less moths and just for the new people this is what I did and hope it’s helpful:
    * Forensically Hoovered twice a week – used narrow hoover nozzle for under skirting boards and in between cracks in floorboards – moved all furniture and made sure to cover every inch of each room

    *Emptied every stich of clothing we owned from cupboards, wardrobes etc and washed at 60c (I know it says 50c but did that months ago and it didn’t seem to work so maybe the washing cycle doesn’t stay at 50c long enough??)

    *Hoovered every corner of every cabinet, cupboard and wardbrobe to remove any eggs (still don’t think have seen any but am doing this anyway)

    *Hung the wardbrobe moth strips in every wardrobe
    *put cedar balls down the bottom of every wardrove

    *Ironed everything inside and out as this kills every stage of the moth cycle apparently
    (I stored washed clothes in bags in the sitting room until I get a chance to iron them)

    *Stored all washed and ironed,unworn clothing into vacuum bags

    *Close all doors at all times to help prevent them moving (although they can crawl under doors and through the sides it just helps)

    Now that my son is back to school I am going to complete the diatomaceous earth process in every room and hopefully this will work but there is a marked reduction in moths since I did all of the above and only see a couple a week now as apposed to 5 to 6 every day!

    Will report back in a month to say if all this worked.

  29. Hi, I’ve been reading about all the problems people have been having, so I thought I’d tell my ‘good’ story in the hope that it will help someone.
    We had a bad carpet moth infestation soon after we moved into our flat (3 years ago). We had lots of moths flying around and finally tracked the problem to the edges of the wool carpets in both bedrooms and the sitting room. There were quite big areas eaten in hidden areas of the carpet. We found loads of white larvae between the carpet gripper and the skirting board. Initially we hoovered all the ones we could find, pulling the carpet up and hoovering the ones attached to it and then disposing of the hoover bag immediately. It seemed to do the trick for a little while then it all started again. So I did some searching online and found this product http://www.pestcontrolshop.co.uk/acatalog/Protector-C-1-Litre__323.html. (I have no connection with this company/website at all.)We did the hoovering up of the larvae again, and then carefully sprayed all around the edge of the rooms that were affected. It was a horrid job and took ages. We followed that up with spraying again about three weeks later – when we saw a couple of moths. After that we didn’t see any more moths. We did replace the wool carpet in the sitting room for a synthetic one but we still have the wool carpets in the bedrooms. That was almost three years ago and although we check every few months by pulling up the carpet round the edges from the gripper and hoovering any dust out we haven’t seen any more moths or larvae. I also sprayed the bottom of our wardrobe and other cupboards with the same spray.

    The same company I got the spray from also do a clothes moth kit, although I can’t tell you anything about that as I didn’t use it.

    The idea someone said about hiring a freezer van is not so far out. One of the recommended things for toys etc is to put them in a chest freezer for a week.

  30. Hi All,

    We had the same problems….carpet moths. They ate all the carpet from under the wardrobe, and were spreading around the bed as well. You can imagine our shock when we discovered it.
    After reading several comments here we tried the bleach and water combination but we also added crystal soda to this mix to be even more deadly.
    We sprayed this around all effected areas and are monitoring every day if they are coming back or not.
    Apart from one or two larva here and there we found that it has been effective. Although we also vacuum more often now, but it seems like it worth a try and hoping for the best!!
    I hope this helps!

  31. Hi there, I too have read all these posts with interest and have been suffering a similar plight with moths. Ours have originated from my mums house (she got them from a sofa upholsterers), she gave me a wool blanket and frankly the thought never occurred to me that it may have been infested… Anyway, it’s been about 3 months since we saw the first ones. Gradually the numbers increased that were flying around at dusk (probably seeing about 3 or 4 a night) and I found a couple in the aforementioned blanket. Since then we have washed everything, curtains, blankets clothes and have had mad hoover all day sessions pulling out furniture. We have thrown out carpets which although had no signs of damage we felt we likely candidates. The effort has been exhausting. Eventually we called the pest controllers and they came and sprayed only once about 3 weeks ago. We saw no moths for at least 2 weeks, then I saw one when reading to the kids at the beginning of this week and since then I have found 2 dead ones laying on beds. So, what to do? Do we re-spray, or (this is wishful thinking) are these dead fellas, just roamers with no mates? We have bought x2 sets of x10 sticky pheremone traps and have never caught one yet. Why I dont know. Also, we haven’t come across ANY larvae damage or eggs yet and yes they are definately webbing moths. Any views on this would be greatly appreciated!!

  32. Hi,
    I thought I would check back to advise that I haven’t seen a moth in two months now! I am really worried though because wondering do moths hibernate, or can there be larvae chomping behind the scenes and waiting for spring, to pupate!!! Kind of good news, but just dreaming about a plague of moths hitting the house in the spring when conditions are more favourable. Does anyone know what happens in the winter? That said it has been mild this winter so far and we have had the heating on so maybe we have got rid of them. Help!!!
    Thanks. Roisin

  33. I have transferred larvae from my home to my daughter’s London flat – she is ok as they only eat MY clothes. A Brora thermal vest which I had frozen for weeks, if not months, had one hole last winter which I stitched after washing and before freezing. I then put it away for the summer in plastic bag. Wore it the other day – 2 more holes! Now,a cashmere sweater which I wore and left in bedroom has a hole. It is so stressful as the first thing I do before getting dressed is have a look at the front to see if more holes. Freezing and hot washing has not worked for me.

  34. I’ve found several patches of eaten carpet – accompanied by those tell-tale moth cases – in a rarely used room. Having done a fair bit off research now, I’d take the OP’s point about filling cracks and crevices around skirting boards [aka baseboards] very seriously. I think the explanation for ongoing recurrence – despite efforts at immaculate cleaning and constant vigilance of our carpets, cupboards and clothes – lies here. This image horrified me:

    http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2011/02/18/feeding-frenzy-case-bearing-moth-larvae-eat-dog-biscuit/

    I think the pupa primary hide-out is in cracks and crevices – in my case, behind the skirting board [aka baseboard] – another factor as to why they have a tendency to eat the carpet around the edge of the room – it’s not JUST about hiding out under furniture for sure, as I’ve had carpet eaten from the first 10cm of carpet even where there is no furniture.

    Yes, we can hoover the cracks but the problem is; these boards tend to have abundant space BEHIND them, above and beyond the crack between the skirting board and the floor. So I’m getting out the caulk gun this weekend to lay a seal of mastic in the gaps between the floor and the skirting boards. Moths aside if these gaps are also the root of chilly draughts, it’s good for home warmth too :)

    Having read up thoroughly on residual poison sprays, bombs and powders, I won’t be using them. People haven’t been finding these solutions aren’t that effective in treating infestations and more worryingly, the poisons used ARE toxic to humans and animals [if you dispute this, look further than the claims on the tin and from the supplier – the truth is out there].

    Instead I’ll be slipping on the rubber gloves and shampooing the carpet with a home-made shampoo of soapwort root [for the compound “saponin” which is insect toxic/repellant and creates suds] with the addition of various essential oils that are also repellant and/or toxic to moths. A good residue of these will be left in the cleaned carpet to prevent further problems and it’ll smell good too.

    Some people rave about diatomaceous earth but there are some health concerns to consider in both distributing this and leaving it laid around – my biggest concern is that inhalation can lead to a nasty condition called Silicosis. If the powder is too fine [i.e. food grade] it probably won’t do the job of lacerating the insect’s exo-skeleton. Conversely, the rougher powder [pool or insecticide quality] brings with it a higher risk of silicosis. Those tiny barbs in the powder that kill the insects also do your lungs no favours whatsoever, so I’ll be ignoring that solution.

    I like leaving my windows open in summer, so I’ve also ordered some net of ebay that is pretty cheap and is attached using a tape akin to sticky back velcro but less snarky in it’s grip [so easier to open and close without tearing the strip pad off the window frame or ripping the net]. This particular solution was only £3 and supplies ample net and tape to cover the windows I like to keep open. And I’ll thoroughly spray the net before I put it up, using a mist of the home-made shampoo I mentioned earlier in this post to deter the little gits from eating their way through the net.

    If you plan to employ the freezing method, ensure the temperature of your freezer is low enough and the duration of the treatment is long enough: -30 degrees for three or four days. [That tidbit of info is from a museum curator here in London who has been dealing with a moth infestation on some priceless museum pieces.]

    So. Good luck to us all! One London based pest controller says these pests are on the sharp increase as he used to get three or four clothes moth infestation call-outs a month….now he gets three or four a week. And that change is since December 2010, so quadruple the number of calls in the space of just one year?! Pretty alarming.

  35. Hi, I’ve been keeping an eye on this site as my parents had a really bad moth problem (which we think began when they bought an antique rug). They got a specialist in to sort it. They had certain items of furniture and clothes treated with heat and parts of their house sprayed. This seems to have solved the problem (we hope!). Apparently lots of clothes moth problems get started when infected clothing is brought into the home – new wool clothing etc so a tip is to freeze any new woolly purchases before putting them in the cupboard! The company they used was called mothsolutions.co.uk. I will update if they see any more moths.

  36. I have been battling moths for a couple of years – I have replaced wool carpets with synthetic ones but I am not entirely happy with synthetic products and I wonder whether anyone has experienced moths eating sisal natural flooring?

  37. Hi
    We have similar problem to those listed above. First problem about a year ago, seemed to go away. Back in different room around Christmas, naively thought I’d treated it and just discovered more in another room…
    Thanks for all the advice above, I will be trying some of it.
    I am pregnant and want to avoid any chemical treatments. A google search brought up a company selling a borax based treatment which they claim is not harmful to humans and very successful treating moth, larvae and egg infestations. I haven’t seen it mentioned here and wonder if anyone’s used it or heard of it?
    Bloody moths…

  38. Ugh, I’ve been researching clothes moths online today and the results have been pretty depressing!

    I’ve noticed a couple of moths here and there over the last month or so, and even though I knew they were clothes moths I didn’t think much of it, more fool me. After getting rid of about four moths yesterday then spotting a couple more this morning, I decided to have a look to see what people were saying online which prompted me to get the hoover out.

    This is the part where I realise that seeing just a few moths around doesn’t mean there’s not more… I’ve upped my moth-death total (as much as I hate killing things) to about 20 today, after finding out that their current hang-out was under my bedside table! I’m utterly gutted. I found a few larvae, but most of what’s left is webbing and holes in the carpet, joy! I then moved the little chest of drawers not far from the bedside table and, lo and behold, another couple of bits of webbing. I haven’t checked under the bed yet, but I’m going to wait until my boyfriend is around tomorrow night… if it’s anything like under the bedside table I don’t know if I could handle it!

    Fortunately, as others have mentioned, they don’t seem to have bothered with any of our clothes. However, since I’d had some piles of clothing lying out since I moved in at the start of the year waiting for me to “get round” to putting them away (bad move), I’ve declared war and am in the midst of washing everything at 50 degrees, and freezing anything else that can’t do a hot cycle for 12 hours. I’m surrounded in piles of clothes waiting for their turn to wash or freeze!

    I’m so sad that these pesky little things have invaded my flat. In my last flat we had carpet beetles for years, but one day’s worth of finding cloths moths has revealed much more damage than years of carpet beetles, even though they’re apparently harder to get rid of. We thankfully only have carpets in two rooms, but have rugs made of natural fibre too. I’m hoping that having found a pretty obvious location of where they’re breeding means I’ll be able to keep numbers down, but I haven’t even checked the spare room yet (thanks to turning the bedroom upside down today).

    Anyway, it was helpful to read everyone’s comments and advice, despite the fact that it sounds like this is going to be a long battle. Best of luck to all with getting rid of the moths!

  39. *****IMPORTANT INFO – A MUST READ*****
    A good read for those with heavy infestations like me :(

    I came across this site about a month ago and wanted to do some research before adding my own comments.

    I too am being attacked by these little f****** (clothes moths). I’ve had them in my bedroom for MANY years but it was only recently I found out just how deadly they are! I never knew these tiny creatures could do so much damage!!

    I have the holes in my carpet (only: fortunately, they are not attacking my clothes) and have seen the worms (larvae) in the carpet but I just thought my carpet was old and rotting away, lol!

    Now that I know what the cause (of the holes in the carpet) are, after VERY THOROUGH research (staying up as late as 7am some nights!), Ive found a perfect solution and very good websites against combatting clothes moths (and their larvae which is most important for me!)

    PURCHASES:
    1. Boric Acid dust (very cheap on eBay).
    Most highly rated insecticides contain Boric Acid which is known AND proven to KILL clothes moths (and their larvae)!
    Its dangerous when ingested (as are window cleaners, bleach etc) but is generally not considered to be much more toxic than table salt!
    2. Stapro Insecticide.
    For use on carpets, upholstery fabrics and hard surfaces. Simply spray on the surface and allow to dry naturally.
    Contains Cypermethrin; a synthetic pyrethroid (pyrethrum/pyrethrin) which means that it remains effective for longer than organic pyrethrum.
    Cypermethrin is among the most popular insecticide concentrates used to target (and KILL) clothes moths (and their larvae)!
    3. Pure Essential Oils (has to be pure oil!)
    Ive purchased Lavender (but you can also get Lavandin which is slighter better because its stronger but they both smell the same apparently), Citronella, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Cedarwood (Himalayan, good for larvae) and Vetiver (previously known as moth root!) There are other oils that repel/kill clothes moths eg Pennyroyal, Tansy (both are good for larvae), Peppermint etc but they were either more expensive or harder to source.
    4. Other useful bits eg dust mask, hard broom, marigold gloves (when handlng the acid as it can cause irritation to sensitive skin).

    PLAN OF ACTION (aggregated from my research):
    -Vacuum the room – under furniture, in corners etc. Be sure to empty the bag after use and (ideally) use a vacuum with a rotating brush to dislodge the eggs/larvae.
    -Sprinkle (lightly) the boric acid onto the carpet, in cracks/corners etc.
    -With a hard brush, push the acid into the carpet (good for those like me who cant or dont want to get under the carpet). Then with a softer brush, brush the carpet back and forth for even spread.
    -Spray the Stapro Insecticide on the carpet/infected area and leave to dry naturally BEFORE placing furniture back.
    -DO NOT VACUUM FOR AT LEAST 14 DAYS (a must do the Stapro Insecticide to function as intended).
    -I will also make my own homemade repellants using the pure essential oils and cotton balls. You can also use cedar chips but I have tons of cotton wool that I havent used for years! The smell HAS to be strong for maximum effect so I would STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST dried leaves, cedar balls/wood or flower bags (that you can squeeze to refresh the aroma), UNLESS a)you have an essential oil to add to the intensity b) you have fine sandpaper to sand the cedar balls/wood every now and again.
    You can either throw the cotton balls in corners, the wardrobe etc or make your own flower bag using additional muslin, cotton or silk and ribbon which you can hang.

    I’ll spray my carpet with the Stapro Insecticide every 2 weeks and use the Boric Acid every 6 months.

    OTHER INFO
    -Boric Acid is residual (lasts 200+ days)
    -Stapro Insecticide is non residual (must be reapplied because it lasts for 14 days max)
    -For heavy infestations (like me), professionals tend to treat the infected area with a residual insecticide followed by a non resiudal insecticide for maximum effect ;)
    -You wont see results for 2-3 months :(
    -Clothes moth ONLY appear in LOW Summer/Winter so only open your windows in HIGH Summer/Winter

    RESIDUAL INSECTICIDE PRODUCTS (with top reviews)
    Boric Acid (or anything that lists it as an ingredient)
    Suspend SC (USA)
    Demand CS (USA)
    Perma Dust (USA)

    NON-RESIDUAL INSECTICIDE PRODUCTS (with top reviews)
    CB 80 Extra (USA)
    565 Plus XLO (USA)
    SWAK Insecticide Aerosol (UK)
    Stapro Insecticide (UK)
    Anything that contains PYRETHRUM (/PYRETHRIN) or CYPERMETHRIN

    N.B: I have not applied the above method yet (still waiting to receive the items in the post) so there are NO GUARANTEES! BUT – I have done THOROUGH EXTENSIVE research for A WHOLE MONTH so there is a VERY HIGH probability this will work!

    As I have been affected by this for many years without realising the extent of what damage they can cause (and have been causing), I was specifically looking for products that KILL THE EGGS/LARVAE. Flying moths are adults – it is their babies ie larvae that cause the damage! They are attracted to many things that contain keratin, including UNCLEAN wool ie dusty/unused/dark hidden areas for carpets/rugs or sweat marks/food stains on clothes – they are NOT attracted to CLEAN wool or synthetics!!

    The products mentioned above (in the UK, not 100% certain about the ones in the US) are PROVEN to kill clothes moths (and their larvae) and the essential oils are to repel the f****** (adults) from invading my bedroom and laying their offspring in my woollen carpet – and at the same time have a lovely smelling room :D

    Please also note: I own my home (freeholder), Im not pregnant and I dont have any kids or pets. Some of the above products are harmful to kids, pets and pregnant women so please do your own research first!

    Just like the Original Poster (OP) said, KNOW YOUR ENEMY! I know for a fact that I am dealing with clothes moths but you may be infected with another type of moth ie diamondback moths so you will have to do your own inspection and research!

    This is a VERY LOW COST method. You really DONT need to pay big money to get a professional because even though they say they can guarantee success, clearly this is NOT the case (as seen by the OP’s story plus many others on here/other forums!) Plus, you can always seek professional advise online – the internet is your friend :)

    I have come across a number of threads such as this where sufferers have successfully combatted clothes moths themselves eg using homemade repellants. If this DOESNT work for me, I only have MYSELF to blame and at the same time, I would have only spent little to nothing in the process! Plus, I can use the products for other means eg the oils are known to relieve stress, improve concentration etc; boric acid can be used to treat yeast and fungal infections, prevention of athlete’s foot etc so no money wasted – only time and energy!

    USEFUL LINKS
    1) http://www.ehow.com/search.html?s=boric+acid&skin=home&t=all
    2) http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pest-Control-1500/2009/12/mystery-insect-larvae.htm (Pest Control Experts)
    3) http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/boric-acid-c-114_122.html (info on Boric Acid, Cypermethrin and Pyrethrum/Pyrethrin)
    4) http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=OTEREwtL6dIC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA148&ots=ZPuRm8ln1m&dq=kill+moth+larvae+in+carpet+essential+oil&output=html_text

    *I have bookmarked this page and will be sure to do a follow up of my progress in 1-2 years. I will also be reviewing this page to see others comments*

    WISHING EVERYONE HERE (AND WHO READS THIS) ALL THE BEST IN GETTNG RID OF THESE F******!

  40. I would like to add a bit of philosophy to all those in a state of panic. However, before that I want to say that I am thankful for all the internet material. Had I looked online sooner and fully
    understood the life cycle I could have saved myself much grief (just starting). I took too long to get rid of my grandmothers antique coat and believe it contaminated other things.

    I believe that the window screens are probably key to preventing reinfestation.

    Remember that most things which kill pests are poisoness to humans and pets.
    This includes chlorine bleach and with this be sure to open windows. I find it leaves a remnant smell on clothes.

    I have found nothing but suspect that isopropyl alcohol would reduce or destroy eggs and larvae
    depending on quantity. I would try with a sprayer with windows open and no flames around. You could soak a garment but too risky as far as flammability and smell until it tries. It is both flammable and somewhat toxic so open windows, and make sure no open flames or cigarettes. Chlorine is very toxic, and I believe flammable too.

    Even most essential oils can be toxic in sufficient quantity…most have phenols. No one has mentioned sage smudging which I believe could work as sage repells. I wonder if other incense might work. Traditionally people washed clothes in hot water and borax. Anyone pregnant or trying to become pregnant should be especially wary of almost everything except steam, soap and hot water (do your research). Better to accept holes than have a miscarriage.

    Someone brought up ironing which sounds good. I have wondered about a hand-held steamer for clothes.

    Ironically, the sweater that was most eaten is the only one which has been both dry cleaned and washed (though not in hot water until yesterday).

    I have to put blame on the clothing makers too. I never see women’s clothing that is hot water wash whereas most men’s clothing is.

    Now for the part which many will not like: I have always seen holes in my clothes as a condemnation of my greed (I didn’t know anyone still had wool carpet so this is a different case, but wood floors are always better). The Bible says clearly to lay up your treasures in heaven and NOT on earth “where moth and ruin will corrode”. It says to give away your second coat. Most web sites concur that if you have one coat (or more if frequently worn) and suits used routinely that the movement will shake off the eggs and larva. When I wore my wool suits daily in a hot humid climate I never got moth holes. Since I no longer wear the suits they have gotten holes. I feel pity for someone who gets a hole in a suit they need for work. None for someone who would pay 500 pounds for a sweater. Even cashmere can be had fairly cheaply now. This is just food for thought…not to make you feel worse. At least it is not bed-bugs, fleas, or lice which bite humans and which I am terrified of. Or, mice and rats which carry disease and chew holes. I have heard of pets eating clothes too. Maybe we need to learn to take the moths a bit in stride, while doing the best to minimize them. I always thought they are like death and taxes. I will certainly do all I can, with the good advice, to minimize them but have no hopes of eliminating them. I am a bit sad because I just got hooked on wool as it is not flammable and is resistent to dustmites and many other bad things.

  41. Hi everyone! I need so help/advice! Over the past couple of weeks i have been noticing moths :-C i have been killing them as they appear but they are increasing,i am now killing up to 5 a night!!! I looked in my second set of drawers the other day and found a few crawling along my clothes (this set of drawers contain clothes i don’t wear) i have decided since seeing them there to get rid of the clothes and drawers themselves which I’ll be doing today! However i am petrified of what I’ll find! I hate bugs! I think I’ll have a nervous break down if i see larvae and eggs! Last night i came so close to not sleeping in my bedroom because of them but in the end slept in there because i have a baby and sleeping on the sofa wouldn’t have been fair! But i am disgusted to say the least at these things in my bedroom!

    We live in a ground floor flat and my bedroom gets damp and mould in the bad weather,could this be why they are in my bedroom? Where do they come from@ I’ve yet to see any carpet or clothe damage,the moths are a Cream/gold sort of colour with white near their heads! What can i do? I am petrified of investigating this afternoon. Help!! X

  42. I have the same moths as the above post. They are white shouldered house moths and from what iv read eat all sorts as they are scavengers! Pet hair, crumbs, dead skin urgh! allsorts! I can’t find the source but have seenb increasing numbers in my bedroom which means I am now sleeping on the sofa!! I’m terrified to say the least and have spent today filling the gaps around my skirting boards after I poured ant and crawling insect killer down cracks. If I’m seeing around 5 a day howcome I can’t find larvae or eggs? Could they be under the skirting or floor boards??

  43. I have had the same problem managing to get rid of them once only for them to come back again two years later.

    I used a combination of spray and traps (i used Zero diamond moth traps and Rentokil Insectrol) and so far have had nearly a hundred adults moths on the trap in less than three weeks. Pretty disgusting. After leaving the problem for too long, and waking up with a clothes moth inside my ear I decided enough was enough! so this weekend I will try first by cleaning everything thoroughly. I haven’t seen any larvae or casings and no clothes eaten either so i suspect they are eating carpet! Then I will apply the spray and keep putting the pheromone traps to catch the adults before they mate.I guess by previous posts that this won’t go away soon, and a sytematic approach over a few months will do the trick. Interestingly when i went to buy the Insectrol three other people were buying clothes moth stuff so clearly i’m not the only one. (I live in London by the way)> hopefully will have a success story to write in the next few weeks. Any don’t despair, although they are incredibly annoying and bit disgusting to have around, a moth in my ear was about the worst it got and I had no adverse effects from that. I figure the only way is up from here! :)

  44. I’m addressing this post specially to Rebecca (March 2nd, 2012)who asked if moths eat sisal. Yes, they do – in my house, at any rate! All the edges of my newly-laid sisal flooring (purchased at great expense shortly before Christmas 2011)are in a frayed and chewed-up state.

    I spent a lot of time last summer and autumn trying to combat those carpet moths. I tried neem oil (failed). I tried chestnuts aka conkers (failed). I tried various peronome traps (failed). In May 2011, I replaced my sitting room flooring with bamboo. Problems was that there is still some old, possibly infested, carpet underneath a heavy built-in bookcase which I had installed in the room in April 1999 after I moved into this house. It’s possible that the moths were already in my house at this stage. The eggs have hatched and moths are emerging from underneath the bookcase and also from underneath the new skirting boards.

    I had the rest of my old moth-eaten wool carpets replaced just before Christmas 2011. Many people assured me, including the carpet salesman, that my moths would not eat their way through tough, plant-based sisal. In April I was beginning to suspect that the edges of the sisal were looking untidy. By May most of the new sisal floorcovering was frayed at the edges and there were just as many moths in my house as last year. Last week, my significant other and I sealed the gaps between skirting board and sisal with silicone sealant. Please don’t tell me that the moths will eat their way through this sealant too!

  45. Bit of an update! We threw out the set of drawer and had a good Hoover! We had 2 that night,which I’m guessing we disturbed them! Didn’t see any for a few nights then saw 2! We lifted our mattress and hovered underneath and a few were on my mattress!!! Cringe!!!! I slept on the sofa that night!! Anyway since then we’ve only had 2 every other night except one night we had 4! I still haven’t found any larvae or eggs, and I’ve just cleaned the carpets. I’ve noticed the assert edges are looking a little eaten maybe :-|

    anyway i contacted my landlady twice who didn’t get back to me so we are now moving. But how i can i ensure there horrible things don’t come with us? As i was packing yesterday i dared to look in a boxunderneath the bed and there was 2 in there,so i am throwing everything underneath in the bed,also throwing everything in the built in cupboard (just in case). I slept in the living room again last night and probably will be until ourmove next week. I can’t take it anymore its seriously creeping me out!

    But i really don’t want to take them to the new house,how can i make sure i don’t take them with us?

    Oh i also tried lavender moth calls and a rentokill moth trap that didn’t work!! I’ve told the other half he can do under the bed the day before we move so they don’t come out before then!!!

  46. Here’s an update to last week’s post. I’ve sealed the gaps between sisal and skirting board with silicone – but those moths are still not beaten! Myriads of moths have managed to find an exit route through the back of the built-in bookcase in my bedroom and are eating their way through my books!!! (I found countless larvae cases between the chewed-up pages; a cleanout last Christmas revealed literally thousands of larvae cases in the documents and papers in my filing cabinet.)

    Amazing: the larvae seem to like the paper more than my clothes, which they haven’t attacked this year.

    Will they ever go away or are they to be my lifetime companions?

  47. Well after swatting an average of 2 per evening this week we decided to start an investigation of where they were originating from. To my absolute horror an entire family were living inside my UGG boots which as you know are lined with sheepskin …..The other half has sprayed them inside with fly spray and I’ll be ordering stronger stuff off the web tonight … I am mortified and don’t think I can face putting my feet inside my lovely boots again …….

  48. I don’t know if we have a problem or not?! My boyfriend has had a few small holes in the front of a couple of his cotton t-shirts – but he is careless and could easily be making these holes himself. We might have one or two or no moths seen in the house of an evening, but that is usually after having the window open until 7-8ish at night. These moths do not all look the same and they tend to sit on a wall until I kill them. Because I was worried about getting a moth problem, I did an incredibly thorough clean and inspection of the house and found 1 live moth hiding in a wicker box – I have now got rid of the box, 1 dead moth under a book case, 1 live moth hiding in a picture rail, and 1 dead larvae with casing squashed on the bottom of the power pack for my stereo, but no other casings or larvae. What I want to know is does seeing a moth or two in the house in the summer definitely mean you have a problem or are they just coming in looking for somewhere to live and breed, but failing to find anywhere?

  49. This is for Katie. We did all the right things, including spraying and checking all of our clothes. We moved four months ago and thought we had beat the problem. Found a moth on the wall last night. It’s a new home so we definitely bought them with us. I’m devestated. Hope you have better luck.

  50. Jeanne,sorry to hear you’ve found another! If you had brought them with you,would they not have appeared before now? Well after throwing that box underneath the bed we saw no more and no more when the rest of under the bed was cleared. However when i was packing clothes out of our drawers i found 2 dead moths but no eggs,larvae or live moths so I’m guessing they weren’t there. But I’m washing everything on a 60° just to be safe. Anyway just nuns a week into our new home and no(touch wood) we’ve had nothing. I don’t even open the windows now cause I’m too afraid!!!! Every bit of clothing is getting washed before its put away just to be safe. I’m hoping this is the end. I seriously won’t be able to handle it if i see one!!

  51. Total nightmare! These little things are causing chaos!

    I have had the problem four about six months. My friend has also been infested. We both have ONE drawer each which appears to b the problem!

    We have tried just about everything! I am atmy wits end.

    Haven’t found the eggs or larvae or anything just holes! They don’t stick on anything I have put out. We have only found about two moths each in the six months.

    Came back from holiday this week out my new top on that I bought on holiday and by the end of the day – big moth hole!

    Nothing else appears to be effected – yet. Will Hoover, spray bomb etc again but not expecting much. Ended up crying today just so frustrated.

  52. Hi, I sympathize completely as we are engaged in a battle to the death! We have found the best way to kill a moth is to approach it from 90 degrees to the moth’s body in a direct line and to squash the head or as much of the body as possible. In other words if the moth is on a vertical wall, approach steadily in a horizontal plane from directly behind it. Somehow they don’t seem to notice you so quickly. Try to avoid gusts of air accompanying your swat. If you miss they have a clever way of dropping to the floor. If you look around carefully you may see them there, but they usually start up the wall again pretty soon.

    Hope this is helpful.
    Joanna

  53. You can fight them, but it takes dedication.

    1) Kill all you see.
    2) Get a good vacuum cleaner. Use the crevice tool on ALL carpet edges. Get a hoover with good HEPA filter or similar. You don’t want to use the hoover as a magic moth egg spreading device do you?
    3) The reproductive cycle is fixed, use it to your advantage. Hoover regularly, 100% coverage, with military efficiency. If you become lax, it allows a cycle to complete. Monthly isn’t good enough. Think of your house as the Forth bridge, finish hoovering one part, move on, keep hoovering.
    4) Leave nothing unturned. You need to move EVERY piece of furniture methodically and use the crevice tool where the feet were. There may be eggs here.
    5) and this is important: on insecticide.
    Most insecticides are either pyrethrin, or synthetic versions. You should not be afraid of these but you should use them efficiently and appropriately. Things to note:
    – moth killer sprays are aerosol, intended for flying insects. Don’t bother – just kill ones you see with a newspaper or swat.

    – moths can be killed by any pyrethrin or synthetic pyrethrin. They all work. Choose your insecticide carefully. I had incredible success with insecticides meant for household fleas. The main reason: application. The flea sprays are intended for carpet in hand pump sprays. Deltamethrin is extremely powerful yet (largely) safe for humans, and remains active for some days or weeks so has a lasting protective effect which I can confirm having seen dying/dead moths days after application [use sparingly at known moth locations, as you would for fleas. Follow instructions.]
    Permethrin is available as a “shake n vac” style flea powder, almost a sand consistency. Useful too.
    Research your moth type, research insecticides. Research everything. Knowledge is power.

    6) You can beat them. It’s all about being methodical, efficient and dedicated. Don’t give them a break.

  54. We spread diatomaceous earth in every nook and cranny of our house last year. This spring I have already seen a few moths. I doubt the effectiveness of diatomaceous earth. One pest controller told me about Dione. I have not tried it yet. The problem with most of the chemicals including moth balls is that they are harmful to human health and will eventually end up killing you too. Breathing in DE is bad too. Are you guys wearing masks when spreading it? Just a dreadful problem!

  55. I too am fighting these nasty creatures. I am so upset and stressed by this that I dont have the words for it.I just want my house back. A pest company said they can do a combination of a heat pod (where they heat your suspect furniture up) and spraying. They also do a heat treatment in which they heat up the entire house. Has anyone used this method ? I notice no one has mentioned using their dryer to heat them up as several companies said this should keep them out of your clothes/sheets etc ? Im in the process of putting everything through the dryer to see if it works

  56. Hi. This weekend I too have discovered we have a problem with clothes moths. Not had any flying about only 2 which i have killed, but discovered casings/larvea and eaten carpet under a large wardrobe in the bedroom. We pulled out all the furniture in our bedroom and inspected our clothing (which doesnt appear to have been touched) and have hoovered, steam cleaned all along the skirting boards bottoms and washed the insides of wardrobes etc and as well as cleaning with bleach then have sprayed Insectrol all along the skirts and crevices carpet area. Can anyone advise if the casings are generally where the eggs have been laid? I think they are the casemaking kind as casings appear to habe karvea inside. Found the odd casing behind my wardrobe but no damage to carpet. I am so bamboozled by all the posts and info out there and feel so upset about it all I can’t stop crying about it. I plan to repeat the process in 2 weeks and am starting in the living room next day off I get cleaning and spraying as a method of prevention. :-(

  57. Hi Suzie, That sounds like a good plan. Id definitely spray it into the wardrobe and any cupboards in the bedroom though aswell. I wouldnt be sure about the casings being where the eggs have laid. to be honest I havent a clue. Sorry to hear youre so upset but Im relieved in one sense to hear that someone is as bamboozled and upset as I am about it. Im completely bamboozled and upset too. I thought I was the only one. They may not appear to have touched your clothes but I would put as much as you can thru the dryer as a precaution. Put them into bin bags first though.if you dont have a dryer do it in the launderette not someone elses house or you may be giving them a present of it. Im on a day off today and I have all my clothes going through the dryer as we speak. However Im convinced there is a way to beat them as post 56 above says.Im clinging onto this. There has to be a way .We’ll the beat the little feckers yet !

  58. Hi there, I have a few questions for specific people who commented…

    RICH post no. 46 etc from 2009…. Did RENTOKIL sort the problem out at the end? I am thinking of getting th pros but want to know of success rate…

    MAGGIE from post no. 30… Thank you so much for the success story… It gives me certainty some conform… Sre you still moth free? II used protected C too but still seeing moths, just 1-2 every 2-3 weeks… I think they are hiding under skirting boards (we have wool carpets), and behind the carpets along the stair way (especially the vertical bits where there are bigger gaps between carpet and the wood base..).
    HOW CAN YOU GET RID OF ANY EGGS, LARVAE ETC THAT ARE HIDING UNDER SKIRTING BOARDS IN THE GAPS ABOVE THE FLOOR.?
    CAN YOU GET TO THE ONES UNDER THE CARPT WITHOUT RIPPING CARPET OUT?

    SARAH post no. 37 from Feb 2012, did mothsolutions.com work for your parents in eradicating the moths? If so what treatment did they go through and how much ?

    MARTIN post no.13 from July 2011… Is the bleach method still proved successful over time?

    SAM IN LONDON, UK… post no.41 from April 2012… Is your borax powder approach working? I have small kids at home but will be happy to give that a go st places they def don’t get to eg. Behind furniture pushing the powder under the skirting boards… That would be a lower preference approach though as I know borax is pretty toxic.

    IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT HAS USED RENTOKIL AND CAN GIVE TESTIMONIALS on THEIR EFFECTIVENESD? They tell me that they will apply a heavy spray which will go through to down to under skirting board, and go all the way to the back of the carpet to kill the larvae there…. But really? A mist can sip all the way through???
    Or can recommend one you used which did the job in eradication (not just keep them to a low number?)

    I have small kids at home, and the on-going spraying, micro inspection, and everything else that goes with it (as all sufferers will know) is really wearing me out.

    I guess we do have to remember that they are a nuisance and causes damages, but they don’t harm us.

    Many thanks all.

  59. Some success at last ! Just to let you all know that the dryer definitely works. It kills all stages of the moth Ive discovered. I put all clothes, bedclothes,pillows,duvets, curtains,cushions, hats, bags (literally anything i could put in it)through the dryer a number of weeks ago and it has managed to get rid of them from all fabrics. Im now storing them all in vac packed bags or tightly sealed boxes for now until Im sure theyre all gone.Doing that alone has substantially reduced the numbers of them in the house and all my fabrics are safe :)

  60. Ive had a few clothes moth problems, and I use k-Orthin WG250 spray a heavy infestation and then 12 weeks later with light infestation amounts, it doesn’t target eggs or moth it self it’s targeting the grub to break the life cycle, on the bottle of k-orthrin it say it lasts upto 12 weeks so you could be running of 24 weeks of pesticide protecting your carpet hope this help ,,,Danny

  61. Hi all!!!

    Yes I also think this is the problem I have been having for the last 15mths :-( it’s now taking over my life COMPLETELY… I’m constantly cleaning from 1 room to the other n back again.. I find they like water to breed or move there eggs. I have also been havin medical problems that started about same time. I have been ADMITTED to a physic ward Feb this year due to how irritated I got having bugs under skin.. They didn’t find anything whilst I was in Hostpital for a total of 5 days, yet did they do what tests my doctor requested – hence why I don’t have an answer. Since I’ve tried a few times to get anyone to notice what I am noticing on me and around my home, without ANY luck..
    I do have worms in my carpet, walls n wooden areas. I find bunches of hair in dark corners, there is always a BAD odor either around where I am or coming from me. My scalp is the worst, 15mths ago I had BEAUTIFUL bum length blonde hair never had a problems with scalp or hair b4 this. I now have what looks like 1 side of scalp is tangling into a clump at the skin, it has only gotten worse. Started as a hair thin pimple like mark on bac of my neck. I also get dizzy spell, lack of breath, headaches, muscle aches, cramps, chiils, nerve spasms that mainly on my right side starting from the neck all the way to my feet. Mouth alcers that I didn’t realise that I had till 3 days ago (bout 2-3mths b4 I noticed my symptoms I have 5 teeth extracted in ONE DAY NO PAINKILLERS) the areas where tooth used to be are filling up with this RANK AS white cream like liquid, that I find myself spitting out.
    I can’t take this anymore, I don’t know where to go for help as I’m affraid that ill end up where I was, not that I don’t think I have any issues in life. I just know what I’m experiencing are real true symptoms and not something I’m making up for attention or anything of the sought.
    Please anyone that been thru this or no of anything about the symptoms I’ve mentioned PLEASE let me no what I can do…..

  62. ***UPDATE FROM POST 41***

    1.5 years on since my last post, and the moth infestation has definitely decreased significantly since using my homemade approach! =D They havent completely gone, but in comparison to how it was before, it is a MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT! I only have a few flying around whereas before, it was like a stampede!! :(

    PS: Im moving house in Dec 2013 and I will be sure to get wooden flooring all around the house – no carpet whatsoever lol

  63. Really glad to hear it, Sam! Moths are such a nuisance and I hope that your new house is much better! Why did you now decide to move after you have fixed the problem !?

  64. @Kevin

    Im 28 years old and lived in my family home all my life! We sold our house after a family member passed and my siblings are older then I so it was the right time to move. I didnt move coz of the moths lol, Im only getting older and cant live with my family forever.

    PS: Alot of wool carpets now come with a guarantee against moths and I went to a carpet store and they said that carpets now a days, wool carpets dont have the issue they once had before with moths so hopefully this issue has been dealt with – forever!

  65. Hello All, massive issue with moths in carpet and clothes at my parents house where I am currently living with hubby before we move into our own place. We’ve had pest control in twice but I am still finding evidence of moths e.g. carpet eaten, larvae, eggs, white powdery substance on clothes, holes on clothes and little silver or gold threads on clothing when it shouldn’t be. We are planning to paint rooms and skirting boards and the hallway and then replace some wool carpet with laminate and other wool carpet with new synthetic carpet. I’m desperate to be rid of them, it has taken over my life and I really don’t want to take them to my new home. More importantly I have elderly (80+) parents and hate seeing them go through the this. Has anyone succeeded and how long does it take before you know for sure? Will the eggs go if the carpet goes? I feel like getting rid of everything I own and starting all over again. I hate this…

  66. Will using a hot iron that has steam work on the corners of the baseboards and carpet?

    Has anyone been successfulin completely eliminating these?

    There doesnt seem to be one single success story on here =9

  67. Don’t get mad at moths – get even with the appliance of science. The life cycle of your particular moth will help you schedule a successful campaign without introducing seriously negative toxins into your life, or unnecessary work. See the link at the end to help you understand why one-off treatments are expensive and unlikely to work given the life cycle of some stages – up to 2 years and some can survive the sprays and smoke. And develop resistance to pesticides, hence the mixed reports re their effectiveness.

    You’ll find they like undisturbed areas like under the edges of carpets and in floorboard cracks under carpets which is why they keep appearing.

    Flea spray is worth considering for under carpet as it lasts well, kills the eggs and larvae which do the damage and the toxic fumes will be mostly covered by putting the carpet back.

    A steamer, ironing or a clothes dryer should help treat clothes. Freezing for 3 days takes longer.

    Sunlight causes larvae to drop off so line drying is great if you can.

    Keep clothes and carpets clean.

    Pare down your wardrobe to lessen the work or store seaonal clothes in vacuum sealed bags.

    Bash clothes around on their hangers in the wardrobe every of week or two to disturb/kill egg laying female moths.

    And hoover + turn the mattress regularly.

    Reduce humidity which they like including sweat.

    Spray under/behind things hard to move.

    Scented oils like cedar are not very effective unless reapplied too frequently for my liking.

    Despite expert opinion against them, I do use sticky traps – they only kill the males, but less breeding helps reduce numbers and catching one helps you spot another outbreak earlier so you can nip it in the bud.

    Net windows when open to prevent more coming in or you will be back at square one.

    Finally, as a bit of a clothesaholic, I sympathise with the feelings of upset and frustration when your investment in sartorial elegance is threatened or destroyed. However I realised that these feelings were draining, which in reduced my energy levels for dealing with the problem.
    Now I think of them as little creatures that are not known for carrying noxious diseases, nor do they bite people, so try not to wind up to full mosquito alert stage if you do spot them. Trust that, over time, you will reduce, then eliminate them. I’m down to one every fortnight if I slack off in the hoovering department and if I am vigilant, none at all and no recent damage. Good luck.

    http://www.pesticide.org/Alternatives/home-and-garden-toolbox/pest-solutions/clothes-moths

  68. Nobody has mentioned heat treatment. Put a Google search in for ‘heat pest control for moths’ and you will see a number of companies that will heat your whole house (after removing wax candles etc.) to the mid 50°s centigrade for several hours and that apparently gets rid of everything living, including moths in all stages from eggs to adults. It’s probably expensive and my hubby won’t consider it until he hears some independent testimonials that it works. Sounds brilliant to me, though, because our house is stuffed full of clutter and very grubby and I don’t have time to sort it out.

    Mind you, it does seem to me that it’s better to leave them a food source like dust and hairs on the carpet than force them to seek out your clothes. My most precious clothes are hanging in doorways and are generally unaffected as they are brushed aside like a bead curtain to get in and out of bedrooms. All except my precious, self designed Cape which I knitted for myself over about two years a while back (groan).

    My biggest success I think has been through using my steam generator iron on the edges of the carpets. It’s far more powerful than a steam floor cleaner and I’m not sure it matters if you leave the carpet slightly damp for a while if you’ve just killed everything off.

    So has anyone heat treated their house? I know some hotels do it regularly to stay clear of bed bugs but I’d love to know if it works in a house because this is a treatment which doesn’t require you empty all your cupboards and clean manically first!

  69. Those macro pics are so disgusting! Thank you for your advices, they will help me a lot! I saw 3 moths in my closet yesterday!

  70. The clothes moth are a horrible pest but I have managed to reduce an infestation massively remove all carpets and rugs because they have definitely invaded them they like dirty places with skin cell and hairs and oil from animals and people. I have been using a parasite to get rid of them the trichogramma wasp is a tiny parasite that attacks the moth and the most important stage the egg. The trichogramma lay their own eggs inside the moth eggs and eradicate them this way.

  71. The seemingly conflicting info that I’ve found re: clothes moths is confusing. We have them, they came into our home via a wool rug from Goodwill 2 years ago. One online info source says that they tend to stay in the room that was originally infected. We have them in every room in our place! Online info says that you rarely see them. We see them every day, flying, on drapes, on the floor…. Online info says that they avoid light. Ours don’t hang out around lights but they DO fly over and under them with no hesitation. Online info says they’ll eat cotton – or won’t eat it, depending on the web site. Online info says the larvae will eat wool, period, or that they’ll only eat dirty clothing. We have traps that catch them, so they ARE webbing moths, small, golden brown. We’re going nuts, wish we could find consistent information!

  72. We have them. They’re in our carpet near the front door. I have no idea where the actual moths are, but the larvae are literally popping out of the carpet. It’s the stuff of nightmares. I can’t relax because our flat is pretty much entirely carpeted, barring the kitchen and bathroom. We can’t put floorboards down because of the noise concern for our neighbours below.

    I’ve been hoovering the little gits like mad, but I’m getting stressed. I feel like we’re going to need to call rentokil, but I heard their rates are really high. ;;

  73. Carpet cleaning is very necessary,it protect you from many diseases.

  74. We thought we had got rid of the moths over winter, but there was the occasional adult moth on the walls every few weeks, and now the weather is warmer they seem to be coming out of the woodwork. Here are all the things we did which reduced them. You seem to have to do them all, not just one or two, and regularly, to get the reduction in numbers.

    The most important thing is to work out where they breed. Then I steam clean those areas, up to now very few weeks. You must steam clean the areas every 2-3 weeks to be sure of catching them at the egg or larval stage.

    I also put down some fine woollen rags of a pullover they seem to like to lay eggs in. I have two sets of two rags each. Every weekend I swap the ones in the freezer for the ones in their breeding areas. The rags do accumulate larvae and pupal cocoons which I shake out in the garden once the rags have been frozen.

    We have an electronic bug zapper (like a small tennis racket) which kills them on contact. If they rest on the flat bit of walls you can put the zapper completely over them then move the edge until they panic, jump up and get fried. You must make either put the bodies straight outside or make sure there are real sparks as otherwise they are only stunned and recover to fly off. The males fly and it is those which tend to rest high on walls. The females only hop, so you would expect to capture them on the floor.

    We also use “Pro-active Webbing Clothes Moth Traps” which are about 2″ x 5″ sticky strips laced with female pheromone, so trap only the males. They must be replaced every 8-10 weeks. There are other makes we use, but these are the only ones that seem to catch large numbers of male moths.

    There is one a the bottom of a large insect electronic trap, and that seems to help it to kill a lot of (presumably male) moths.

    Moths in flight are tricky because the electronic zapper is never quite to hand, so if you go get it you lose sight of them. The best solution is to steel and train yourself to cup your hands around them then kill them with finger pressure. I’m not
    fully steeled and trained, but my wife is getting the hang of it.

    We got rid of an old carpet in the cupboard under the stairs, which was almost certainly their initial breeding ground.

    In the clothes) cupboard we use transflufthrin sachets (one per half cubic metre) to kill the moths in confined spaces. These have an indicator on them when says “End” when they must be replaced.

    The trick seems to be to keep at it, steam cleaning the breeding places every week or so, and if the moth numbers are not well down the following day, then searching for a further breeding place. The good news is there are sometimes places you would expect them to breed where they don’t.

    It’s a shame – we really thought we had got rid of the moths over autumn and winter, but we relaxed too much and now have to do it all over again. This time we will keep going for two years!!

  75. We’ve had clothes moths in our place for over a year, and think they came in with a wool rug that we bought at a thrift store. We’ve thrown out rugs, cleaned, vacuumed, washed clothes and put them into sealed bags, everything, yet still have them. Moth traps (five for about $60, good for three months) have helped a lot – each trap gets FULL) but not all makes enter them and the cycle continues. Traps put out in winter were a waste of money, not a single moth went into them then. An exterminator wanted $1,200 to spray our place, providing that we do 99% of the prep work, with no guarantee that it would work. No thanks! Here’s the odd thing – we haven’t found larvae, and we haven’t seen any damage to fabric items! Has anyone else experienced this? Someone told us that they can live off hair and other things that are on the floor, behind baseboards, etc.

  76. I have a moth and I am worried that the moth will lay eggs i dont know what to do with it
    its on the carpet right now probably laying eggs right next to the closet !!!!!

  77. I have been living with these since February or March and it’s left me really depressed. I hate having to come back to my room, knowing there’s always gonna be some around, flying around or sitting on the walls.

    I’ve vaccumed the carpets which has many patches where it’s eaten. I’ve saturated the carpet with spray, used Rentokil powder twice and it really doesn’t seem to make a difference.

    Had two traps in my room, one only has two in it, the other had about 10 after a three or four weeks. Put one outside my door and one day later it had about as much the one in my room, with about 8 or 9 trapped on it.

    It feels like they follow me around which is super depressing. Like I started seeing some at work-I work in retail- and a different type of bigger moth there as well.

    I just went in my wardrobe as I was packing up in preparation for moving and there were two dead ones at the bottom of a box which is crushing as I thought maybe my clothes were safe so moving would probably solve everything. But now I’m really worried if I move they’ll just follow me. Put up another two traps, one in the wardrobe and one just near it to try and catch any more.

    I wish i’d never moved into this place because I can’t cope. I’d never had to worry about moths before moving here and now they control my life.

    It’s costing me a lot of money on the products which aren’t proving effective, in fact they’re probably having more effect on my health with all the chemicals I’m breathing in.

    I’ve had enough, it’s really draining and it makes feel like I’m crazy. I’m paying rent to live in a place I dread coming back to. It really sucks and I feel helpless. I don’t eat properly and once I’m in my room I hardly leave it out of fear that i’ll let more into my room, and I don’t want to see the ones in the hallway and kitchen. It makes me feel alone but least I know lots of other people are facing this battle.

  78. Well I just bought greenWay moth trap that captures both Male and female, lets see how it works! I also use Lavender oil sprinkled all over in areas like closet, bathroom, beds, corners and I also use a spray mixed with water and for ever one up of water ten drops of lavender do the trick. I also am using Cloves in small sachets and in plastic bowls under bed (lid free) Cloves in every linen drawer/bag along with lavender sachets, moth away sachets from bed bath and beyond.

    I plan on mopping with 50/50 water bleach as mentioned above and also apple cider vinegar.

    I have noticed I need moth traps because although my clothes are not full of holes I am now seeing the stitching is now being attacked! Could it be the clothes smell of strong herbs but the stiching maybe less scented?? so they hide inbetween fabric and double layer where scent may be harder to penetrate?? and the moths eat away at the stitching?? Clever little BUGS! Well they are unraveling my husbands boxers, my bras and under shirts mainly…. Ill be waiting on my Greenway traps and will update! I have diatomaceous earth but just am not sure I want to use that…. I have a steamer too so will be steaming walls as they have spun little cocoons in one side of the bedroom wall …. So tired!!

  79. It sounds like so many people are having a hard time with these blighters. Like you all, i have the same infestation in my 50/50 wool carpet, and it has just tonight been taken away, but to my suprise the room smelled worse, its very strong, i wonder if it is the emergency smell or something, idk, I will try mop the floor with bleach and see it the smell goes away. I have a horrible feeling that they may be nesting in my leather sofa, as it reclines and the inside is exposed. I really hope not though as that is one expense i would like to avoid. I have been thinking that i might go for a simple front room with a Japanese style , no furniture just wood ! that would sort the little buggers out ! Fight ON !

  80. i found a way to attract those flyng around, leave a used damp cloth somewhere in the room and check it periodically and you will find moths there.

  81. We have a long lasting problem. In our former flat we started to get moth holes in our most beloved cloth (of course). We thought these were due to moth as the holes were the clear moth holes. We have asked someone to treat the apartment as we couldn’t get ride of them with standard moth products. The specialist neither us have never found proof of moth in the flat. We have washed all our clothes, put them in plastic bags. It kept eating our clothes. We have now moved into a new house. And guess what we are having same problems again. We are having a very clean house, we are putting moth repellents. We have no proof of having moths, no eggs, no food, no dead moth. But we kept having new holes in our clothes, holes which cannot be made by something else than an insect. Either this is a ghost moth or this is another insect. Does anyone has a hand for us as we are hopeless? thanks a lot. Dom

  82. Thank for the information. I’ve just recently discovered these in my bedroom. I found a larvae on my wall – initially I thought it was just a piece of fluff, but then I noticed it was moving! I killed it and didn’t think much of it until I found another. I found your page very informative as I was completely unaware of what a problem these critters could be. When I inspected my room more thoroughly I found several more larvae and two living moths. I’ve hoovered the room thoroughly, but as I did this after the first was found, I think I might have to try some of the more agressive measures suggested. Wish me luck!

  83. I don’t have a moth problem, despite a large wool knitting stash, wool carpets and clothes.

    My house has no central-heating or double-glazing, just a portable LPG heater in the living room. In winter, the temperature drops to below 10 degrees C, indoors.

  84. Apart from moths, carpet beetles’ (tiny brown/black pests like minute ladybirds,) larvae eat all the the same items: clothes, animal protein, carpets, wool, mohair, alpaca, cashmere, sheepskin, fur, silk, leather, feathers, AND cotton and linens.

    Unwashed/uncleaned clothes, human/animal hair, blood, sweat, and urine, attract pests.

  85. hi my name is sheila i am getting worring about my dog becase he has lost his coat what can i do to help him can you give me somethink what to do for please can i buy somethink to help his coat please i would be very happy if you can help me ok i would be help you can help what what can you buy for my dog then ok can you help me ok please sheila milne

  86. I find clove oil to help. I spray it often on the rug and floors sometimes with other oils to clean the wood floors. I still have a problem, I need to seal the floor boards and fireplace mantle. I vacuum a lot , I love my Persian rug , synthetic isn’t the same, so it’s war against the moth.

  87. Hello all, I believe I am the latest to enter the moth family (lol).

    Moved into a flat with my wife at the start of March. Saw a moth or two, killed it like any person who has never heard of nor encountered these types would.

    Incidentally the Daily Mail ran their usual start-of-the-year scare story on the same day I’d seen the moths, indicating it was prime time for clothes-munching critters. Oh hell. I knew instantly it was going to be this.

    I left it initially to see how it would play out, partially because I didn’t want to tell the wife who is terrified of months (just to add extra fun to the whole scenario). We initially had around 8-10 total in the first 6 weeks. In fact, right up until yesterday, we only had about 12 or so. For some reason, yesterday, we found 5-6 alone.

    It seems like I’m potentially in the beginning stages compared to some of you, given the numbers. It is a fully-carpeted flat with thick wool carpets EVERYWHERE except the bathroom and kitchen.

    Today, I bought 2 Rentokil Clothes Moth powders, hanger casettes, and spray. I’m going to hoover, powder, hoover, spray and then repeat in a few days.

    Fingers crossed. Let’s hope this is the end and not the beginning. (I’ve informed the landlord!!).

  88. Spray 99% rubbing alcohol (non-toxic to pets & humans) on eggs before wiping them up, repeat spray the area. Renders any eggs caught in cracks covered in alcohol nonviable. I spray repeatedly. Rubbing alcohol hasn’t ruined anything so far…wood floors/furniture, fabrics…but use your discretion. I hate moths more than I dislike any slight discoloration.

    Found this one post indicating that all life stages (including eggs!) cannot survive temperatures above 99 F for 7 days. Once the temperature gets close to 99 F outside, I’m cranking the heat to 105 F for 10 days! I am so hoping this will work. See this link for this info on temperatures.

    http://www.watoxics.org/healthy-living/healthy-homes-gardens-1/factsheets/clothingmoths

    I also found a store that sells Trichogramma wasps – a microscopic (about the size of the dot in the letter i) natural parasitic wasp that seeks out moth eggs to lay it’s own eggs inside, thereby rendering them their own, instead of the moth!! Will try this while I await the hot weather.

    http://www.planetnatural.com/product/trichogramma-wasps/

    Good luck everyone!

  89. P.S. The Trichogramma wasps need 80 F/27 C temp minimum in the house to hatch and survive. They are like little tiny heroes!

  90. Devastating update: My furnace only goes up to 32 C / 89.6 F. I am now searching for pest control companies that will heat the entire home into the mid 50°s centigrade for several hours, like Ann mentioned in her post on Nov30/2014

    “Put a Google search in for ‘heat pest control for moths’ and you will see a number of companies that will heat your whole house (after removing wax candles etc.) to the mid 50°s centigrade for several hours and that apparently gets rid of everything living, including moths in all stages from eggs to adults”

    I desperately hope to find a company in Mississauga, Ontario to heat the house in this way. These moths are ruining my life.

  91. We lived in England for five years and, being a sewer, I brought home masses of English wool. Have lost so much of it to moths–very sad. So we started using moth traps. They seem expensive, $4.00 each,but that is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of my wool and silk fabric and clothing. I occasionally see the odd moth, but we’ve also hung up old fashioned icky, sticky fly paper which takes care of those guys.

  92. Me again (posted above on April 25th).

    After our powder and spray blitz, the landlord sent in a carpet cleaner around 10 days later. We went the entire of May without seeing any. Saw around 3 in the past few days but also had our balcony open for the first time since we moved in, and we have seen these critters around outside – we even saw one in the hall 1 floor below us….. !!

    I do wonder if they’ve survived our nuclear attack or these couple came in from outside, but I’m going to put down another bottle of spray tomorrow.

  93. My wife and I have a clothes/carpet moth infestation in five rooms of an eight-room house. We have had two pest control companies in to survey and quote for the work. Neither of these will offer a guarantee. One of them quoted 2400 UK pounds to treat all of our furniture in a ‘heat pod’. However, when pressed, they admitted that there was nothing to prevent re-infestation after treatment, so I think this is a complete rip-off. Having spent the past month speaking to various UK suppliers and manufacturers of anti-moth products and doing internet research, I have come up with the following:

    1. Most spray products for home use contain cypermethrin at a concentration of typically 0.1 % w/w. This does not kill eggs or larvae, only adults. It does, however, have a residual effect lasting around four weeks, so if any adults hatch out in that time period they will be killed.

    2. Insecticidal powders typically contain 0.5% w/w permethrin. I have not been able to find out for sure how long the residual effect of these powders lasts for, but it will kill adult moths and larvae, but not eggs.

    3. Smoke bombs or ‘fumers’ contain around 13.5% w/w permethrin. They will permeate into all parts of a room and will only knock down adult moths. Leave cupboard and wardrobe doors and drawers open when using them. The aerosol type of fumer does not have such good penetration because the droplets are bigger than smoke particles and drop out of the air quickly.

    4. The consensus appears to be that cedar and lavender-based products may have some deterrent value in sealed spaces such as drawers, but need very regular replenishment. They are of no use if eggs or larvae are already present.

    5. Several UK companies supply products containing transfluthrin. As far as I can ascertain, this is the only product that will kill all life stages of clothes moths (eggs, larvae and adults). It is available as hanging cassettes, sachets for drawers and cupboards and sprays, all of which are lavender-scented. Concentration in the carpet and fabric sprays is 0.1% transfluthrin w/w. The spray apparently has a low residual effect, but I have not yet been able to discover how long it lasts. Cassettes and sachets are active for three to six months, and most have an indicator to show when they need replacing.

    6. A full treatment regime would be:
    a) smoke bomb
    b) transfluthrin spray around the edges of the room, including under furniture not normally moved (e.g. book cases), the edges of fitted carpets on the upper surface and underneath, in any cracks or crevices where moths could be hiding or eggs could be laid
    c) dusting with insecticidal powder around the extreme edges of the room under the carpet along the base of the skirtings, then replace the carpet, leaving the powder in place.
    d) before doing any of the above, everything should be vacuum cleaned with a high-suction machine that has a rotating brush. Regular vacuum cleaning is a major part of keeping moths at bay, but leave areas with residual insecticide as you will have to re-apply.

    7. According to the UK Health & Safety Executive, all of the products described above are safe to use in houses at these concentrations, but I can’t help feeling a little apprehensive about using them all over the house.

    8. We did all of the above in the worst affected room 6 weeks ago and we appear to have got rid of them! However, because they are in other rooms they could re-infest the treated room. We are therefore about to embark on a blitz of the entire house with the vacuum – smoke bomb – spray – powder routine. Added to which all drawers and wardrobes will have transfluthrin sachets and hanging cassettes installed. The cost will be around 200 UK pounds. We are also in the midst of a major de-clutter of the entire house to remove as many hiding places as possible.

    I’ll let you know how it goes in a future posting!

  94. What wonderful posts – so very informative….depressing, but informative! Has anyone attempted shutting up a room overnight and leaving a mosquito coil burning – I appreciated this would only exterminate moth and not larvae, but no adult to breed should equal no eggs ? Anyway, would very much like to know if anyone has tried this in previous years. It is July 2016 and of course the moths have developed and are flying around at night once again. Last night I sat up until the small hours with a can of Raid as someone posted that it is only the males that fly (must do a search to see if I have got that right) – got four of the blasted things.

  95. To all of you…thanks for sharing so much helpful info! I’m in Canada….and discovered the things flying around my house last summer were pantry moths….a hunt in eliminating these unearthed clothing moths that I likely had for some time….in my old Vintage Fur coat. I was gutted to lose it…I tossed it in the freezer, but have since learned that the freezer doesn’t always kill them….just slows them down. I have had it there for a year, and we noticed moths in the back room (where the freezer is located) so it is to the trash bin it goes…..I have traps set (they only indicate how bad things are) and have begun to purge and clean like crazy. I have spent a fortune on dry-cleaning, only to have them show up again this year (after holding my breath and believing I was moth free)…..I recite “do not store up….where moth and rust destroy” as I attempt to be ruthless and only keep what I will wear. I opened my cedar trunk to find moths had eaten through a jumper, a beautiful vintage wool suit (both clean)…..they have gone into the pile ….. I am currently so frustrated with the number I am finding on my traps, that I am spraying with the least of the chemicals I can find (cracks and crevices) … over here it is called Doctor Doom (https://www.doktordoom.com) and a bomb I’m going to let off called Knockout (I talked to one of the ladies from the company who also fought moths…most things only kill the adult flying moths, the larvae are really difficult to kill) ….. I am targeting the room where the coat was stored the longest……and an old hand at fabric told me moths are moths are moths and larvae will eat almost anything…..while there is a difference between casing moths and webbing moths (and they are clothes specific), he said the larvae will eat whatever they can….in other words, my pantry moths might just have laid their eggs near the coat….which is why I keep finding them in the bedroom. I will let you know who well the bomb and my spray works……we are taking it one room at a time….I did call to have someone come in….but the 400.00 price tag was way too much (that’s about 240 GPD). I will let you know how I make out!

  96. We used the Exosect tablets to get rid of ours: expensive but effective. You used to be able to buy them from Pest Control Direct, but they stopped selling them as the tablets apparently disintergrated in the post, and now you can only buy them in bulk. However, we had success after using them for 6 months, and the moths have taken 6 years to return, so we’ll be buying them again. They are female sex pheromone lures, wchih attract the males, and then the powder is carried on the attracted males, attracting other males – it basically means the moths are not able to distinguish between male and female moths which completely disrupts the mating cycle. Apparently the V&A museum use them to protect their costume collection. We’ve also had stored product moths which are MUCH easier to get rid of….

  97. I have been tacking a moth infestation. I noticed small gold coloured moths flying around earlier this year in April. Tineola bisselliella I think. I had never encountered these critters before. They were only on the landing at first loving the cracks and crevices around all the door frames and wood floorboard gaps. Now they are in every room. I notice they prefer a certain variety of sticky flypaper and another variety they not attracted to. I have always been very clothes moth aware as I have alot of knitting wool (fortunately was all stored before this rigmarole) and also lots of wools,tweeds, old fabrics, linens, silks, wool & silk rugs and olde vintage clothes collection i have amassed since the late 60,It has all been such alot of work researching,freezing clothes, washing, vacuuming, buying various storage bags etc etc. I am very fedup with it all but still have along way to go. Everyday abit more is done. I have actually found afew pairs of these critters mating yukkee. Squishing the damn things is several times aday chore now. I have some decoy clothes that are past it put out to attract them (old wool socks etc) then the more stuff that is sorted and stored the less places they will have clothes wise to lay eggs but they do love the gaps in the wood work and floor boards. When i vacuumed the wood floors it disturbs them and they come out and get vacuumed up. Was abit gutted when i found my old teddy (Teddy Scorson) from when i was a nipper had moth maggots eating the fur, ive cleaned him up and hes in the freezer now chilling after this disturbing escapade. I have ordered some pheromone traps and have various chemical insecticide hangers for wardrobes and balls for storage bags. I dont like using these but the whole palaver has been so over whelming had to do something. I am fortunate in that nothing has been damaged that bad it had to be thrown away as i became aware early on of the problem. If anyone wants to know which sticky fly paper they like just post up. Good luck everyone. Blinkin heck!!

  98. Hi all,

    reading all these comments makes me realize how much these little bugs can affect your life! I live with my boyfriend and we also have a moth problem. We moved into this house one year ago, and have always seen a few moths flying around in the bedroom (which is on the top floor – this house is on three levels – and it is the only room in the house to have carpet). By the way, I live in Holland, and here it is not common to have carpet on your floor. I am Italian, and also nobody in Italy has carpet on their floor (unless it’s a rug kind of thing), I have never understood the point of putting carpet on your floor, and from this thread and my own experience in this house where I live I have learned that indeed, no good can come from it. Why do people lay carpet on their floors?!

    Anyway. At the beginning we were not too worried about these moths, then at some point we really had a lot, during the spring, and we were just wondering where they were coming from (how naive and silly of us!). They were mostly hanging around a rug under the bed (that’s right, a rug ON the carpet!). Two days ago I went to get my winter clothes from the storage (which is just a suitcase, inside the closet, also in the bedroom), and I found larvae cases on some items. No damage, just some cases and few, tiny larvae (which looked dead). Gross! So yesterday we spent the whole day cleaning (with a lot of freaking out), here is what we did:

    1. Clothes: we put all of our clothes in trash plastic bags. We shaked the items out on the terrace before doing this, but not very very carefully, so I’m sure some eggs and larvae could still be in there. This week we will be washing all sheets and towels at 60 degrees, however most of our clothes cannot be washed at 60C, especially the ones that are most liked by the moths. So all of the clothes are going to go through a cycle of freezing instead. We have a small freezer and about 10-12 bags of clothes, so this process only will take 3-4 months. So meanwhile, we put one moth-ball (transfluthrin) in each bag, each ball is effective for 3 months. I don’t like to use chemicals, but I also don’t like larvae crawling on my clothes, so that’s got to be it. The plastic bags are all stored together, every week I will freeze one, then take it out of the freezer, shake the items well, wash them and store them properly after (in plastic boxes that can be sealed well). The summer clothes that we won’t use are just going to be stored with moth balls without freezing, and next spring we’ll see how they look.

    2. Carpet/Room: we borrowed a steam cleaner from our neighbor, and we steam-cleaned the whole room, carpet, closet, drawers, anything on/in which the clothes are stored. I spent the whole afternoon vacuuming the floor (carpet) inch by inch yesterday, my boyfriend was after me steaming it, and then I was vacuuming again after. The carpet was really damaged in many corners, so the moths were definitely eating it, and there were also eggs in the same corners. We got rid of the rug, which had billions of what I imagine were eggs underneath), and we also vacuumed and steamed the mattress and bed frame.

    3. Preventing another invasion and keeping the current under control: basically we are using a combination of chemical weapons (the moth balls), temperature (high for sheets and towels and low for clothes), and mechanical means (vacuuming and shaking the clothes) to get rid of the little motherf******. I hope this will work. We are also going to put a lot of cedar wood and lavender sachets all over our closets and drawers, but really just because it makes us feel better, and they smell nice, I do know that they won’t do anything against eggs or larvae, only repel (to a certain extent) the adults.

    I think it didn’t look like we had a big infestation, but we may have had (and maybe still have) a big risk. We saw higher number of moths flying around last spring than the total amount of larvae or casts that we found in the last couple of days, but we did see a looooooot of eggs under that rug, so there could potentially still be many eggs around. But in a way we are lucky that they were mostly eating the rug and the carpet. One cachemire cardigan from my boyfriend was ruined, but we did not have other damage. Looking back on it, some small holes and tears on some t-shirts and on our bed sheets, that we had attributed to our pet rats, could have been caused by the moths, but it could have been much worse.

    I am hoping that the combination of freezing and mothballs will destroy the animals (if there are any) on the clothes, and that vacuuming 2-3 times per week and keeping the place clean will also help. I am just wondering and a bit worrying about the health risks of these moth balls. As I said before, I would rather use a chemical and be sure to get rid of them, than spending time, money and effort in methods that are not as effective, only to see them come back in a few months. But now we packed the closet in the bedroom with 15 or so plastic bags, each with a moth ball inside, plus we have a couple of moth balls thrown around in the closet (because it’s quite big and ALSO has carpet!), plus we have two sticky traps. I don’t think it would be a good idea to sleep in this room, you can definitely smell the substance, so we will probably sleep downstairs on the couch for the coming weeks. Does anybody know how long it should take for these moth balls to be effective? As I said, my plan is to freeze everything, bag by bag, so maybe after freezing the moth ball would not be needed anymore? Any advice and feedback on our approach would be appreciated! I will also keep you posted on how it is going. In the coming months we should also move to another place (we were already thinking about it, and this is just one more reason to), so I think we are going to go through the same process again then!

  99. I have seen the little cocoon thingies on my walls and hanging under my counter ever since the building stages of my house and never knew what they were…today I decided to clean my house, instead of the maid and saw one of them inching their way up the wall (my walls have texture)and as I was cleaning I saw them EVERYWHERE on the walls, like in the crease between 2 walls, on the part of my walls made of rock etc. I called my maid and she said, just knock em down, they dont bite…Strange thing here is that I have NEVER had one eat my clothes (only cotton,no wool, mostly dress apparel)or my rugs. I do spray my house down with a spray bottle along the base of the walls (and now in the cracks) with cypermitherin and have my maid mop with it in a diluted form (I live alone)I dont know if its the apparel or the C solution but I do have them…never see them flying around either… (and im sure I am a target candidate, I live in a very jungle type area of Costa Rica) So, maybe some C solution may be a remedy…good luck to all and I hope I havent jinxed myself now!

  100. Pointless article, sorry, and also some wrong info. I was told that you need to air your closets and house frequently. The summary here seems to be “keep your house hermitically sealed and have zero hiding places where larvae of half a millimetre can hide”. That is not realistic at all. You will never be able to eliminate places for the moths to hide.

    I have had clothes moths for 6 months now, and the ONLY plan of attack I have found to be working is:

    1) Go through your house with a super-fine tooth comb and locate and identify any hotspots where moths seem to be gathering and breeding. You can tell by finding eaten fabric, accumulated moth feces (which looks like fine grains of sand) and very fine cotton candy-like spun white webbbing on fabric. My culprit was a folded and stored wool kelim rug. Either get rid of the main culprit entirely, wash it at 60 C or more, or deep-freeze it for more than 4 days if washing is impossibe. Just vacuuming thouroughly is NOT enough! This will eliminate their main breeding ground, but not the presence of moths in the house.

    Next:

    2) remove, wash and/or deep-freeze (for 4 days or more) ANY animal-derived fabrics and material that contains protein. This means: wool, felt, silk, leather (including bags and shoes!) and feathers or down such as found in cushions. This is the food source for the moths. I found larvae inside my leather boots and bag! You often have to look very, very, VERY closely to spot them.

    3) Forget bug sprays, those are useless unless you spray to the point of poisoning yourself. Get pheromone moth traps, 1 for each room. These are glue traps that give off a pheromone scent that attracts the male moths and traps them with glue. Replace the traps every 3 months until they remain empty. This kills the male mohts and thus breaks the reproduction cycle.

    Good luck.

  101. also: there are 2 types of fabric-eating moths (I’m Dutch so please forgive me if I’m not using the correct terms here):

    1) “webbing” moths, that stay in place and create fine white webbing and eat their way through whatever material they built their webbing on. It looks like very fine cotton candy.

    2)”Case” moths. Case moths create a little cocoon out of fibres, which looks like a dark grain of rice. Or, unfortunately, like any bit of fluff you’d find on the floor or on fabric. But after a while you get good at spotting the difference between fluff and a cocoon (in doubt: pull little grain of fluff open and a little white larvae will reveal itself if it’s a case moth). These case moths crawl around, taking their little cocoon with them. I have found both types of moths in my house.

    I have no experience with pantry/food moths, but as far as I’ve heard, read and been told so far, they do not eat fabric. Not sure though.

  102. Finding a solution to moths issues is difficult. The issue can be from you but also neighbours etc.

    Assuming the issue is only from you, then you have to fight the problem from all angles with all technics:
    – smoke bombs. 1 per room, if not 2, and any hallway, stairs (if the house on levels)
    – hangers (in wardrobes, in cupboards, behind furniture, under beds etc)
    – pheromone traps (to be put along with the hangers, maximising the effect)

    GET RID OF USELESS STUFF. Clear your house of any leftovers (an old bag of clothes you don’t use, an old carpet rolled somewhere…

    VACCUM often. Be extra clean, invest in a powerfull one if you have carpets.

    Make sure your house is bright. Clean windows, invest in mirrors…

    Once your house is decently managed:
    – invest in trichogramma. They are a natural predator to moths. Expensive but that is the ony way. Prepare yourself to spend £1000 in this. The best solution to finish off the fight. Do it for about a year treatment!

    Then, once you have done all that (see the “-” list recap below) buy a lot of Cedar essential oil, and with a brush, rub all bare wood furniture a lot. This is the best way to make any bare wood furniture and active repellent for a while.
    – Smoke, hangers, pheromone traps,
    – Full hygiene (vaccum, whashing, freezing)
    – trichogramma treatment (1 year)

    Do not use repellents only until you have fought the infestation. First you treat and kill, then once the place is clear, you use repellents and keep going with a few hangers across the house.

    Do not use pheromone traps ongoingly, cause you are going to attract males and males may attract females… Only use them in the fight phase.

    Lastly to conclude, think this a system. Treat all causes, everywhere (all rooms) with every technique possible and in good sequence. Then you maintain your place with repellents, hangers and vaccum.

    It is a tough battle, there is no little solution, and if you want to find a solution, it is expensive.

  103. We got rid of ours.
    4 sprays from pest control. Fumigated ourselves.
    Wipe everything down with white vinegar.
    Got rid of carpets and put down hard flooring.
    Washed EVERYTHING at 60 degrees

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