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.
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.
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.
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 :)
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!
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!
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!
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!
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
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
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!!!
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
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!
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.
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!
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!
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
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?
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!!
I meant “wormwood” in my post above btw…. :-)
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
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
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.
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.
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 :-)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
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.
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.
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!
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!!
Oh and I also meant to ask, doesn’t the bleach and water combo bleach your fabrics? !!
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
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.
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.