Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Clothes Moths–Is it the Season?
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January 13, 2011 at 1:19 am #597614
JayDeeParticipantOK, in the last week I have smashed some 6 to 12 powdery-winged little moths that I have always taken to be clothes moths. So far (Knock on Wood) I have not noticed if there are any wool items being eaten…yet.
Is this wool moth season? I mash them whenever I find them, but short of putting everything in bags and mothballs it seems rather impractical given the “wooly” weather we’ve been having. Have you noticed these moths in your home? Any advice? Thanks.
January 13, 2011 at 2:42 am #713896
kmweinerMemberThis is not the usual season but I have been seeing some also. Unclear why?
January 13, 2011 at 11:46 pm #713897
jissyParticipantJayDee — interesting you mention this. My husband handed me a sweater of his last night with 2 small holes eaten in it! I’ve never experienced this before and am now going through everything in our closet as I have not seen any of the powdery beasts with my own eyes. If I do I’ll post again. (BTW, HATE mothballs!!!!)
January 14, 2011 at 12:52 am #713898
cjboffoliParticipantMake a few sachets with ground cloves in them and tuck them inside your sweater drawer. Moths are repelled by the cloves and they smell much better than mothballs.
January 14, 2011 at 2:45 am #713899
JayDeeParticipantWell I’ve decided to kick it up a notch – half my wool shirts and blanket (Hudson Bay) will get dry cleaned while I deploy pheromone traps in the house. These should lure the males (sorry guys) and help keep the hanky panky to a minimum. When the first dry cleaning batch comes back the second will go.
If the traps work, I will post.
January 14, 2011 at 4:43 am #713900
cjboffoliParticipantJayDee: Removing the human sweat and oils from the clothing is a good way to make the clothing less attractive to the moths. However, your clothing will be off-gassing carcinogenic perc chemicals inside your house for weeks (or longer if you leave them in the plastic and put them right in the closet). It is always a good idea to allow dry cleaned clothing to air out (preferably outside if possible) before putting them away.
January 14, 2011 at 4:51 pm #713901
B-squaredParticipantTry to determine if they really are clothes moths or if they are indian meal moths. The later can be found in the kitchen and can be living in some dried goods (flour or cereal) that they can access. i believe the treatment is different for eliminating them. the pheromone traps may only work on one of them. friend of mine had the indianmeal moths quite badly in corvalis. they had made nests in boots stored in the attached garage AND in the kitchen cupboards:(
January 14, 2011 at 9:11 pm #713902
anonymeParticipantThen there are case-making clothes moths, the larvae of which are very difficult to detect. It can look like a piece of debris on the garment. The chewing larva lives inside a tiny cocoon of fibers it has eaten and digested. I’ve found a bunch of these lately, and numerous garments chewed up, despite the fact that I wash all natural fiber items at least once a year for this very reason. They’re also fond of organic cotton.
January 15, 2011 at 2:58 am #713903
JayDeeParticipantMaybe I should buy pheromone traps for several moths? I don’t think they are meal moths, but I will check — I have an open bag of farro, but that would be one tough larva who could eat that.
My Hudson Bay blanket was used, but it is so nice and soft perhaps it looks like a Zippy’s burger to moths. Oh well, I will check things for holes mañana and make the first trip to the dry cleaners. I will take care to air the garments out– a few hours in tonight’s breeze would do it.
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