To think I need to burn all of my clothes?

This will horrify you but there are actually all sorts of moths that can live happily in our homes without us ever knowing 😄 Freeze your knitwear and move on!

We use these at work and they are very effective.

Just freeze the clothes for a few days. Remember they can only eat stuff derived from animals - wool, silk, fur, feathers etc - not cotton or synthetics. They like to lay eggs in dark undisturbed places (like when you put all your wool jumpers away for the summer and don't open the drawers for months), so move things around sometimes. Get some remedies online and try not to worry.

It's the larvae that eat the clothes - by the time you see an adult, the damage has been done by that individual. But squash it anyway before it breeds some more. They usually lay pretty near where they've hatched if there's a good food source.

I love your horror at MOTH EGGS. Did you think they sprung into being as adults, from the air?

Honestly, they can't hurt you. Just vacuum into all your dark corners and check all the wool / silk.

Assuming it's even clothes moths were talking about. They're very tiny you know, like maybe a centimetre. Was it that small?

To be honest any clothing moths are fair game to me. I know we shouldn’t kill them… disposing and clearing of eggs is best. When they’ve eaten my favourite jumpers though, it’s war!

You said the moth was caught and set free - I was going to suggest it was most likely a Deaths Head Moth a la Silence of the Lambs? I thought that might be some helpful input.

I've just got over an infestation of clothing moths. Regular vaccuming and wash any affected clothes in the hottest cycle they can take.

@Quicknamechangex2x2 thanks very much for your clarification of these rules. What I might sneakily do is somehow collect a bunch,.say five, live flies, get out my tweezers, and attach little name tags around each of the buggers' necks..Then release them in the kitchen, splat them, take to show husband and there you have it ! Just get onto the Wren website and get ordering a beautiful kitchen and one of them fancy island things. Sounds like a plan, I'm sure you'd agree 😁

🤣. I’ve heard about those moth bombs, never dared to try them.

Wasn’t the Great Fire of London just a local moth extermination that got a little out of hand? 🤔😉

I have never seen moths in my wardrobe, I did have eggs in my kitchen a few years ago. They were laying them at the corner/edge where the wall and ceiling meet. And unfortunately, on some beautiful chopping boards I had.

It took 2 months before the eggs stopped being laid. I never saw or caught the moths doing the laying though.

So yeah I’d say burn the house.

Can definitely confirm this . In fact, unless the flies are wearing name badges you are allowed to count the same fly twice as long as it is seen 4 hours apart .

Clothes moths are apparently on increase due to rising heat temperatures here. Get rid of any wool carpets. I don’t know what else to suggest. They’re sneaky critters.

Yeah I’m thankful I don’t have that!

Big and dark brown doesn't sound like a clothes moth. They are pretty small and light cream coloured (in my unfortunately extensive experience).

I remember a story once about a lady who got a blackberry seed stuck in a cavity and it grew into her jaw … danger is around every corner.

@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain maggots falling from the ceiling?
Christ almighty!
I feel nauseous.

Oh no! Please don’t. They are cute fuzzy little things and they don’t generally cause harm.

I almost fainted when I read this. I’m terrified of parasites. I’m fairly sure moths prefer chewing clothes to brains though - don’t they?

In which case the only solutions you need are a needle and thread for your clothes and a pair of little rubbery ear plugs.

My house has ladybirds which I adore but dh read an article about billions of them “nesting” in someone’s attic and then invading the house like some kind of end-of-the-world plague of insects. Unclear what damage the invasion caused other than things being a little crunchy underfoot!

but dh is now literally terrified of ladybird invasions and the whole household has to go hunting if we even find one, and I have to clean all the windows and doors because “they can smell each other’s scent trails, and then more will come…”

I won’t even start to tell you what happened the time he found a cute little mouse in the attic …

I never thought about their eggs. Whenever I get a random moth flying in at night. I let him live until the morning, I’ll be swatting them from now on.

I had mice all over the house at one point (bastard cats kept bringing them in and naturally the mice set up home). Took ages to get rid of them. Rats would finish me off.

Yeah you need to burn your house down sorry

Oooooohhhh, new clothes! <Rubbing hands together with glee as I plan to explain to husband what is required>

We have rats, moths and, for one deliriously disgusting fortnight, maggots falling from the kitchen ceiling. I was wondering whether to leave and let nature take over. But instead I pay for a series of middle aged men to tramp through the house at intervals, stand hand on hips to declare “they be the size of small cats now and BOLD” (possibly moths as well as rats) and lay poison. I make the mistake of following said men around the house as they shake their heads at my parlous living conditions (we also have dogs and I am trying - somewhat hypocritically - to ensure their continued survival) and, therefore, have to listen to all their dramatic tales of how their prey die. Slowly in case anyone was wondering. I wish for simply moths. You are living my dream.