Best way to store clothes and prevent moth damage?

[MothPhobic]

I've noticed a considerably higher number of tiny moths in our house this year. I've never had a problem before, but this year I'm seeing (and killing) 1-2 a day most days.

We're packing up to move house in a couple of weeks, so everything in the wardrobe needs to be packed. I have a lot of natural fabrics and wool and cashmere jumpers. I try and store as many as I can in sealed plastic bags all year round when I'm not wearing them, but things like silk dresses, linen, cotton and the bulkier wool jumpers are just in the wardrobes.

I'd like to get most items into vacuum sealed bags, but I'm worried if the clothing may have moth eggs already on them that I cannot see, they will eat the items inside the bags (this happened with a very expensive pair of wool gloves previously that I kept in a sealed sandwich bag).

What is the best way to pack my clothes and protect against moths (already there or for the future). Would spraying everything with a moth spray before packing into bags help? Some of the bags may be in storage for 6 months.

Freeze them in the sealed bag for a couple of weeks.

I do this with smaller items like thin jumpers and tops.

I don't have the freezer space for bulkier jumpers, coats, or to fit a lot of items in general. I also don't have the time to do a couple at a time as I've only got 2 and a bit weeks left. The freezer in our new place is even smaller than what I have now.

Parasitic wasps?

Yes, do this.

Presumably you are running down the contents of your freezer anyway. You could freeze in bags before the move, let them come up to room temperature during the move, then freeze once you are at the new house. Another suggestion, if we have some more hot weather, is to put garments into black bin bags and leave them sweltering in the back of a hot car or van.

As for safe storage, I think nowhere is safe, but you can get air tight plastic storage boxes. I had some shallow ones which I put some jumpers into and stored under a spare bed. The jumpers remained moth-free but moths burrowed underneath the boxes and had a go at the carpet...I HATE THEM.

Sorry, I see you are tight on storage and time. Maybe black bin bags for coats etc.

Definitely no freezer space for no more than a couple small items.

I could do the black bin bag thing with the wool coats and keep them in the boot until we move, but is 23C-25C weather hot enough to bake the little bastards in 2 weeks?

I just had another thought - I've got a hand held clothes steamer. Would that kill any eggs?

I think in an enclosed space it would get quite hot. We have an estate car and it gets like a greenhouse if parked in the sun. I think 50c in an oven works too, put on a baking tray for about 30 mins. The heat should do for them.

I wonder if anyone knows about steam? Could be worth a try. Or a fairly hot iron on jumper seams etc. Sorry I don't know about silk. I have thermals etc but never had holes in.

Oh just to add, this will be me in the Autumn as we are moving too. I've already decided against wool carpets, so will be having faux sisal upstairs and engineered wood and tiles everywhere else.

You can buy small sachets that you could put in the vacuum bags. They smell of lavender rather than old fashioned moth balls and are meant to kill moth eggs and larvae.

Oh yes, you've reminded me I have some of those as well, and have done that previously so will do again. I wasn't sure if they actually did kill eggs / larvae or just detoured moths with the scent.

According to the packet I have, they do claim to kill eggs and larvae. Whether they do or not is another matter. I've not seen any moths yet but only bought them a couple of months ago, so it is probably too early for me to say with certainty that they do work.