To think moths are cheeky wee bastards that need to die?!

[Birdsongsinging]

Trying to get rid of moths / larvae 🐛. They are eating my carpets, jumpers and some wool snoods. I hate them!

I don’t kill spiders or slaters but moths get squashed on sight and I have a spray can of something toxic.

I still can’t get rid of them though - any tips appreciated!

They are Webbing Clothes Moth. Climate change seems to have caused an upswing in populations, particularly in the south east. Pheromone traps can be a used but you need to replace them regularly. You can buy a range of good traps and chemical treatments here:

www.historyonics.com

hoovering a lot is really effective, but once you’ve hoovered empty it into a small bag and take it straight outside into the outdoor bin. If you don’t do this they’ll just come straight back out of the hoover and reinfest the house.

Oh no, poor wee spiders. The only ones that die are ones I mistake for moths.

These are my exception. Everything else I try and let go but these little moths are never gonna fly outside, you cant even capture them - they just kinda dissolve when you touch them.

I would not kill any living creature no matter how small ! I have never had a problem with my carpets - only my cashmere scarves and jumpers but I bought some of those cedar discs and also I always now wash woollens before storing as moths are attracted to old unwashed woollens

Woollen carpets are more of a problem now because manufacturers had to stop using the repellent treatments on them. It is hard to get round the back of heavy furniture and underneath it.

I have been plagued by moths since I moved to this house, despite replacing everything over the years and trying to keep on top of vacuuming and spring cleaning. DH's annoying spaghetti mess of wires yielded quite a few bald patches in the study carpet when we replaced the computer.

I a very interested in wasps 🤔

Dethlac. Spray it everywhere you can reach. Unforch we can't use smoke bombs that actually work any more so although they look like an easy win they are not, sadly. But dethlac is proper toxic. Remove your items from drawers etc, honestly just pile them up, then spray it on every surface/corner/crevice you can. Then go out for the day. It will keep on killing them for three months. After that you repeat. And so on.

I think I've been jinxed - the day after reading this thread I had tiny moths fluttering around the bedroom!

I looked up dethlac @Loria - LOL, it's DEET! probably shouldn't use that in our bedroom or near the dog...

no idea what to do - I can easily clean kitchen cabinets with Vinegar and clove oil, but acres of deep carpets?? No idea. Oh hum.

Kill them with fire.

@OctopusComplex Try food grade diatomaceous earth in the carpets. Wear a mask when applying.

You could get one with permethrin or transfluthrin, they’re pyrethroids not DEET.

Yes, @AnnesObstructiveFeather - in years past the pest guy would blitz the whole house, but it's one of the things that's stopped because, you know, money, covid etc etc.

He used a pyrethrum based spray... will look into that. Thank you for the reminder!

@CherryRipe1 - didn't see you there, that's really good, thank you. Do I leave it in the carpet, or vacuum it back up after a while?

Moths = Confused butterflies :-)

We left it down & didn't vacuum it up for some considerable time. Concentrate it in the edges and corners, anywhere dark & try to leave it there until you see less activity or fresh munching.Make sure it's food grade. It's like kryptonite to most wee beasties, fleas, bedbugs, silver fish. Good luck 🤞

Yes. And please add snails and slugs and flies and indoor mice to the list of things that need to die.

Yeah, hate them. Holes in all our bedroom carpets .

A couple of years ago DH moved the furniture round and sprayed everywhere but I suspect we still have some.

Advice is generally to vacuum everywhere thoroughly and regularly, but that's very difficult in a bedroom with heavy wardobes, chests of drawers, heavy beds, stuff stored under the beds, and one bedroom which has a high sleeper than can't really be moved...

What would you say is an infestation? I seem to get some random little moths, maybe just one or two in my bedroom or hall every few weeks. I’ve never noticed any holes in my clothes but I do have some anti moth thingies from Lakeland hanging in them.

I’ve lived here for 12 years and haven’t noticed an increase in numbers but having read this post, I’m starting to get worried!

Someone recommended Indorex and it worked really well. We sprayed weekly for a month or two, hoovered constantly and changed the carpet and haven't seen one since.

Clothes moths are the very devil!

But big moths are amazing and one of the best to look out for (in daylight as well as at dusk) is the Hummingbird Hawk Moth. You think you are seeing a hummingbird buzzing about among flowers and then you realise it's a massive moth with a proboscis like a hummingbird's beak. They're lovely and have no interest whatsoever in your jumpers!

Big moths often have topaz-coloured eyes, too.