Will this make my moth problem better or worse?

[ThatNimblePeer]

Would love some advice from the wise people of MN. Very frustratingly, I keep getting moth holes in both wool and cotton clothes. I have thrown away the worst affected things, hoovered in wardrobe and chest of drawers, and bought some of the Zero In Clothes Moth Killer hanging units with transfluthrin, which a relative said had worked for her. However, I’m still getting holes, and I’ve also seen a single moth once or twice in the bedroom (if there is a nest I can’t find it).

I was wondering why the transfluthrin hadn’t worked, and it occurred to me that the issue likely is the fact that my wardrobe door doesn’t close fully, it’s quite old and the wood has warped so it can’t be made to close flush or stay closed, it just sits on a security latch to stop it swinging open fully, but it is always open a couple of inches. I realise this is probably stopping the transfluthrin working properly as the fumes need to build up within a closed space. So, it would seem like the next step should probably be a new wardrobe.

However, on the flip side, everything I’ve read about moths seems to suggest that what they like is the dark and not being disturbed. So in some ways it seems like a partially open wardrobe door that lets some light in might be better than one that shuts fully. (Although given I still have a moth problem it seems fair to say the semi-open door is not working very well).

It will be expensive and a pain to get a new wardrobe, but I would definitely do it if I thought it would get rid of the moths. Just wondering what mumsnetters think?

YABU - don’t get a new wardrobe with a fully closed door, it will just mean the moths have somewhere extra dark to hide and it won’t solve the problem

YANBU - order that new wardrobe today, nothing is guaranteed but it makes it much more likely the transfluthrin will work

I’ve not used them but (teeny tiny) specialist wasps are meant to be good at dealing with moth infestations. https://dragonfli.co.uk/products/clothes-moth-egg-sachets?srsltid=AfmBOoodPc5BMDEFw4sOGM1cFoVBI_PY9ovlpUHsSY-z25HUpsFE2Vdx

Have you got carpets too?

Thanks. Yes I’ve got carpets. Have looked at them carefully but I can’t see evidence of moth chewing there. I may well try tiny killer wasps, but I’m curious on thoughts about whether a semi-open wardrobe is making me more vulnerable to infestations or less?

If there are moths, there are moth larvae and it's the larvae that's doing the damage

Depending on what type you have, the larvae are either going to look like little worms, or they look like bits of fluff as they've created a cocoon from the material they're eating

Every piece of clothing has to be taken out, inspected and washed thoroughly

The wardrobes have to be thoroughly cleaned before being put back in

Larvae love still, warm, dark conditions, so the clothes can't be stored without being taken out and worn on a regular basis - use this as a signal to declutter

If you have moths in your wardrobe, look at anywhere else that ha natural fibres - drawers, cupboards and carpets - move the furniture to inspect the entire room

My next step is to get those wasps.

We've had repeated specialist treatments for moths and replaced carpets and they still haven’t gone. They’re almost impossible to eradicate unfortunately. Ours are less troublesome than they were, but still hanging in there.

In my experience the minimum is to have garment covers for anything you want to protect. Anything that might be at risk goes in the freezer for a couple of weeks first (in a bag, obviously) to kill off any eggs. All my woollens are stored in zipped-up moth-proof plastic bags (Lakeland do good ones).

It's a nightmare.

The moths are very likely elsewhere in your house - under rugs, behind pictures. There won't be a nest - they're not communal animals.
Keep vacuuming and dusting and eventually you'll get on top of it. Once you have clothes moths though it's difficult to eradicate entirely.
I had quite a severe infestation a few years ago and still see the occasional moth.

You need to do something more comprehensive to get rid of the moths. If you stick your wool/cashmere/silk clothes in zip lock bags and then in the freezer for a few days (I think) you'll sort those but you need to kill the ones in the carpet otherwise they will just keep coming back

Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like people think a new wardrobe with a closed door wouldn’t really make a difference either way, and I need to focus on other methods?

I think your wardrobe being open or closed is not the issue

Oh, and a good tip from one of the professionals who treated the house one time (of the several) was that a small hand-held vacuum, like a car-vacuum - in addition to the usual moth-traps etc - was very useful for dealing with any stray moths you see lurking on walls etc. Just hoover them up. You don’t need to try and squash them, it’s easy and quick and the little sods don’t escape that way.

Moths aren't keen on some strong smelling essential oils - hence the use of cedar chests, etc. I had good success with regularly washing down inside a wardrobe with a strong solution of lavender oil. You can also soak hanging wardrobe freshener things in oil and put them in there. I didn't find it made my clothes smell.

Also, some of the moth killing products use the same poison as flea products which tend to be cheaper. I use a flea fogger in my walk in wardrobe if I see a telltale munch on a sweater. But make sure you follow the instructions and air the room out after.

Agreeing with pp that is the moth larvae, and they often live in carpet under furniture, so you probably need to move everything around and hoover very thoroughly, as well as carefully inspecting and cleaning all the clothes.

This is interesting, thanks - so do you think the larvae are able to get into the carpet under heavy furniture? E.g. could they be living in the carpet under the wardrobe? I’d been assuming if there was something heavy on top of a patch of carpet then larvae couldn’t be underneath, but maybe that’s wrong

We had moths in our living room carpet. The carpet was infested when we moved in and had no idea. We just thought some bits were flat where they had had furniture in them. Then after a couple of years we moved a bookcase and the carpet was bare. The actual moths were numerous! We replaced the carpet with a man made fibre one.

Are you sure it’s moths or could it be holes from ware and tear?

@ThatNimblePeer completely wrong, sorry! Yes, they love being under furniture (dark and undisturbed, as you said), love carpet, and they can even be under the legs/pressure points of furniture if it's a thick carpet where there are still gaps even after the compression, but for sure there's lots of space under furniture where the legs/base isn't, so it's highly likely they'll be under the wardrobe, could also be under the bed, chest of drawers, blanket box or any other furniture around the place.

Are you seeing live moths or just holes in clothes?

I had a moth problem and in the end I accepted I needed to keep treating it as an ongoing problem. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they have gone.

I bought sprays and traps etc online. I regularly hoover behind/underneath big furniture. Clean and hoover out wardrobes and drawers and cupboards. Use scented hangers and drawer liners. I also would open wardrobe doors (to let light in) and ‘swish’ all the clothes inside to create a disturbance. As well as checking unused natural materials.

I recently moved and had an empty chest freezer and have put a lot of stuff in the freezer to kill off anything that might be there.

I haven’t seen a moth in years - but I’m always ready for the buggers.

I’ve had no end of issues with moths over the years. They even munched a shoe! You do have to wash everything and really throughly clean all drawers and wardrobes with vacuum and wet cloths that get inside every nook. I use moth traps, balls and the heavy duty sprays regularly. The smoke bombs are apparently very effective too. Any natural lavender/ceder thing I was tried was useless. I haven’t seen a moth or had any damage for 2+ years years now.

The house of horrors in Notting Hill has been reminding me of the worst of my moth problems, now several years ago.

In the end (after trying everything) I bought some proper old-fashioned moth balls from China in a hardware shop in White City. It was the most satisfying thing ever. I put two inside the wardrobe in the spare room and about ten moths flew out immediately and dropped dead on the carpet. After putting others under the carpet and in sealed bags of woollen clothes, the problem was gone.

Not sure quite what the legal status of these is, but I think it might be one of the very small post-Brexit positives. You seem to be able to buy them on Amazon now, eg amzn.eu/d/iCKOhK7

Oh no I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I'm still scarred by my moth invasion.

The only thing that really works is chemicals and getting rid of wool carpets. Those moth stickers were brilliant and caught hundreds. I also sprayed around the baseboards and ceilings where they would gather at night. I ripped out the carpets and threw away anything they had eaten. Cleaning made me feel better but it's not effective getting rid of them. It took months in the first year.

Then in the second year they were back because they were under the floorboards. It wasn't quite as bad but more stickers and spray.

I will never have wool carpets again but I still notice moths and they freak me out.

Moths fly in from the outside all the time. Can't remember off the top of my head but I think the pick season are winter and summer. So no matter what you do, if you live in high moth area, you will have to have a year-round solution to this. Even if you get rid of every insect in your house, they will continue getting in from the outside.
You will likely never get on top of it if you have carpets in the house. So consider hard floors. You need to pack your winter clothes away in spring and put them in vacuum sealed bags. Everything else needs to be aired regularly so a big sort through the wardrobes at least twice a year. The minute you see adult insect, you need to squash them. Don't rely on moth balls to do the job before they lay eggs. If you have a really big infestation, you might need to fumigate. But you will then have to do regular upkeep as above.

It's not the wardrobe door. I keep one door of mine open all the time. It's the clothes etc. You have to take out all the clothes and wash or clean them thoroughly. And wash and clean all surfaces in the wardrobe. For bedroom carpet, I occasionally go round the edges and crevices and hidden areas with an ant or crawling insect powder. Leave for a few days, then hoover thoroughly with crevice tools. Don't open windows at night with lights on. Also zap any moth you see flying about with an insect spray. Clean or wash clothes before putting them away - as far as practical. Use a clothes brush if not washable or cleanable each time.

We solved the moth problem in my 17 year old's rubbish dump bedroom with those insect bombs, 2 a couple of weeks apart to get the larvae that were still eggs on the first one. Nothing else worked.

Thanks so much everyone for all the replies and suggestions. To answer a few questions above: I have seen an individual live moth three separate times, thankfully not loads of them (so far). I’m sure the holes are moth holes not wear and tear: I’ve had them in a few brand-new bought cotton things as soon as I put them in the wardrobe or chest of drawers (maddeningly). My wardrobe has a completely flat base, no legs, and is very heavy, so I’d be surprised if they can squeeze in under there, but I guess you never know.

I love the story about the Chinese moth balls from White City and how the moths immediately flew out and died! The dream. I remember the old moth balls and I used to absolutely loathe the smell they left on clothes but if moths do too then maybe it’s worth trying them.

I could definitely afford to declutter a bit, so it sounds like I need to think of that as part of a potential solution, as it makes things easier to clean and gives them fewer places to hide. I could probably get rid of some old clothes I don’t wear often, but I guess I had better put them out with the recycling, as taking them to the charity shop isn’t an act of kindness if they might have moths in them. Feels a bit wasteful, but oh well.

One thing that occurs to me is that I had trickle vents put in my bedroom windows last year, and I’ve been keeping them open as much as possible to dehumidify - I need to keep doing that, I have no choice, as the house is a bit prone to damp, but sounds like that could be a potential source of moths getting in. Oh dear…

Take everything out and wash or put in the freezer. Clean the wardrobe and get those insecticide smoke bombs.