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 think there's a reason moth balls were banned - the chemicals in them are highly toxic (as in, carcinogenic). I wouldn't use them if I were you.

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.southwark.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-06/warning_re_mothballs_2022_assist.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjFhO7OqMiLAxVIa0EAHRYHAasQFnoECBAQBQ&usg=AOvVaw0dcasUUbJNP3prxKetnPx9

To my horror I recently found moth webbing on Big Ted, Little Ted, Jocko the toy dog plus Sooty and Sweep puppets- all sitting on a shelf in a cupboard. They belonged to DH and have survived 70+ years without ever attracting moths! These blasted moths are a menace. Do you think they have mutated in recent years? (half serious q )

I now have a freezer full of stuffed toys, like a cuddly episode of Silent Witness.

Get pheromone trap

Oh no! Not Sooty and Sweep!

Do you think they have mutated in recent years? (half serious q )

No. It's because of the increased use of central heating, and the fact that the winters are warmer because of climate change.

I used the teeny-tiny wasps last year. I was trying to cure quite a bad infestation in someone else's house, where I've been living temporarily. I put them in in early September, and there were still a few moths around in November. I haven't seen one, or caught one in a trap, since the beginning of December. It's not total proof that the teeny-tiny wasps work, but things are looking hopeful on the moth-war front. I have also been doing all the usual things - cleaning under and behind furniture, etc. Six packets of wasps were £100.

... oh, it might have been eight packets of wasps for £100. I can't quite remember.

If it helps then money well spent!

I would post a pic of them staring out from inside a plastic bag but you'd all be traumatised. Big Ted is less aware of his surroundings but he's only got one eye.

Moth grubs don’t eat cotton, they evolved to eat nest detritus , so animal products like fur and wool, sometimes silk. If you have holes in cotton things then you have something else as well as clothes moths.

I had a horrendous problem with moths a few years ago.

I swear by Zero In 90 day knockdown flying insect killer.

It doesn’t specifically mention moths, but they worked for me. I had to clean thoroughly and kill every one I could find first. These got rid of the rest. I have one in each room and one in the wardrobe. Plus they seem to have the added benefit of repelling spiders - bonus! I still use them and haven’t had any moths since.

Also moths don’t “dislike the smell” of moth balls, they contain naphthalene which is toxic to insects but also not great for humans so best not used.

This. Five years now, and I don't think we have even a small chance of eradicating them without replacing nearly every carpet as most of them are wool. And we can't afford that. So I spray a couple of times a year and hang the sachets in the cupboards. All wool clothing is kept in bags.

On the plus side, we don't have issues with fleas from our cat. I assume the moth spray kills them off.

I use Dragonfli sticky pheremone traps together with parasitic wasp sachets. My wardrobes are lined with cedar which also helps. On really chilly dry nights you can also hang jumpers etc outside - nature's freezer.

I had moths in a flat I used to rent - we'd seen an occasional one flying around but didn't think much of it, but when we moved beds and the sofa to hoover, bits of carpet just came up because the grubs had nibbled it all! So even if you're not noticing moths, I'd recommend hoovering under all furniture etc. The grubs kind of wrap themselves in the fibres so you don't necessarily notice them by eye. We got rid of them by smoke bombs you used and then left your flat for a couple of hours. I'm paranoid everytime I see one of those little gold-y coloured moths now.

I feel your pain, OP. Still traumatised by the moths that moved into my last-but-one house. The only thing that worked for me was ripping up the carpets. It's hard flooring and plastic rugs for me!

Just coming back to say - we had three smoke-bomb treatments by professionals and we've still got moths. Not as bad but still there. So they can be incredibly hard to shift.

Re carpets - we replaced our (lovely) wool carpets - which weren’t even deep-pile ones, but the moths will eat anything - with moth-resistant part-synthetic. It’s not nearly as nice and it grieved me but it had to be done ☹️

@Quebeccles were you happy with your carpet? I have been lusting after Roger Oates stair runners but no way will I spend £££ on wool carpets ever again.

Sadly moths love dark places under furniture, so it’s highly likely (if your carpets are wool) that they will have eaten underneath the wardrobe. It’s the larvae, not the moths, that do the eating and they can wriggle into very small places. I found this out the hard way.

I also agree that moths don’t eat cotton. Their diet requires keratin, so wool, cashmere and silk are the likely victims. If you’ve got holes in your cotton clothing, it’s something else.

I wish I had a solution, as said above regular vacuuming and use of something to kill the moths is the only thing that works, but they are a persistent nuisance these days, I don’t remember them being such a problem years ago.

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.

Unfortunately they will. They can squeeze through the tiniest of gaps, and assuming the wardrobe is sitting on carpet they can burrow into the pile.

I’m dealing with an awful infestation. It went from a couple of moths here and there to huge threadbare patches in my carpets in the space of six months. The fuckers are brazen and don’t care if they’re disturbed or not, the bald patches pop up in the middle of rooms. When I lifted up the carpets I found the moths underneath, as well as lots of frass and many casings in the underlay. Until recently I was spending 3-4 hours a day on it, vacuuming the surface and underneath of the carpets, steaming the carpets, spraying the carpets, cleaning everything, boil washing clothes, freezing clothes etc. Still the bastards popped up.

I decided I couldn’t do it anymore. I got rid of any furniture I couldn’t easily move or hoover underneath and I’m having hard flooring fitted next week.

Vacuums aren’t great at getting up the eggs and larvae. If you have wool carpets/rugs then get a lint roller and roll it around. If it picks up gritty stuff then you have a carpet infestation.

For woollens, they need to be frozen for at least a week (might be longer, either way the longer the better), Ideally at -18C or lower. I wash my woollens then freeze them in a zip lock bag once they’ve dried. Jumpers I’ve worn but are otherwise clean also go straight into ziplock bags and into the freezer.

Be proactive and get on top of it now. A seemingly small infestation will rapidly turn into a severe one.

Re carpets - we replaced our (lovely) wool carpets - which weren’t even deep-pile ones, but the moths will eat anything - with moth-resistant part-synthetic.

They really will. I found larvae and casings in two 100% synthetic armchairs, seagrass baskets, wicker baskets, and 100% cotton rugs. Anything that could harbour dead skin cells, pet fur etc.

They won't be flying in from outside. They've hitched a lift on some fabric/wool/baskets to get in your house.
You just have to keep going with cleaning, freezing, etc. I have found getting a big can of moth killer and basically fogging a room with it quite effective. Hold your breath and spray everything liberally - under your bed, into the corners of the floor etc and shut the door. Leave overnight - then air well and vacuum.

One moth = 100s of eggs, I squash the bastards.

We have the tiny wasps, but that needs doing every few months.
I have also sprayed where I cannot put the wasps (but thats a pain as if the spray gets too near the wasps it will kill them too).

I can't spray the whole house, we have fish and frogs here.

I've lost probably ££££ in silk/cashmere/wool fibre (I knit/weave/spin, well I did, I don't now :( ) and i don't think I can get on top of the problem unless i remove all the fibre and pretty much nuke the house.

Never assume they cannot get somewhere, the eggs are miniscule, ive opened sealed packets of things to find moth cases and holes and frass, so eggs must have already been inside.

Holes in cotton could be carpet beetles. Those little buggers are far less fussy about their natural fibres.

The treatment is pretty much the same, though. You can out diatomaceous earth down under heavy furniture to discourage them from setting up home there.

@ThatNimblePeer we went for Cormar 'Pimlico'. It’s 50% wool but 'moth resistant'. We were slightly fortunate in that only part of the house was carpeted in wool previously; the rest was sisal and jute and they don’t seem to have touched that! Tbh I’d have like to replace the whole thing with sisal but it’s quite expensive now.

ETA: I strongly suspect we acquired our infestation from a rug DH brought back from a trip abroad. We had no moths at all before that 😭

Thanks - that’s interesting about the lint roller as a way of telling if you have a carpet infestation. What is the gritty stuff that it picks up?

Thanks everyone for all the replies and suggestions above!