clothes moths

[conflicted]

Anyone else have them? Or, more to the point, anyone else had them and got rid of the blighters?

When I unpack our winter woollies, I often find holes. All my expensive suits eventually succumb too. I don't like the idea of using chemicals (least of all organophosphates) and have tried lavendar bags and cedar balls with some, but not complete, success. DO I need to turn the heating up and ruin the planet that way, or do you have any other solutions?

I guess we could start wearing acrylic fleeces but somehow that does not appeal.

what type of fleeces do your wear?

i have bought those strips (they have pheremones (SP?) and they attract the moths! I cannot believe in fact how many they have caught on the strips! Got it from our local hardware shop - i think i have the order form somewhere if you want it.
I tried the mothballs, cedar bags etc, but it didnt help one bit - i have now lost too mnay jumpers to them although we are facing a losing battle me thinks!

SH: cashmere jumpers, not fleeces, silly.

I am off to a hardware store now. Thanks vuvu.

I have a friend who is horrified that we have clothes moths and thinks that nobody else does so I am relieved I am not alone.

I think it must be terribly middle class to live without insects. If you were going that route, you would have to invest in one of those gross air fresheners and have blue blocks in your loos.

Once or twice, we have had ants in the kitchen, too. Bicarbonate of soda on the floor did the trick with them.

i think you'll find that cashmere fleece doesn't wick away the moisture like a man-made fibre one does.

insects in the house is one thing - insects in your clothes is another. yuk. zap em.

I read (in a Tracey Chevalier novel of all places), that rosemary deters clothes moths. I put some rosemary essential oil on a hanky and put it in the bottom of our drawers.

I think it worked, but will be trying it again as we have several new holes in our clothes.

Rosemary oil to the rescue. Thank you. I love the smell of it anyway. I have some in my garden that I will cut.

Ooops, I name changed half way through this thread....

Just checked you can get them from STV call 01953881580
They are called Pheromone Lures!!!!!!!!!!!
Once you have the sticky thing that you put in the plastic bit, you can just reorder the sticky things from this place! Does that make sense ... hope it helps!

I've tried everything. We're plagued by them. I don't have the magic solution but some of the things I do to keep them at bay are:
Those pheremone sticky things like these. they don't get rid of them all (they only attract the males) but they keep the population down.
Keeping all woollens as clean as possible and ironing them too (the ironing kills the eggs).
Keeping all woollens in a vac pac bag or a sealed box with some cedar balls in it.

I hate moths with a passion

did the organophosphates not work?

I store my woollens in a wooden chest of drawers and I put drops of citronella esential oil in the drawer before putting anything in there it works!!

Ours only ever eat new stuff. And they prefer red I've noticed. Wrecked a gorgeous raspberry top I'd worn once. So I am watching this thread with mean and vicious interest. I hate em. Keel them!

Ours must be dim as I usually find the grubs making their little tubes on man-made fleece. Have never worked it out!

Basically, herbs etc don't work (sorry). You need to get the chemicals in them to such a high concentration (in an airtight container) that it's not workable.

I do use herbs and I wash the floors with floor soap plus essential oils: white camphor and lavender, mainly, because that's what I could get at the time. Apparently you can disorient the moths with balls of cotton wool with a few drops of essential oils on them, stuffed into floorboard crevices (if you have such a thing...we do...old house...)

Other than that the pheromone traps, and excessive cleaning and hoovering. The grubs live on hairy dustballs down the back of your bed as well, and in the cracks in your floorboards. Hoover religiously. (I don't ) Place pheromone traps at floor level as they like to stay low in dark corners.

Keep your knitwear and suits etc absolutely protected in plastic. Don't buy woollens from charity shops/accept from mothy friends unless you are ace at spotting the cases.

Also be very vigilant in spring and autumn as they are most active then.

Oh and you can freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw in 3 day cycles if something gets mothy but by then it's usually a goner, isn't it? Apparently we have more clothes moths now because central heating is keeping us too pampered, and not killing off the eggs in winter.

I love chemicals and poisons.

You can get moth-killers where there is a bit of wadding inside impregnated with a chemical, the vapour leaches out over 3 months and kills moths and eggs. It is not just a scented repellent, although it does have a lavender scent.

it usually takes about 1 unit per half-cubic-metre of space, up to 1 unit per 2 cubic metres for the Bouchard, so a few in a wardrobe, or one in a sealed poly bag full of clothes, or in a drawer. The units come in a plastic hanging holder, it costs a few pounds for a packet of several.

the tumble drier can be used (even on already-clean clothes) as the heat kills larvae and eggs, but the wardeobe you put them into has got to be cleaned and proofed or they will get reinfested.

you have to clean your wardrobes and drawers, inluding the dusty area behind where theu lurk, vacuum frequently, and after wiping clean you can use a Cypermethrin spray (also used for ants and cockroaches) that leaves a film on hard surfaces inside the wardrobe. They like to hide in joints and cracks in the furniture, skirting board, carpet edges, and under stuff where you don't hoover.

Once you have got moths, you have to be very thorough in getting rid of them as there can be eggs anywhere. The vacuum cleaner is a good way to control them.

clothes have to be clean before you put them away

BTW the scent of women attracts moths, single men don't get them