How do I stop moths eating all my cotton tops?

[spanish]

Moths are chewing their way through all my cotton camisoles and long sleeve tees. Does anyone know how to stop this? This is all my everyday stuff so it's not away in storage, it's all being washed and worn frequently. All I can find online is about them eating cashmere and silks, not cotton - does anyone else have this problem?

You need to freeze all your tops for a few days. Sounds bizarre but that will kill them off. Or dry cleaning or washing them on a hot wash. Plus you can get products to treat your wardrobe etc.

I really didn't think that moths eat cotton. Mine don't they love wool and seem to ignore everything else -- particularly synthetics.

SenoritaVita is correct -- freezing clothes is the answer to moths and you have to kill the ones in your wardrobe.

There have been threads about the mysterious holes in tee shirts before. Not sure what the consensus was on the cause.

Moths only eat wool don't they?

I have hung a 'thing I got from waitrose' in my wardrobe!

I think you are right mirpuppet - here. More likely to be carpet beetles.

Thanks everyone! I now have a freezer stuffed with tops, and I've also bought some lavendar bags to hang on the clothes rail as I've read somewhere else that this deters moths. Had a look at the pics of carpet beetles, but I've never seen anything that looks like this in the house. It might be that the tops are cotton with blends of other fabrics which are on the moth menu - it does tend to be the more silky cotton types, and interestingly none of my kids or dh's tees have been attacked.

I'm plagued by moths and had always thought they only went for wool (the more expensive the better ) but recently found moth larvae casings and holes on a viscose jersey dress. I've also found them on cotton knitted tops of DD. I'm coming to the conclusion that the little bastards will eat anything.

God I hate moths.

Have had tiny holes in most of my cotton tops (just at the lower front)over the last 8 years. Initially thought it was my washing machine and then moths. We replaced the carpet with a wooden floor in the main room but not in the bedroom where my clothes are. Having scoured the internet I've decided the cause must be carpet beetle. These little beetles like to hide in crevices, not just carpets and like to feed on natural fibres. I have just bought 4 large airtight clear plastic boxes and am washing all my clothes at 60c. I've scrubbed the wardrobe with Borax and got some Insect Powder(Rentokil)which says it kills insects and will sprinkle this around the skirting board edges. I don't know if this will work. I'm manic about not putting clothes on the floor and try to hoover several times a week.

I also have this problem, but discovered it's the washing machine. We have wood floors everywhere and no sign if moths / insects. Are you sure it's not that? It's all to do with large washing machine drums but machine "box" same std size, spinning clothes on high spin and centrifuge effect pulling thin cotton clothing through tiny holes of drum tearing it. The washing machine brand is irrelevant. Doesn't happen to dh tops (mostly heavier cotton) or dc's (smaller size do doesn't get tangled). As you say, always nicer tops and drives you crazy! Hope you get it sorted.

I am going to advise on the assumption that it is moths.

Lavender will make your holey clothes smell nice when you chuck them in the bin, but it will not kill moths, larvae or woolly bears.

You need an chemical called Transfluthrin, which emits a faint vapour that hill eggs, larvae and adults. You have to put it in all wardrobes and drawers as it is only effective in closed containers where the vapour can build up. It breaks down from sunlight or moisture, and dissipates in fresh air, which is why it is very safe. If you look at the labels you will see which products have it. I use the plastic hanging devices at the rate of two per wadrobe, they last a few months.

You also need to do lots and lots of hoovering, especially behind and under furniture, and round the edges or carpets next to skirting boards.

A tumble drier will kill them, including the eggs, even with clothes that are not wet, but they will be reinfested if you don't use mothkillers and keep hoovering.

Hey Eihpos and Dragonflymamma,
Did you ever figure out what was to blame? I have EXACTLY the same problem and its driving me bonkers. I called a mother extermination company and they swear that it is moths, but I don't know if I can trust that as everything on the internet says that they prefer wool and I have several untouched wool sweaters. They also want me to wash everything in all wardrobes in order to clear the problem and to wash an entire family's clothes seems completely undoable!
Any advice hugely appreciated.

I also found it is the washing machine, the holes are sharp in the drum and snag the clothes. I found many washing machines do the same.

Old thread but this misinformation is driving me nuts.
Clothes moths will absolutely eat cotton. The mother nesting site in my home was in a bed sheet. 100% cotton and so full of holes it was barely there. I was vacuuming, laundering every piece of cloth in my house, washing every wall with bleach, vacuuming every carpet, because I had three sweatshirts (all cotton), two sweatpants (all cotton) and a dozen t-shirts that had shown up with holes and I realized it was clothes moths. I was seeing them flying around in my bedroom and closet ..having no idea what they were until holes started showing up in all the clothes that were on an open shelving unit in my closet. That was over three years ago. I have them under control now and hope to eradicate by spring. The ONLY nest I found this summer was in ... drum roll. ... a 100% cotton towel. There were circular chewed up areas and CASINGS left behind in those chewed out areas. CASINGS. Clothes moth casings. No one can convince me clothes moths do not eat cotton - because they absolutely 100% certainly do. They prefer stained areas - sweat, oil, food stains, etc. But they will abso-freakin'-lutely eat cotton.

Years ago animal fibers would have been more abundant in closets than today so they would have always gone for natural animal fibers... and thus the beginning of an untrue rumor. if you have cotton with any kind of food or human stain, they will eat that all day long. if its the only thing available, they will eat brand new cotton. It's a last resort but they will absolutely eat it. Pest control companies know this, but we keep believing the internet as if its the holy grail. I have personally witness a completely incorrect statement propagated over many many many websites within months - using the exact same words even. People unabashedly take information from other sites - if they even bother verifying its correct, its by looking at another website, that probably got their information from the same place.

Clothes moths will absolutely eat cotton.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but having found this via Google I think it's appropriate to set the record straight in case anyone else finds it.

Clothes moths do not attack cotton or synthetic fibres unless they are soiled with things that they do eat, such as human hair and skin (contains keratin).

Cotton and synthetic fibres, do not by default contain keratin, so they are not attractive to clothes moths unless they are soiled!

Keratin comes solely from non-plant sourced materials, so cotton being from a cotton plant is unaffected if it is only cotton and the same for synthetic fibres. Silk, wool, cashmere, alpaca etc all contain keratin. Dirty clothes contain keratin. Towels that have been left damp and not washed properly contain keratin. They will attack anything with keratin.

Even synthetic carpets can breed them if you don't vacuum, because as you may have guessed, you shed hairs and skin into the carpet as you go about your daily routine and they will thrive on it. But they are not there to eat the synthetic carpet nor the cotton!

To eliminate moths is fairly simple but you have to be thorough:

• wash all towels without softener, and add white vinegar and oxyclean to the wash. Wash at 60 Celsius. Wash towels after 3-4 uses. Don't leave towels damp and crumpled after use, ensure they dry quickly. After washing, dry within a few hours. Do the same to any clothes suspected of having moth egg infestation. The eggs are notoriously robust to normal temperatures and cleaning due to the keratin diet. This process will kill the eggs.
• apply Rentokill PSC50 to carpets, and leave for several hours, then vacuum it up. Vacuum regularly to prevent buildup of their food. This deprives the larvae of food.
• place cedar blocks in cupboards and drawers with clothes, sand the blocks down lightly every few months and/or apply cedar oil to refresh them. Adult moths hate the compounds in cedar, this will make them not want to lay eggs in these locations.

Good luck!

More info https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef609