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Housekeeping

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Moths in baby's room

8 replies

speffles · 20/03/2012 08:15

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice about safe ways to get rid of clothes moths. Our house is tiny and I have to keep my clothes in an open wardrobe in the nursery. I've noticed a few sneaky holes appearing in some of my clothes and think I have brought some moths out of storage with some of my pre-baby stuff.

I don't want to use harsh chemicals or foggers in there as DS is only 8 months old. Has anyone dealt with this problem before?

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 20/03/2012 22:09

lots and lots of hoovering.

Put all clothes and bedding through a tumble drier, as the heat will kill eggs, then immediately put into crates or sealed plastic bags (with the chemical) to prevent any new eggs being laid on the clean fabric. The mothkillers are usually only enough to treat half a cubic metre, so in a large wardrobe you will need several, and to keep the doors shut. They usually last 6 months before needing replacement.

Put all clothes and bedding in those plastic crates with lids, or in the large, transparent plastic bags used for recycling, and tape shut. You can put a mothproofer in each crate (it should be one that contains Transfluthrin, it kills adult moths, grubs and eggs. The vapour has to be concentrated in a container, or a closed wardrobe, or a door. The chemical is quickly broken down by sunlight, so it will be strong enough inside the closed container to kill moths, but will dissipate and break down if released into the room. The mothkillers only emit enough vapor to treat a small space.

Lavender and Cedar smell nice but they don't kill or remove moths.

Hoover a lot, especially edges of carpets by the skirting board where they like to live, and behind and under furniture, and the corners and joints inside wardrobes and doors. I would usually recommend that after hoovering and wiping inside, you spray a Crawling Insect Killer on the hard surfaces. It dries to a lacquer that the insects takes in through their feet, it does not evaporate into the air or spread around like a powder.

Moths are attracted to the smell of clothes that have been worn by a woman, so wash or crate everything after wear, don't just put it away. Single men usually don't get moths (this is true!)

speffles · 21/03/2012 07:22

That's great, thanks. I wasn't aware of the container killers - will be getting some of those. I guess DH should thank his lucky stars that he keep his stuff in a different wardrobe!

OP posts:
VivaLeBeaver · 21/03/2012 07:30

Ideally you need to find the source of the infestation and then get rid of it. We had this in our house, started off with the odd moth - then I was killing 5 or 6 a day. I checked in my wardrobe, under the bed, sofa, then decided to clear out the under stairs cupboard and found them there.

It was terrible, hundreds and hundreds of moth larvae wriggling about. I binned loads of stuff as it wasn't salvable. Ripped the carpet out as well. I bought a spray and sprayed the cupboard.

The moth traps will catch some moths but if they keep hatching and hatching you just won't catch up.

speffles · 21/03/2012 08:00

Ewww! I have a couple of ideas of where they might be. Neither of them easy to get to without a babysitter. We're moving in 10 days though so have to find it soon!

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PigletJohn · 21/03/2012 08:43

If you're moving, get plenty of mothkiller hangers (I get ZeroIn from Robert Dyas but there are plenty of others) and put one in each box as you are packing. They take time to work but it will mean the contents have some protection until you unpack it all, which can be quite some time when moving.

It is very disheartening to open up a box or wardrobe and be greeted by a flock of moths.

There are usually hanging packs on special offer, have a look to see if each hanger is sized to do half a cubic metre of space, and how many hangers are in each pack for example (typically you pay about £1 per hanger if you buy a multi-pack) as there are single and multi-packs, and some of the devices are a lot smaller so you need more of them (especially the paper ones and the orange balls). Rentokil do a spray as well but you have to usea lot of it all over every garment. I do harp on about Transfluthrin, because it has the advantage of killing moth eggs as well as larvae and adult moths.

speffles · 21/03/2012 13:49

I'll have a look at the ZeroIn. I've been trawling the internet for stuff and bought some bags and Rentokill sheets for towels and sheets. I have a spray for the walls and carpet coming tomorrow. With hanging sheets for the clothes boxes I think I should be able to stop them in their tracks. I'm going under the bed for a quick look while DS has his nap. I'm pretty certain that they came out with some clothes we'd been storing under there.

All the tips have been really helpful. I feel like I can get on top of it in time now.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 21/03/2012 14:45

this sort of thing will go under the bed and keep clothes clean. The lids don't always shut tightly enough to keep moths out, but if you pop in a mothkiller hanger the vapor will be strong enough to kill any that get in, and any eggs or grubs.

the boxes are handy if you're moving (but tape the lids on) and you can stack them. If full of clothes or bedding they are not very heavy, and you can put your winter clothes in them, or things that you've got too thin for.

ABF1979 · 22/09/2014 11:08

Hi everyone, I have been finding little holes in lots of my clothes lately so, assuming it is moths, I went to Lakeland and bought some lavender-scented sachets and hangers (brand name 'Moth Stop'), which I have put in all our drawers and wardrobes. The thing is, I'm 24 weeks pregnant and suddenly thought that this kind of thing may not be safe in pregnancy. I've tried Googling it but can't find anything to say whether or not they're safe - has anyone used anything similar while pregnant? I've put quite a few sachets in drawers in our bedroom so am worried about sleeping in there now! Any advice would be brilliant, thank you!

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