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Housekeeping

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Help, moth infestation!

3 replies

plesiosaurus · 27/10/2021 20:58

I've always been fanatical about checking clothing for moths since that time years ago when the little buggers feasted on a coat of mine that had been stored in the attic, and there's been no sign of them in my clothes, or my yarn stash, which I also check regularly.
This evening I moved a large, heavy display cabinet in the sitting room to vacuum, and found a large, threadbare patch, and signs of active moth larvae. I've ordered some spray to kill them, which arrives tomorrow, and as luck should have it we were planning on replacing the carpet next month, it will now be taken out (and burned!!) a little earlier than anticipated, and we will live with bare boards for a few weeks.
I'm massively paranoid about infestations in the rest of the house. I've not noticed anything, but my reading on the subject tells me they like dark, undisturbed spaces, so there is going to be some serious furniture shifting going on in the next couple of days.
Does anyone else have experience of dealing with moths? Do I need to be using those fumigation bomb things? Or do I need to get the professionals in? Any advice on the subject would be much appreciated.

OP posts:
GuckGuckDoose · 27/10/2021 21:02

I would strongly recommend getting the professionals, and treating extensively, as believe me you don’t want them going any further (though unfortunately I suspect they already will have if they infestation is as significant as you describe) - here speaks the bitter voice of experience. As I understand it many moths are resistant to a lot of the products available to the public, and certainly to more natural methods like cedar balls etc.

I dealt with this 2 years ago and you have my full sympathy, good luck!

plesiosaurus · 27/10/2021 21:22

@GuckGuckDoose We've just spent the last hour shifting all the heavy furniture downstairs to check, and thankfully no sign of any more damage. Laminate in the hall, no signs of them on the stair carpet. The two large bedrooms have fitted cupboards, so no heavy furniture standing on carpet, apart from chest of drawers and beds, and again, no sign of moth larvae or any damage. The office is tiny and had a new carpet fitted about two months ago, the old one showed no signs of any moth damage. The two attic rooms are laminate floor, so no worries there. I'm going to clear out every drawer, wardrobe and cupboard to check every item of clothing (already checked the winter coats after panicking at the thought of my beloved Gloverall duffle coat being eaten, but they're fine). Obviously we're going to have the whole house treated though. I feel slightly violated by this!

OP posts:
Cynderella · 27/10/2021 23:16

We've had this since last year. The positives from it are that it made me ruthlessly declutter clothes, bedlinen, towels and general stuff. This made it easier to vacuum thoroughly every day (lockdown days). We have got rid of a lot of furniture too (no longer needed with less 'stuff').

This made a huge difference - we put sticky traps everywhere and noticed fewer and fewer of the bastards. Spring, this year the numbers went up. I just don't have the time for such thorough daily vacuuming, so I've now got rid of all of the carpets, and replaced with cheap polyester carpet. No sign of any since.

I did consider getting in professionals, but it's an old house in a terrace where the lofts aren't properly divided. I've heard of so many people having their houses fumigated only to have a new lot move in a year or two later, I've decided to take the route of note feeding them.

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