How to get rid of moths?

[SummerHoliday2023]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me how to get rid of moths? I’ve just returned to work from maternity leave and have found little holes in all my work knitwear. It is so depressing when dressing for work after maternity leave is challenging enough! I’ve had to throw away so many fine-knit jumpers and cardigans I now have nothing to wear, but don’t want to replace anything if there’s a chance that new things will be eaten too. How do I stop this from happening?

We are moving house in August and I also don’t want to bring moths with us so hoping to clear it up (or perhaps not replace anything until we have moved and are rid of this problem?) We have a 1 year old and a 3 year old so I can’t use hazardous pest control chemicals anywhere.

We have never had issues with moths before. The house is rented and the carpets are old and definitely in need of replacing.

Please help! I feel like I’ve got enough on my plate at the moment without adding moths into the mix!

Getting rid is virtually impossible.
Concentrate on not taking them with you.
Does the new house have wool carpets, maybe consider replacing them.

Thanks - how can I make sure that we don’t take them with us? I’m not sure what the carpets in our new place will be.

I believe that if you freeze your clothes for 24 hours that will kill the larvae. Google it

We tried everything then found out about these Japanese wasps. They are tiny and lay their eggs inside the moth larvae (the things that do the damage) , thus killing them

We are 3 weeks on and no signs of moths 🤞

Called Trichogramma Wasps. I bought online. Not cheap but cheaper than replacing carpets and cashmere. And no chemicals !

Where did you buy the wasps from? I've just looked up a couple of places to see what they are as I think I may have moths. One place sold them for £10, but not sure if it's a reputable brand. I don't want to create an accidental infestation of something else!

Really clean all of your wardrobes and drawers etc, put strong smelling soaps and lavender sachets everywhere. Freeze your woollens and store in plastic boxes afterwards. We have had to throw out one carpet and had to resort to spray to deter moths from eating new wool carpets. Have found products from total wardrobe care that are more natural for clothes. Also vacuum everywhere inc under all furniture as they lurk everywhere!!! Good luck. We’re finding the whole thing very tiring and irritating!!!

We paid pest control to come out and spray three times. I regretted wasting my money on lavender and diy treatment, the infestation was too far gone. We do still have a few but like 1-2 a week instead of 5-10 a day.

Do we want to have Japanese wasps introduced into the UK eco system as moth predators. How many times has a species been unleashed in an environment as a way to control a target creature only to find it's then run amok and upset the eco system.

It's impossible - they come in from outside whenever I open the windows!

Thanks everyone. It’s just so upsetting and frustrating to be throwing out my favourite knitwear having been looking forward to finally wearing it all again after pregnancy and maternity leave! I will try the freezer approach. Any more tips and advice very welcome!

I bought Acclaim from Amazon. It's lethal to everything so be careful with it. I owed the windows and doors of each room. I sprayed it everywhere. Particularly round the edges of the room. I resprayed every 3 or 4 days. It will hand around for a few,weeks and anything that lands on the sprayed area, will die.

I also bought London traps to check if thete were any moths around. So far I've seen none this year but it has been quite cold so I'm not counting my chickens just yet.

My Mum always used to put mothballs in her wardrobes. I'm not sure if it was because we had months or to prevent them. I'm not sure where she got them but they had an unpleasant smell.

I believe the wasps just die off once the food source of clothes moths has been exhausted. They can only exist if there is a continual supply of moths.

We had an infestation which was only brought under control by replacing wool carpets. I was vacuuming the whole house thoroughly every day or two and that made a huge difference, but I just couldn't keep it up, so carpets had to go. Carpet fitter said he's seeing it all the time now.

I did a lot of research, and I think @FunnyFunn is right - I read about so many people who spent a fortune getting professionals in for the little bastards to return a year or two later. In the last few weeks, I've seen a few and I am really hoping that they're not the start of another round.