Has my closet got moths?

[Earlybird]

Yesterday I pulled out my beautiful wool/cashmere special occasion coat. I haven't worn it in over a year, and was distressed to find that it's got a hole (not big, but noticeable on close inspection) on the cuff. There are one or two other small places where the fabric looks "bare".

Has it been attacked by moths? How do you get them, and how do you get rid of them? How do you prevent them coming in the first place? I prefer not to use dreadfully stinky mothballs - is there another way?

And finally - can anything be done to repair the coat, or do I now resort to only wearing it at night?

could be moths... the holes tend to be quite small...
someone once told me to store things with soap to stop moths, but not sure if it works.
erm... i actually have no other advice! maybe put it in a giant tupperware?

you can get natural style mothballs - normally have a mix of lavendar and tea tree (strong smells!) - you can get them from dry cleaners or hardware stores. We are plagued with them here!

or even plagued by...(excuse poor grammar!)

Cedarwood is supposed to keep them away - you just have to remember to scratch it every now and then to keep it effective.

They don't like cinnamon, either, you could hang a bag with some fresh cinnamon sticks inside in your wardrobe.

Thanks for suggestions. I keep wondering how in the world I got the moths in the first place!

WWB - How long do the fresh cinnamon sticks last, and how often should they be changed?

foxinsox - will my clothes smell of lavendar/tea tree if I use the natural style mothballs?

I change my cinnamon sticks every three months or so. We had moths in one of our wool carpets, they had made some huge big holes before we noticed them, but the cinnamon has helped.