Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Moths

11 replies

Firstimer703 · 03/06/2019 09:33

We've been living in a new home since September and it has become apparent that we have a problem with moths and they have had a go at some clothes already. I said early on that they must be in the carpets and it looks like that's true. DH doesn't want to take the carpets up because we have a 10 month old who will make a mess of new carpets and because we would rather decorate before new carpets go down and that will be a big job. We would have called in pest control people but we have fish so we can't use their methods.

Does anyone have any idea of what natural methods we could use to solve this problem?

OP posts:
longearedbat · 03/06/2019 11:54

Tbh, once you have got an Infestation like this, natural methods probably won't work. I had a small problem a few years ago - I brought some clothing and furniture from my deceased parents house, and brought some of their moths too!
I used stuff from Lakeland, they have got a wide selection of moth treatments and you could spot treat the bad areas of carpet. If you cover the fish tank, would they be okay? It would certainly be more targeted than pest control spraying randomly around the room. Clothes that have been nibbled need to be washed at a decent temp. or dry cleaned. Then store them in bags. I don't know whether steam cleaning the carpet would work? Keep an eye out on your walls for the grubs and their casings so you can destroy them before they hatch.
When you get new carpets, don't get wool ones. Moths won't eat man made fibres.

alwaysonadiet1 · 03/06/2019 11:59

The sticky pheromone traps work well. They love cashmere so protect any cashmere clothes in bags.

PigletJohn · 03/06/2019 12:20

constant hoovering of the carpets, especially round the edges of the room, and under/behind furniture, where they live undisturbed. Preferably an upright with a beating action. Clean out your wardrobes. Put all clothes through the tumbledrier before putting them back, the heat will kill eggs. and larvae. A steam cleaner can also be used, but you have to kill them all.

In your wardrobes you can put moth killers which contain Transfluthrin, which gives out a vapour that kills moths, grubs and eggs. They are purposely made so that they give out very little chemical vapour. In a closed container or wardrobe it accumulates, but in a open room it disperses and is ventilated away. It breaks down in the air and by sunlight. The balls or sachets often treat half a cubic metre each, sometimes less, you you need one in a drawer, or several in a warbrobe. If you already have an infestation, you need to treat very aggressively to get rid of them all. If you are free, you just need a few wardrobe hangers to stay that way.

Write the expiry date on them, they usually last a couple of months.

If you have any particular garments that you don't wantto throw away put them in a plastic bag with a ball or sachet in the pocket. Or put, e.g, winter woolens in one of those plastic storage crates with a tight, sealed lid, and a sachet inside.

They are often cheaper on ebay if you need to buy an initial large supply.
www.robertdyas.co.uk/search/go?w=moth

You can also get products containing cedar or other scents. These don't kill moths but will make your holey clothes smell nice when you throw them in the bin.

If you don't like chemicals, not a prob, but you will change your mind after you've thrown away hundreds of pounds worth of your best clothes. I presume the fishtanks are not in your wardrobe.

redwoodmazza · 03/06/2019 15:31

My late parents' bungalow was infested with moths - loads of grubs in the wool-mix carpets at the edges of the room. They ate the carpet pile away. The man-made carpet in one of the rooms was fine!!! All the others were terrible.
My DM's eyesight was poor and she never believed me about them. However, she eventually bought useless cedar wooden balls and similar rubbish from Bettaware or similar. They did diddley squat. After parents died, we removed all the infested carpets and dumped them all. Sold the bungalow with only underlay in it - man-made so no grubs in that.
I think you should consider a professional company.

Firstimer703 · 03/06/2019 22:26

Thanks for the advice all. Especially @PigletJohn whose comments made me chuckle! The fish are not in the wardrobe, you're right. Going to check out some of your suggestions now so thanks for taking the time to post.

OP posts:
heyholetsgogogo · 05/06/2019 19:19

We had an infestation of carpet moths contained to one room.
No damage to clothes through.
Went on moth killer.co.uk and bought a selection of chemicals

Treated twice 1 month apart - solved the problem but lost the carpet. The holes were covered with the sofa and s large rug.
Treatment was ant powder Hmmsome spray then an aresol "bomb"

Good luck

MissUGirl · 05/06/2019 19:40

On this subject, does anyone know how to get the smell of moth balls out of clothes once the moths are gone?
I have six vintage jackets/coats which now reek (but are hole-free).

PigletJohn · 05/06/2019 23:27

tumble drier.

MissUGirl · 06/06/2019 07:58

Thanks @PigletJohn. I think a dryer might ruin the coats though as they are wool and leather. :-(

Needmoresleep · 06/06/2019 08:28

Piglet John's advice is about right.

Moths seem to be everywhere at the moment. Our experience was once we had a major infestation the only way out was to have the house fumigated. I don't know exactly what the guy did. (I used by builder/handyman) but he came in when we were away with masks and some sort of chemicals and did the whole house. That was five years ago, and since then it has just been the sort of control action Piglet John suggests (sticky strips in wardrobes and in corners, and mothballs, plus that old fashioned spring cleaning where you shake out rugs and clean deep into the edges of carpets including on stairs.)

I currently have a couple of tenanted properties with moths. Both sets of tenants are from Eastern Europe so quite panicked about moths, as apparently this is their first experience. (I assume Putin is a deterrent.) One has been following internet suggestions along the lines of those suggested by Piglet John, but has not completely solved the problem as larvae seem deep within the carpet, I plan to have the flat fumigated. The other seems to think it is a problem for the landlord to solve. Happy days.

roses2 · 06/06/2019 15:14

I've used smoke bombs:

www.amazon.co.uk/Clothes-Moth-Killer-Smoke-Bombs/dp/B0161HBNF6/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&keywords=pest+expert+moth&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1559830380&sr=8-1

Last year I had a huge problem with clothes being eaten. I set off the bombs inside the wardrobe.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.