Moths in my jumper drawer

[Breadcat24]

I just fished out a lovely cashmere jumper from a drawer to find holes all over it!
What a nightmare
There were moth repellent sachets in the drawer but they were obviously useless.
I have bought some spray of amazon and some cedar ball and I am going to work through all the drawers checking, vacuuming and anything items not munched spraying it hanging up. Munched stuff in the bin- I hope it will not be my favourites😥
I suppose I will have to do the carpets and other drawers and wardrobes too- such a massive job
Any tips or advice please?

Put all your knitwear in the freezer for a few days then put it in individual ziplock bags. We used moth bombs when we had moths, you burn them in a closed room. Probably very unhealthy but they did work.

Stuff like cedar balls, moth balls and ‘repellent’ are useless.

You need killer.

Get Zero In killer sheets and stuff your drawers. Wardrobes with them. And Zero In spray.

Now you have an infestation also get the sticky pheromone traps. You don’t need all the expensive plastic boxes for them if you can just prop them up in your wardrobe.

Put everything into the freezer
Leave for 2 weeks
The moth life cycle may mean items have been infested and more moths to come

Then place each item into a ziplock bag with a moth killer sachet .

All of my knitwear is washed before storing as it attracts moths if you dont , store individually and disturb /rotate frequently

The " never wash knitwear" folk are insane

Were you using the moth killer sachets, or just deterrents? You need something like the Acana range which kill the larvae, grubs and moths.

In any event, yes, now you need a complete Spring clean. Take everything out and inspect. Chuck the badly infected items. Put others in the freezer, or you can spray them and then wash. Hoover, wipe down. Spray, spray, spray, with moth and grub killer. In the drawers, under the drawers, check under the bed. Then put everything back with killer sachets. Put killer hangers in your wardrobes. Keep vigilant.

When I found ours in DDs wardrobe I found loads of munching grubs and clumps of teeny tiny eggs on clothes and in the carpets.... Bleuch.

I spent all last year going round all the bedrooms killing moths every evening. Oh, and pop some traps around too, although I didn't find those so effective.

I changed all my sachets/hangers before Winter, and am just about to change them all again for Spring.

All my wool and cashmere is kept in zippered bags between wears and frozen in the spring before storage.

We had a lot of moths floating around last year and I traced the source to my dd's room. She had stuffed some cashmere sweaters in a drawer and gone back to uni. They were riddled with holes and had to be thrown out. Damn shame. My fault for giving them to her (they were mine from when I was slimmer!)

Both she and dh like to buy clothes from charity shops, which i guess is probably where they came from in the first place.

I had a - thankfully - minor infestation a decade or so ago. As well as your cashmere and wool do the same with your silk, especially anything with lace - I found larvae burried into the stitching and lace inserts of some silk blouse

The "never wash knitwear" folk are insane

I'm in that group. I use mothballs, killer sprays, moth strips, check everything regularly, circulate clothes and replace the moth killers, respray and never have heating on in rooms where clothes are kept. No issues.

Unfortunately the freezer thing is not possible - we only have a fridge freezer and it is full! But thanks for the suggestion maybe I can plan better in the future and have a moth drawer!
I have had moth killer hanging up things in all wardrobes but maybe they had stopped being effective. However so far I have not found any damage in the wardrobes.
I only have moth killer spray until amazon delivers the moth bombs and replacement wardrobe hanging things today
.
I am systematically going through the house room by room vacuuming everything and spraying everything!. I am starting where there are no moths and clearing room by room until I get to the offending chest of drawers I have done the ground floor now - where I am pretty sure there are no moths, but the wool rugs, curtains etc are now protected.
I am now working through all rooms on the first floor. It is going to be a long day!

You may need to replace wool carpets. Moths love them and there are more moths around due to warmer weather here in recent years.

@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain That is why I went for the rooms unaffected by moths first. All furnishings, carpets and surfaces are vacuumed sprayed and will be moth bombed overnight. Wool stair carpet also thoroughly sprayed.
Husband thinks I am a bit mad treating the whole house rather than just the chest of drawers with the jumpers but I cannot risk spread!

Whole house treated now -5 wardrobes, 4 chests of drawers, carpets, curtainins the whole shebang. Lucky on only 3 jumpers moth bitten

I found the sticky traps good. Some brands better than others. I have them in every room upstairs.

We had an infestation a couple of years ago. I just used the traps and repellent spray and went around the house killing any I found every morning and evening.

I don’t have any cashmere and only found a hole in one t-shirt thankfully.

Eugh I have just had the same a whole jumper drawer infested. Which sachets do people recommend? Everything now in the freezer and will wash to see if anything can be saved .

Any good bags for storing or just general ziplocks? Ideally would want to be able to access easily. My jumpers are folded Marie kondo style.

Have a look at the microscopic parasitic wasps on the dragonflii website https://dragonfli.co.uk/collections/clothes-moths

We still have them off and on. Thankfully I don’t have any cashmere to be nibbled.

I still use the sticky trap. And a couple of weeks ago I used moth bombs which seems to have made the most difference. Spotted a few more last couple of days so will do that again.

I also have Indorex flea spray which is supposed to work in them too. Might have already been mentioned up thread. I’m going to use that if the moth bombs don’t eradicate them.

There is no such thing as overreaction where moths are concerned! Last year we had a bad infestation on the underside of our sofa, where they had eaten away all round the bottom, loving the expensive wool fabric cover. Lesson learned - we ended up blitzing the whole house, just to be sure there were none lurking in our knitwear, coats etc.

Apparently they love dark, undisturbed areas so regular turning out of drawers, cupboards, moving furniture etc is needed to avoid a bad infestation like ours. Even now we still spy the odd one and literally leap into action with the sprays.

On a lighter note, if the holes in clothes are not too extensive, you can use decorative darning or needle felting to disguise the damage.

Someone should set up a business taking all the clothes, freezing them and giving them back. Most people don't have the freezer space, particularly for wool coats etc.

@Oceangrey I think these people do!

https://www.thepestcompany.co.uk/moth-pest-control/
https://jgpestcontrol.co.uk/moth-control/

The scented products like cedar and lavender do not kill moths and will have no effect on an infestation, but will make your holey clothes smell nice when you throw them in the bin.

A chemical called Transfluthrin kills eggs, moths and larvae. You can get sachets or plastic hangers that emit a vapour that builds up inside wardrobes and drawers. They last 3 to six months depending on type. They are mostly very small but you can get some hanging units big enough for a wardrobe.

Zero-in is a good brand. So is Rentokil. I live outside a small town and order mine on Ebay. I used to buy them at Robert Dyas until they closed.

I am currently using an impregnated paper product from Zero-In, the pack contains a perforated strip of 20 sheets, they are unscented and last 6 months. You write the expiry date on them, I put one in the pocket of each garment (I also put them in suit covers so there will be a good concentration of vapour). The vapour disperses in ventilated rooms and breaks down in sunlight, so it needs to be in a closed container. You can put your winter cashmere jumpers, and your summer silk dresses, in a sealed plastic box out of season.

You can put one between each jumper. You may need a couple in a drawer of small things.

An infestation can cost you a fortune. I have had a few things attacked, including a brand new suit I foolishly left hanging on the back of a door.

You can deal quickly with things in bulk by putting them through a tumble drier. Dry wool does not shrink or mat. Immediately afterwards put them into large clear plastic bags, with a Tranfluthrin sachet, because once you have moths in the house, you can't afford to put them down or they get reinfested. While you are dealing with it, put a large hanging cassette in every wardrobe or cupboard, and small ones in every drawer.

You will then have to empty, clean, hoover and spray every wardrobe and drawer, before putting the clothes hack, inspecting as you go, and hoover and spray carpets, especially behind and under furniture where they expect to be undisturbed, and the gaps under skirting boards.

Moths like the scent of garments that have been worn and put away, especially by women.

Oh can they buy some?

Sorry