I have MOTHS!

[thescot]

I've heard that if you have a woolen garment that is a lost cause, you should place it next to a good piece of wool, set fire to the old garment, and as the moths run to the new one, stab them with an icepick.

I haven't tried it, so don't blame me.

[Brave Andrew]

Search Out and Destroy! Kill those Nasty Beasties!

[JNWK]

I have dealt with moths many times in the past (still do), and there are many things that you should do once you see that you have a moth problem.

First, moths love light and they hate it. During the flying stage, the moths will be attracted to rooms with light but they will seek out a dark place to lay eggs. The best dark places are closets, drawers or underneath beds. These places rarely see light for very long, and they are also places where we often store wool clothing. If you have hardwood floors, especially with real wood planks found in older homes (pre-1980), the inevitable settling of the house on its foundation causes slight crevices to develop between the planks of wood in the floors -- moths love those crevices. The moths usually make their way into a house through improperly sealed windows. Older homes with their original windows typically do not feature screens, so opening these windows in warm weather, even when using insertable sliding screens, will allow flying moths to enter your home.

Second, you must deal with your clothing and create a safe storage area. The best treatment for killing moth eggs in wool clothing is professional dry cleaning. Immersion in the chemicals will kill all eggs. If dry cleaning is not possible or desirable, then you must freeze the clothing for at least 3 days. Once you have dry cleaned or frozen your clothing, you must place it somewhere the moths won't like (at least until you deal with your closets and drawers). I took an extra space in my basement to hang all woolen clothing. I screwed eye bolts into the beams, strung rope through them and created a temporary clothes line. Next, I strung LED rope lights around the ceiling and left them turned on 24/7. Remember, moths won't lay eggs in places that are constantly bathed in light. I left space between each clothing item to assure that there are no dark spaces remaining. Do not move any clothing item into the safe area until it has completed dry cleaning or freezing.

Third, treat your closets, drawers and hardwood floors. After completely emptying them, vacuum the areas very well. Even though moths prefer to lay eggs on woolen clothing, they will also lay eggs in crevices between wood planks. You will more often notice moths on wood floors, especially in closets, because things resting on top of the floor, like shoe boxes, create dark places for moths to hide. If you have the flat head tool to attach to the wand of the vacuum cleaner (I think it is referred to as a drapery tool), use it to slowly suck out anything between the crevices in the wood planks. You should also use it on the top sides of baseboards that may not be flush to the wall, thereby creating another type of crevice where moths like to hide. Use the vacuum similarly on all drawers -- empty the entire piece of furniture to do this, not just the drawers where you noticed the moth problem.

Once completely cleaned, it is best to install cedar planks in your closet and to place cedar blocks/chips in your drawers and underneath beds. Cedar will need to be rougly sanded 2-3 times per year in order to lift the oils in the cedar to the surface. This acts to rejuvenate cedar's ability to repel moths. On your closet rail, use the hanging cedar blocks every 2 feet to act as additional repellant. If possible, install a form of constant lighting in your closets (such as LED rope lights) and place good seals on the closet doors (mainly to keep your bedroom dark and sleepable). The lighting and cedar repellants should drive away any moths that would otherwise like to nest in your wool clothing.

Finally, I have not found that bug bombs do anything to moths. Certainly the bombs can kill and repel other types of insects, and they may even kill a few moths, but moths can withstand a considerable amount of chemcicals unless they are immersed in them (such as with professional dry cleaning).

If you do not follow the above steps, the moths will come back, sometimes worse than before. Moths are very difficult to eradicate from a home (short of burning the home to the ground).

Good luck!

[Tobus]

Finally, I have not found that bug bombs do anything to moths. Certainly the bombs can kill and repel other types of insects, and they may even kill a few moths, but moths can withstand a considerable amount of chemcicals unless they are immersed in them (such as with professional dry cleaning).

What about moth balls? I bought several hanging canisters of the stuff and hung them in the closet. It is so powerful, we can hardly stand the smell. The whole house reeks of it. But the package said it will kill moth larvae.

After letting that sit for the last several weeks, I moved my wool items to sealed garment bags and have hung cedar rings in the closet. Will this do the trick?

[auld argonian]

One possibility is cedar drawer liners. Just do an internet search for them and you'll find dozens of listings. They come as small planks and as rolls of a sort of veneer stuff...

Just an alternative short of building a complete cedar chest or closet.

Best

AA