Dealing with clothes moths

enda1

An off on topic rant.

But I hate clothes moths!
I have a hand wash clothes bin where I put my woollen clothes and cashmeres until I've no clothes left and need to wash them where I wash them all at the the same time in a humph. But this time they've turned my favourite jumper, an Olivier Strelli one into what appears to be a multiple stab victims top. There must be over twenty bloody holes in it!

I've learned my lesson to wash my clothes more frequently, but is there any extra precaution? Anyone use any special products to prevent this type of expensive catastrophe?

Scrappychimow

Clean your house it seems;

'Preventing or Reducing Infestations
Periodically clean areas of a home that may harbor clothes moths to prevent or control infestation. Those areas include many seldom-cleaned spots, such as:

under heavy pieces of furniture;
along baseboards and in cracks where hair and debris accumulate;
closets, especially those in which woolens and furs are kept; and
heaters, the areas behind them, and vents.
The vacuum cleaner is the best tool for most of this cleaning. '

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7435.html

enda1

Actually my apartment is quite clean generally. I think its just too warm though also. It never gets below 18 degrees, all year round.

Thanks for the advice though.

lainey316

It's not so much that it's not clean, it just means once they get in they hide out in places you don't scrub often. You need to remove all the eggs to get rid of them.

However I'd keep cedar balls in your clothes bin and wardrobe to deter them.
http://www.amazon.com/RED-CEDAR-BALLS-100-PACK/dp/B003V126C0

This may not remove the infestation from the apartment, but it will help keep them away from our clothes. Any hardware shop should have them. You need to sand them every so often to 'reactivate' them

shinikins

Actually, I was told the other day that there is an infestation of large (clothes eating) moths in Ireland at the moment, and it doesn't matter how clean/dirty your house is. Mothballs or cedar are pretty much the only deterrents, but cedar smells so much better.

Scrappychimow

shinikins wrote: »

Actually, I was told the other day that there is an infestation of large (clothes eating) moths in Ireland at the moment, and it doesn't matter how clean/dirty your house is. Mothballs or cedar are pretty much the only deterrents, but cedar smells so much better.

My bad.

Having dirty clothes and sweaty armpits is also a major factor.

http://thehousingforum.com/how-to-get-rid-of-clothes-moths/

booboo88

where can you get cedar things? besides online?

lainey316

booboo88 wrote: »

where can you get cedar things? besides online?

I got mine in a random hardware shop.

lainey316

OP - not sure how good these are but worth a try, just appeared in my inbox

http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_17454.htm?WT.mc_id=2011-07-15-10-09

SBWife

Lavender repeals them as well. I buy little organza bags designed for wedding favours from the likes of Daintree and fill them with loose lavender from the Olive Company. They work out at about a €1 each and you can refresh them annually by just replacing the lavender.

convert

Mothballs work wonders, but are a little, ermmm, 'not so nice smelling'! If I use them, I generally put lots of lavendar, pot pourri, or similar nice smelling paper/flowers, etc. in the drawer with them.

biko

Bit of a bump here but where do I get lavender bags in Galway? Or just lavender oil?
Regular shops?
Evergreen?
Clothes shops?
Market?

lasair

I used an old scrap of curtain (go to hickeys and get like a scrap bit off them, usually for free or else get a snall cut for about 50cent and some lavender branches, tie with a fancy ribbon that you can hang off a few hanegrs.

Biko you can buy lavender oil in any good health store, Evergreen on Mainguard St is your best bet, at one stage you could buy lavender bags in the Oxfam shop.