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cmara

Clothes Moths

11 years ago

Hi All,

Surprisingly I did not find a whole lot of advice here for getting rid of clothing moths, maybe I haven't been searching the right keywords. Anyway, I have a small moth problem in my closet and I'm trying to stop it from getting any worse. I noticed the problem back in June. I saw these very small brownish moths every so often. I did a quick sweep of the shelves and baskets where I keep wool sweaters and scarves and found some larvae or larvae casing in one. I threw out the basket and the scarves that had been eaten. I set up a few of those cardboard pheromone traps and they've caught about 20 moths since June. I still see a flying moth every day or other day. Now that summer is over I've decided to completely clean out the closet and get to the bottom of it. I have emptied it and am in the process of washing or dry cleaning every last piece of clothing, whether wool or not. I have the clothes waiting to be washed in big Rubbermaid tubs in the laundry room so any moths on them can't escape into the rest of the house. The closet is completely empty. I've vacuumed every inch of the closet, carpet, wood work, drawers, etc. I washed all the shelving down. I sprayed the closet with a cedar scented spray that is supposed to kill the actual flying moth and I set up a bunch of new pheromone traps. I don't think there's much else I can do but wait. Thats my question, how long do I wait before I put everything back in the closet? My bedroom is in turmoil, but the thought of putting it all back and finding moths again is making me crazy! It's only been 24 hours, but no moths in the traps yet. So how long do you think I should wait?

Comments (4)

  • 11 years ago

    I have read that one must empty closets that are infested and wash them thououghly. I would have the woolens cleaned and wash the rest before returning them to thte closet. Fuller brush used to make a moth killer spray but I am not sure how safe it is. We bought moth proof garment bags and I put cedar pieces and bags if cedar shreds In with the clothes. Every garment not in a bag gets a bag of cedar shreds in the pockets or, in the case of sweaters , tucked in the folds and on top of the sweater. This is a serious problem here too. I have losts some expensive garments before I tried this. So far we have had no more problem. Also save the plastic bag that blankets come in and use them in the off season.

    cmara thanked nerdyshopper
  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    I have been battling the webbing clothes moths also this year, I did everything you did but I also found the larvae on my shoes. I took a damp paper towel and wiped all of my shoes, I then let the shoes air dry in the sun. I also put all of my wool garments in plastic bags and sealed them up, I sat them in the sun for a few hours which killed the eggs and larvae. It took about one month for all of the adults to go away, I keep the traps in my closet just in case. I also keep the closet doors open, moths love darkness and moisture. It's a good idea to keep the dirty clothes hamper in the garage or near the washer, clothes moths are attracted to perspiration.

    There are two types of clothes moths: webbing moths are the most common and they make webs that raise the larvae, they are tan color. Casemaking moths make small cocoons and are brownish/black.

    How To Get Rid Of Clothes Moths

    cmara thanked cleangeek
  • 11 years ago

    Thanks for that link cleangeek, it had some information I'd never read before.

  • 11 years ago

    bay leaves are a wonderful deterrent and I have read they actually kill the moths. I buy bay leaved in bulk and scatter on closet shelves and in the pockets of garments.