Article #5...ICK! The dreaded clothes Moth.
My good friend Kathy called me a few weeks
ago for advice on Moth control. I told her
the best way to be rid of moths is to empty
all closets and drawers clean them thoroughly
and inspect everything being put back. I
also told her it would be good to shake and
air out the garments before returning them.
She mentioned that the house had wool rugs
and wondered if these may be a problem as
well. I told her I doubted it, that moths
prefer dark, warm and preferably humid places
and a rug on the floor didn’t fit the bill.
Boy was I wrong! When the rug in question
was lifted it appears there was a very happy,
very large community of moths residing beneath.
Needless to say I was embarrassed by my ignorance
which prompted me to research the dreaded
clothes moth. (the nemesis of every Vintage
dealer on the planet).
I learned a lot and found it all quite fascinating.
Did you know? There are three separate species
of moth who will dine on your textiles. They
are the webbing clothes moth (shimmery pale
brown), case making clothes moth (brown with
dots) and tapestry or carpet moth (half white
half black). In case you do not already know
it is only during the caterpillar stage that
the moth eats. In the winged stage moths
do not harm your fabrics BUT they are busy
trying to make more moths so we don’t like
them either! All of these moths eat fabric
but they do have different life cycles and
habits. The moth we are most familiar with
is the first, the webbing clothes moth. The
habitat it prefers is just as I had stated
to my friend. Dark, warm and relatively undisturbed.
This is the moth that will often eat the
fuzzy surface of your wools (think hats and
coats). They do eat right through on lighter
woolens but the hole is messy and uneven.
The female lays her eggs on the fabric but
after eating its fill the caterpillar likes
to wander off into corners to spin it’s cocoon.
This is why it is essential to vacuum every
nook and cranny of the closet or bureau.
This type is prolific and the generations
only last about 65-90 days. That means the
cycle repeats up to 5 times a year (shudder!)
The second type, the case making moth is
less common and this is the one that creates
those perfectly round holes we find. Again
eggs are laid in the fabric so the caterpillars
have a food source. This type only repeats
generations twice a year.
The third moth is the carpet moth that I
believe was lurking under my friends carpet.
They are a bit larger and not only do they
get under carpets but inside antique horse
hair furniture, tapestries, furs and feathers
too! This is the most rare of the clothes
moths and thankfully they produce far less
offspring. All of the above clothes moths
have the same preferred living conditions.
Warm, dark places undisturbed and with moisture
in the air (75% humidity seams to be the
ideal)
Now that I have bored you with the scientific
details lets talk about how to win the battle
of the moths. My advise to my friend for
treating moth infestation was sound. An old
fashioned cleaning. It seems that all of
the sources I checked with were unanimous
on this one. There are numerous methods of
keeping moths at bay after cleaning. Most
of us know that cedar is a good moth repellant,
but did you also know that the active oils
in cedar evaporates over time? It is suggested
that cedar wood be wiped down with cedar
oil every two years. Since moths hate light
one source suggested keeping closets lit.
This does not appeal to me since fabric can
fade from either natural or artificial light
AND it seems like such a waste of energy.
Airing your woolens on a windy brisk day
a couple times a year is recommended. Keeping
them clean and free from perspiration is
an absolute necessity, moths will zone in
on any soiled area of a garment. Brush your
furs if they have not been worn for a while.
Shake out feathers and piled fabrics. Insecticides
were only recommended to treat the infested
area itself NOT garments. There are professionals
who can treat furniture, they should be licensed.
If you have horse hair walls or hair stuffing
in antique furniture you will need to call
a professional exterminator since the best
treatment here is chemicals and they can
be toxic. Rugs can be professionally cleaned
or if you have the space. taken outdoors
to be vacuumed thoroughly then lightly sponged
down with ammonia and water. Air dry in the
sun. My Mom, who still works 50 hours a week
and is in her 70s does this twice a year!
and I have NEVER seen a moth in her home.
Recently a pheromone has come on the market
to lure moths to traps but they only work
on the males. Moth balls and flakes do work
but only in a tightly enclosed area and the
odor is a problem for most of us. Having
tight closet doors and keeping items in sealed
containers will help tremendously. Something
new that I learned from this research is
that moths can and do find residence in the
cracks and crevices of our homes. Especially
between floorboards and in corners. Having
furry pets makes it worse. It seems the fur
gets trapped and is a perfect food source.
A really powerful vacuum cleaner seems to
be the remedy here and always throw the bag
out right away.
Clothes moths are a part of nature. They
will happily flutter into anybody's home.
The good news is they are somewhat fussy
about where they set up housekeeping so if
you keep your closets, bureaus and carpets
reasonably clean and vacuum under and over
regularly you should be safe!