How Do You Get Rid of House Moths?
Moths can cause irreparable damage to clothing, wool rugs, furs and pantry items in your home. But by employing both cleaning and prevention measures you can quickly rid yourself of these pests.
First, organize and sanitize your pantry and closets by checking for any contaminated foods and placing any unneeded items into airtight containers. Next, thoroughly vacuum all corners and crevices of each room – including hard-to-reach corners!
Vacuum regularly
Vacuuming regularly is one of the best ways to combat moths in your home, as it sweeps up larvae and eggs that have been laid by moths on food or clothing items, while also clearing away frass (the small fibers left behind when moths chew through fabric or yarn), from rugs or anywhere where moths may have been hiding. Just don’t forget to empty and clean out your vacuum bag right after each use – this helps stop moths laying eggs right inside it!
Emptying out and cleaning your pantry are effective strategies for eliminating moths. Moths love to lay their eggs in dry goods or food jars, so take time to go through your canned goods, dried fruit jars, cereal boxes and grains as well as nuts, spices etc. and discard anything not in airtight packaging while emptying all jars completely.
Once your cupboards have been cleared of items, it’s time to use a natural cleaner that will dissolve grime and kill bacteria. Vinegar was likely recommended by your grandmother as an excellent natural product that won’t harm surfaces such as wood, stone, and metal surfaces.
Make use of this opportunity to thoroughly organize and clean out your closets and drawers, including washing any wool/cashmere sweaters that have been stored there, in particular vintage items stored with hot water and dried at high heat if possible – especially vintage wool sweaters which have likely been worn before and may contain moth eggs/larvae.
If you detect moths in your closet or drawers, it’s essential that you act fast in order to rid yourself of them before they reproduce and cause further damage to your items. Moths have an affinity for breeding quickly in warm and humid environments.
Seal all food containers
No matter if they appear as musty odors, light webbing or sticky secretions in food cupboards or as actual moths themselves, moths can be an annoying household pest that damage clothes and food as well as trigger allergies if left alone without preventative measures taken regularly. But they don’t have to be. With proper preventive steps taken regularly you could prevent their invasion.
Preventative steps include regularly vacuuming and deep cleaning your closets, drawers and pantry to remove moth eggs and larvae. Furthermore, keeping your wardrobe well ventilated is crucial, as moths love warm humid spaces where they will attack clothing made from natural fibres such as wool and cashmere – particularly woolen items made with cashmere fibers! They are also drawn to products with keratin in them, perspiration residue and insecticide residue on clothing as potential breeding grounds for them.
Moth-proof your wardrobe by placing clothing into sealed boxes or plastic containers and hanging it up using cedar hangers or balls with pleasant aroma of cedar to deter moths, and use hot water with vinegar added into the rinse cycle as this not only cleans but also destroys any eggs and larvae that might exist on fabric surfaces. Finally, hot water washing with vinegar adds disinfection while simultaneously killing any eggs or larvae present – this may also help deter moths!
If you need to store large numbers or delicate and expensive clothes, an airtight wardrobe or storage box with vacuum sealing capabilities would provide optimal protection. Seasonal clothing should also be washed prior to being stored; sun drying helps kill moth eggs and larvae while making garments more breathable thereby protecting them against mould or mildew damage.
If you notice moth infestation in a cupboard, empty and thoroughly sanitise all contents to remove any contamination, particularly any food with eggshells or larvae from moths. Wipe all shelves and inside of drawers with strong disinfectant solution; pay special attention to cans/jars where cocoons have formed before using a good kitchen cleaner to eliminate remaining eggs or droppings from moths before setting out pheromone moth traps to catch and kill adult moths.
Store food in airtight containers
Moths can do serious damage to clothing, fabrics and pantry goods by disintegrating their structure or even developing into more dangerous larvae. Although unwelcome guests can be an inconvenience, you can get rid of moths with proper cleaning and storage practices and keep them from returning again in future visits.
Clothes moths are nocturnal creatures that spend their days hiding out in dark corners such as attics, closets or basements. You can help deter their presence by regularly vacuuming and organizing your wardrobe and drawers to expose lights or movement – this should help drive them away!
As well as regular vacuuming, another effective way to keep moths at bay is storing food in airtight containers. This will prevent moths from laying eggs in your pantry items and creating infestations. When selecting containers to use in your pantry try glass or plastic as they provide stronger protection. Ensure the lid remains sealed tightly.
Moths can be an annoyingly persistent presence in many households, but taking preventative steps can help minimize them. They’re notorious stowaways that ride on clothes brought from outside or sneak through cracks in walls or windows to enter.
As soon as a moth infestation strikes, the first thing you should do is wash all items that can be washed in hot water and dried on high heat. For anything else that cannot be washed or dried in this manner, place in freezer so any eggs and larvae remain dead.
Next, inspect your closet and other areas where moths may be hiding. If there are any holes in clothing or other items, rewash and dry on high heat before storing. Since moths tend to favor wool, cashmere, and silk items as sources of sustenance, take extra precaution when storing these materials.
Make your own natural moth repellent using the scents of specific herbs known to drive off moths – lavender, cloves, rosemary and thyme are some examples. Once crushed or dried herbs have been combined with some water they can be placed into spray form to be placed wherever moths may be an issue or you could dilute their essential oils to create a diffuser that releases their scent.
Use pheromone traps
Pantry moths (sometimes referred to as Indian meal moths, grain moths or flour moths) are an irritating household pest that lays eggs in food products, where their larvae emerge to burrow underground and chew the food before spinning webbing and pupating into adult moths – heavy infestations of this pest may prove difficult to eradicate.
Pheromone traps are an effective method for monitoring moth activity. These non-toxic devices attract male moths that carry the pheromone on their wings; when these fall into the traps, their wings bind with it and they die, thus significantly decreasing female moth numbers that would have otherwise created an infestation. While moth traps serve as monitoring tools, further steps such as using ichneumon wasps can help actually kill moths off completely.
Clothes moth pheromone lures are available at many big box retailers and work by mimicking the female moth pheromone to attract male moths with its own sex pheromone on their wings. Once set up, traps should be placed where moths are present: one trap should be in each closet compartment that contains natural fiber clothing such as wool as well as pantry cabinets that hold dry foods to be safest.
Alongside moth traps, thorough cleaning of infested areas is necessary to eliminate or reduce moth populations in your home. This involves removing shelving liners, vacuuming edges of shelves, baseboards and corners as well as emptying cupboards to inspect for egg masses or cocoons that have formed, and emptying out cupboards in search of moth egg masses or cocoons – this process may be tedious but necessary to control moth populations in your home. Crack and crevice aerosol sprays like ProPest D-Force HPX may help treat hard-to-reach places where moths like hiding, such as beneath appliances or along baseboards; providing another method to catch any that have escaped other methods of treatment.
