Name that moth
December 29, 2010 4:26 PM Subscribe
What kind of moths are these?
My house is infested with tiny moths that look like grain/pantry moths but aren't. They aren't in my food. They're pretty much everywhere in the house but in the kitchen.
The larvae are in little cocoons, usually low to the ground where the walls meet the floor, or up against/on the undersides of wooden furniture. The little larvae sometimes crawl up the walls or to those pieces of furniture and stay there to pupate. (Whereupon I smash them.) The moths are smaller than grain moths but otherwise look very similar. They fly erratically and are pretty easy to squash in mid-air.
Because I don't know what kind of moths they are, I don't know what's feeding them and can't figure out how to get rid of them. I would very much like to, preferably without spraying too much poisonous stuff.
Added info: Most of the house is carpeted. They leave little cocoons all along the floorboards once they become flying adults. I *did* have an infestation of pantry moths a few months ago, but I keep checking my grains/flours and all the other foodstuffs, and there doesn't seem to be a problem around the food. Mostly, they're in the bedrooms.
My house is infested with tiny moths that look like grain/pantry moths but aren't. They aren't in my food. They're pretty much everywhere in the house but in the kitchen.
The larvae are in little cocoons, usually low to the ground where the walls meet the floor, or up against/on the undersides of wooden furniture. The little larvae sometimes crawl up the walls or to those pieces of furniture and stay there to pupate. (Whereupon I smash them.) The moths are smaller than grain moths but otherwise look very similar. They fly erratically and are pretty easy to squash in mid-air.
Because I don't know what kind of moths they are, I don't know what's feeding them and can't figure out how to get rid of them. I would very much like to, preferably without spraying too much poisonous stuff.
Added info: Most of the house is carpeted. They leave little cocoons all along the floorboards once they become flying adults. I *did* have an infestation of pantry moths a few months ago, but I keep checking my grains/flours and all the other foodstuffs, and there doesn't seem to be a problem around the food. Mostly, they're in the bedrooms.
Best answer: They sound like clothes moths. You can get sticky traps specific to this kind of moth at the hardware store, but you might also have to do some serious vacuuming on a daily basis.
Ugh, moths. I feel your pain.
posted by corey flood at 5:08 PM on December 29, 2010
Ugh, moths. I feel your pain.
posted by corey flood at 5:08 PM on December 29, 2010
Check out the type of carpet fiber. If it's wool, they might be feeding on that.
posted by effluvia at 5:36 PM on December 29, 2010
posted by effluvia at 5:36 PM on December 29, 2010
Best answer: Oops, I see now I never linked to this. Clothes moths will hang out under baseboards, and if you have animals will eat the hair they shed (or feathers, for that matter).
posted by oneirodynia at 6:22 PM on December 29, 2010
posted by oneirodynia at 6:22 PM on December 29, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:31 PM on December 29, 2010