A fresh start without moths
September 30, 2023 10:20 AM Subscribe
How do I kick out my clothes moths during my upcoming move? There’s been some great asks before, but I have specific questions about furniture as well as clothes.
An ex introduced clothes moths into my current apartment about five years ago and they’ve been happily multiplying ever since. I hate them not only because they eat my most expensive clothing, but because whenever the weather is right I’ll see 1-2 at night flying in front of my tv, dive bombing me and I feel like I have bugs crawling on me all the time.
I’ll be moving in from an apartment into a bigger house and am prepared to do almost anything to get rid of these. I have a lot of stuff though, which means lots of ways for them to hitch a ride. My moth traps have shown moths behind my tv, in my two clothes closets, hall/coat closet, and linen closet.
Steps taken so far/concerns:
An ex introduced clothes moths into my current apartment about five years ago and they’ve been happily multiplying ever since. I hate them not only because they eat my most expensive clothing, but because whenever the weather is right I’ll see 1-2 at night flying in front of my tv, dive bombing me and I feel like I have bugs crawling on me all the time.
I’ll be moving in from an apartment into a bigger house and am prepared to do almost anything to get rid of these. I have a lot of stuff though, which means lots of ways for them to hitch a ride. My moth traps have shown moths behind my tv, in my two clothes closets, hall/coat closet, and linen closet.
Steps taken so far/concerns:
- Rugs —A few years ago I threw out the wool rug in my living room which they badly damaged and sprayed a felt rug that was under my bed with tons of SLA chemicals on both sides and rolled it up in an air tight plastic bag. I have another 4x6 rug (not sure the content), and a cotton ikea rag rug. I’m not sure if I should just throw these out to be safe.
- Both my nice upholstered couch and upholstered sleigh bed frame might have moths. I vacuumed and sprayed the bottom of the couch just in case but did not see anything
- I emptied, vacuumed and sprayed 3 closets.
- My wool sweaters and hats are in airtight containers from the container store after washing, leaving in the sun, and in some cases freezing. I’d love to eventually not have to open bins to get clothes.
- All coats in the hall closet are in plastic garment bags although attempts the cover the hole where the hanger goes in have not gone well.
- I’m worried they are living in cracks of my wood furniture (dresser, bed slats) that I want to keep. Could they be in my 40 pairs of shoes that stay in the hall closet?
- I have gone through my clothes and filled garbage bags to donate.
I've used pheromone traps to great success. Found them online. Cheap and effective.
posted by pipeski at 11:30 AM on September 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 11:30 AM on September 30, 2023 [4 favorites]
Permethrin works, non toxic to humans and pets. I got some agricultural strength permethrin and treat for skeeters, and should apply to some of my wool rugs. The heavy strength is handle with a lot of care. Cedar will discourage moths. Wool moths are endemic and will find their way to wool (they eat shed animal outdoors), so use every method to reduce their presence. I use blocks of ceder that I refresh with cedar oil for sweaters. Rosemary discourages grain and wool moths. Vacuum wool rugs often. Wool and grain mosth don't like sun or moving air. They don't eat cotton. I had a wool-based velvet sofa that got devastated by moths. I still love wool rugs and sweaters and I've accepted that there will be some loss and hassle.
posted by theora55 at 11:32 AM on September 30, 2023
posted by theora55 at 11:32 AM on September 30, 2023
I had very good results with trichogramma wasps. Trichogramma are very small parasitic wasps, hard to spot with the naked eye, but identifiable when they are situated on the outside of the packaging. They will seek out Clothes moth eggs and lay their own eggs inside them, parasitising the Clothes Moth eggs. They are harmless to humans and animals and remain only for as long as there are Clothes Moth eggs present.
I also use them to fight food moths in the kitchen, about once a year.
posted by 15L06 at 12:40 PM on September 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
I also use them to fight food moths in the kitchen, about once a year.
posted by 15L06 at 12:40 PM on September 30, 2023 [3 favorites]
Best answer: This is so stressful! I got real good at killing the buggers with my bare hands at my last apartment. (I also got into visible mending, but that may be another post for another day.) We did manage to keep them out of our new place (knock on wood, the pheromone traps are still out but they've been empty for months...) Our landlord had brought in exterminators a couple of times and that never fully eliminated the problem, so we didn't bother with any pesticides. What we did do was vacuum and clean everything. It sounds like you're doing all the right things.
My biggest concerns would be the couch and upholstered bed, and maybe the rugs. Put your budget toward getting them cleaned/sprayed/replaced. I wouldn't worry too much about the wood furniture and the shoes, but I would take this as an opportunity to vacuum and clean them thoroughly. Dispose of the vacuum bag(s) sealed in plastic and as far away from your place as possible. (This is why I don't like bagless vacuums.) Dry clean the coats or at least shake them out in the sunlight.
Keeping things isolated and unpacking slowly is a great idea if you can manage it, if only for your peace of mind. Go ahead and wash everything you can as you unpack. Set up traps everywhere in the new place so you can monitor the situation. We caught a few stragglers in the traps for the first few months so I was mentally preparing for another blitz, but they died down pretty quickly.
I've never heard of the wasps but that is very intriguing. My fantasy business idea is sealed temperature-controlled moving trucks that kill pests as you move. Get on it, venture capital!
posted by doift at 4:23 PM on September 30, 2023
My biggest concerns would be the couch and upholstered bed, and maybe the rugs. Put your budget toward getting them cleaned/sprayed/replaced. I wouldn't worry too much about the wood furniture and the shoes, but I would take this as an opportunity to vacuum and clean them thoroughly. Dispose of the vacuum bag(s) sealed in plastic and as far away from your place as possible. (This is why I don't like bagless vacuums.) Dry clean the coats or at least shake them out in the sunlight.
Keeping things isolated and unpacking slowly is a great idea if you can manage it, if only for your peace of mind. Go ahead and wash everything you can as you unpack. Set up traps everywhere in the new place so you can monitor the situation. We caught a few stragglers in the traps for the first few months so I was mentally preparing for another blitz, but they died down pretty quickly.
I've never heard of the wasps but that is very intriguing. My fantasy business idea is sealed temperature-controlled moving trucks that kill pests as you move. Get on it, venture capital!
posted by doift at 4:23 PM on September 30, 2023
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If your detached garage is insulated you could turn the whole thing into a hot box. A few electric fan heaters and a temperature controller would be all you would need. You would have to get stuff up off the ground to get the heat in the bottom of objects. Your heaters would need to either have no thermostat or have one that goes over 120F.
posted by Mitheral at 10:47 AM on September 30, 2023