Depending on the source’s financial and sentimental value as well as the extent of the infestation, you may either decide to have the item cleaned and repaired, or it may be more cost effective and safe for the rest of your wardrobe to simply dispose of the infested items.
Finish this process off by drying them in the sunlight, which is known to kill larvae.
Moth eggs can hide in carpet and under furniture, so it’s very important that you thoroughly vacuum everywhere. [5] X Research source Although you do not need to use a special spray for solid, wood surfaces where dusting is easy, there are special sprays that you can buy to use on your clothing and carpet to repel and kill moths. ContainerStore. com, GreenFibres. com, Lakeland. co. uk, and RoullierWhite. com all sell sprays ranging from $7. 50 to $18. 60 per bottle.
Items like coats that have pockets can be protected by putting mothballs in the pockets. Be careful: using mothballs around small children and pets is potentially very dangerous, especially if ingested. [8] X Trustworthy Source National Pesticide Information Center Organization run by Oregon State University providing objective, science-based information about pests and pesticides Go to source Clothing that has been stored with mothballs should be washed afterward to prevent anemia (when blood doesn’t carry oxygen through the body) caused by naphthalene vapors. If you develop a headache, nausea, dizziness, or vomiting after being exposed to mothballs, discontinue using and dispose of the mothballs.
It is perfectly safe to iron your wool clothing unless the garment’s tags say ‘do not iron’ or ‘dry clean only. ’ If the clothing item can be ironed, set your iron to the ‘wool’ setting, use a steam heat, and press from the inside with a pressing cloth between the iron and your clothes. [10] X Research source
Make sure if you’ve washed your clothes first that they are completely dry before freezing them or else you risk moisture turning into ice crystals on the cloth. Some sources indicate to freeze your clothes in plastic bags for a week to be sure any pests are completely dead. [12] X Research source
Reach out to a local fumigator by looking up pest control in your phonebook or doing an online search using keywords like “pest control near me. " Try finding a number of services to compare pricing, and look to websites like Yelp or Angie’s List for customer reviews. Be aware that if you choose to go with fumigation, they will most likely be using commercial pesticides. You and any children or pets you have may need to avoid any areas that have been fumigated for a day or more.
Look for patches of silk webbing and feeding tube which webbing clothes moths leave behind. Casemaking moths’ cases will change to match the color of the clothing they’re eating. For this reason, you should always look for numerous, suspicious small holes as this your best warning sign for an infestation.
Be careful: storing clothes in an airtight container can only keep new infestations from happening; if your clothing already has eggs on it, they’ll hatch and eat the clothes anyway. Be sure you’ve properly cleaned your clothing first. Make sure the containers are also dry, as are your clothes, to prevent mold.
There has been some limited evidence suggesting that Eastern Red Cedar (actually a juniper) contains an aromatic oil that, over time and with a sufficient enough concentration, will kill small moth larvae. However, a closet would provide too much air circulation to be lethal to larvae, and would probably only serve as a deterrent for the adult moths. Eastern Red cedar is only effective for a few years. After a while, the aromatic oil contained within the wood will evaporate, rendering it ineffective in a fight against moths.
Some aromatic herbs, like bay leaves, eucalyptus, lemon peel, and mint proved to be ineffective in the experiment, so be careful about which herbs you use. Beware that some of these scents are very difficult to get out of clothing, in case you or loved ones dislike or have any allergies to these plants.
Although this is particularly important during the months your clothes are not stored in plastic containers, it’s also important to check at least once after you’ve stored them: adults live for about 75 to 80 days, and eggs hatch into larvae after 4-10 days. If moth eggs managed to make their way into the storage item and go unchecked, you may come back to ruined clothing months too late. [21] X Research source Moving and shuffling your clothes around during this process is actually very helpful because moths do not like to lay their eggs in places that are frequently disturbed.
