Tips to Get Rid of Moths
As winter approaches and days are getting colder it is time to get your winter gear out of your storage. Winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves are needed to protect you from the forces. As you pull out the coat you notice little holes and small tears in the fabric. Did you store it like this? Did someone else wear it over the last few months? No, the simple answer is moths got to it. Moths love natural fabric. So what can you do to protect your clothes from those little monsters? Below are some very helpful tips on how to store your clothes in a way that will keep them protected from moths and other fabric eaters.
What Are Moths
If you think that those large flying creatures you typically see flying around a light at night, are the ones eating your sweaters, than you are wrong. Although they are moths they are not the ones eating fabrics, but instead have a diet of outdoor vegetation.
Clothing moths on the other hand are quite small, not more than one-half inch long, and when disturbed will run or fly to conceal themselves. Also, unlike the larger, non-cloth eating family members, clothing moths prefer the dark and are not attracted by light. They preferred habitats are dark, hidden places like the creases and folds in clothes hanging in rarely disturbed closets.
Meal Moth Traps – The Key Weakness of Pantry Moths
Whether you call them Indian meal moths, flour moths, pantry moths, or something else: you need to find an effective means of combating them or you’re going to have a full-scale war on your hands. I personally have fought this war against meal moths (my secret weapons were meal moth traps) and believe me, it sucks! There are many things that you need to start out doing in order to assure that you’re going to get rid of ALL of the moths.
First you need to get rid of ANY food that is near where they seem to have set up their nest. The ONLY exception to this is canned food. It is extremely hard for a moth to get into canned food. Everything else is fair game though, that includes boxed food and everything else. It sucks that you have to throw away tons of good food, but it’s going to suck more if you have thousands of moths flying around everywhere. Anything that hasn’t been infected needs to be put in the refrigerator, freezer, or trash can.
Next you need to get meal moth traps, if you don’t know a good place to get them, I recommend looking at the bottom of this article where I’ve linked to a great website for meal moth traps and reviews. If you live in an extremely small apartment you’ll need a minimum of four traps. If you live in a house, no matter how small, you’ll need close to 20. Anything bigger should be solved with a 24 pack (you’ll save money by just buying the 24 pack in the first place).
How to Get Rid of Moths
When moths invade your home, they are likely to be found in your kitchen or pantry as well as in closets or other places in which you store clothing. In fact, you can bring moths into your home from the grocery store without even knowing it. They can be found in boxes of food and even sealed plastic bags. Before they reach their full grown size, moths are so small that you might not even notice their presence before it is too late.
How to Get Rid of Pantry Moths
Moth caterpillars
The most common place to find moths is in your pantry. Look for webbing in corners and tiny holes in food containers. You will sometimes find that part of your food is stuck together with some sort of sticky material or you might notice an odd odor. These are all signs that you have moths in your pantry and in your food. You can also sometimes see the larvae themselves or see moths flying around your kitchen. Unfortunately, it can take six to eight weeks for these moths to complete their life cycle so getting rid of them can be an ongoing struggle. It is also frustrating to deal with because you have to limit the amount of pesticides you use in the kitchen; you can’t exactly spray pesticides into your box of Cheerios, right? So here’s how to do it:
