Help me get rid of moths, once and for all

sequoia

Fri, Sep 08 2017, 6:01 am

Who has remedies that will demolish and abolish moths forever? I just got a beautiful hand-knit wool sweater as a gift and I really don't want it to be eaten like all my other sweaters were Sad

Someone suggested putting the dried peels of citrus fruits in dresser drawers - does that actually work?

Amarante

Fri, Sep 08 2017, 8:27 am

I'm not sure you can get rid of moths permanently because they can just get in the way any insect can.

If you are truly infested with moths, then get an exterminator but if you are worried about the normal damage that moths do, then do what people have done for generations - put your wools and any other items that moths can damage in an airtight storage container with good moth balls.

When I was growing up, it was a semi annual tradition where winter woolens were stored away with mothballs in the Spring and taken out in the winter. Always store clean woolens because even with moth balls, insects are attracted to dirt or food drippings that may have accumulated.

When I was growing up, moth balls were unpleasant naphtha but now they sell rather pleasant smelling stuff that is effective. It is so inoffensive that I actually use it at the bottom of garment bags and dresser drawers that aren't necessarily air tight storage to discourage any insects. But the foolproof method during the summer is storing clean clothing in an air tight container with a good moth repellent.

Amarante

Fri, Sep 08 2017, 8:33 am

sequoia wrote:

Right, but like what are they called? What specifically should I buy?

Just google camphor moth balls as they are the tried and true traditional moth ball repellent. Very cheap and very effective as long as they are used in an air tight storage container. With today's cheap plastic bins, it's so much easier than it was years ago when boxes had to be sealed with tape because there was no such thing as a "storage container" that could be bought :-)

https://www.google.com/search?.....30029

If you want to move up and get something that smells a bit nicer, go to a really good hardware store or the like. I am in Los Angeles and generally use Koontz Hardware because of the excellent customer service but there must be an equivalent non-Home Depot type of place wherever you live.

It's been awhile since I bought since for whatever reason, I don't have moth problems but I used to get what I think were vaguely lavender scented mothballs. But probably if I lived in an area where moths really ran rampant, I would buy the tried and true camphor balls.

And now you are bringing back memories because the house that I grew up in had a cedar lined storage bin in the basement where the bins were shlepped down to. Cedar is supposed to be a natural insect repellent and so people have cedar lined closets. Personally I wouldn't trust cedar alone if I wanted to be sure of moth protection.

zaq

Fri, Sep 08 2017, 10:31 am

Cedar wood or cedar oil. The ideal candidate is a cedar closet but those are pricey and hard to come by. You can buy blocks, slabs, balls or chips of cedarwood and put them in the drawers or closets with your woolens, or you can soak cotton balls in cedar wood oil and put them in the corners of closets (make sure they don't touch the clothes because the oil will stain--maybe put the cotton into small glass jars with holes punched in the lids. This will work in drawers as well. ) Also reputed to repel moths are oils of eucalyptus, clove and lavender. you can make sachets of the dried plant material or use the cotton balls soaked in the essential oils.

Cedar repels moths, doesn't kill them. You want to stay away from naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene moth balls which are highly toxic. They are not the same as genuine camphor, which is pricey and hard to come by. (And moderately toxic by inhalation but not as bad as paradichlorobenzene and naphthalene which are really bad news. Among other things, they are both suspected of causing cancer. )

If you dryclean or wash your woolens before storing for the summer and tightly seal them in sturdy paper or plastic, with or without repellent materials, they should do just fine.