Moths in your Home

If you are one of those people who cannot throw your old clothes away and keep them for years hoping that the fashion is going to change and you can wear these clothes again then this post is for you.One bright day you look around and that old outfit is in fashion again and you get out the old box from 1992 and pull out your old outfits and suddenly you start wishing that outfits full of holes could now be in fashion.Your old outfits have been attacked by moths.

Or if you were clever and you put in moth balls then you are going to smell of moth balls for as long as you wear your revived outfits.

Or you stored your winter clothes and now its time to take them out for winter and realise that your jerseys are very ventilated and not likely to keep you as warm as they did last year.Again the dreaded moths have been busy.!!!

First of all before you decide to go out and kill all the moths you see in an act of revenge you need to know the following:
Those large flying creatures you typically see flying around a light at night are not the moths eating your sweaters.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. Their preferred habitats are dark, hidden places like the creases and folds in clothes hanging in rarely disturbed closets.AGAIN they are not the ones eating your clothes.Even though those moths live and breed in your closet, but they also do not eat your clothes. In fact grown moths don't even have the mouthparts necessary to chew on clothes. What eats your wool sweater is the larva. An adult moth lays about 100 eggs, and once the larva hatches the damage on your cloths begins. Even though the larvae can only digest animal fibers, other fabrics such as cotton and synthetics can still be damaged.So yes you do need to destroy the adults as they are the ones laying the eggs which feed on your clothes.

The best way to protect your clothes from moths is by prevention. There are a few things you can do that moths will hate, and your clothes will love:

- Cleaning Your Clothes Before Storing
You should never store clothes that are dirty or have been worn. Perspiration and stains are an ideal source of food for moths to feed on. Also, moths might already have laid eggs in your clothing that will hatch once in a dark storage area. Dry-cleaning or running your clothes through a heater will kill any larvae and eggs.

- Take Clothes out periodically
From time to time take your clothes out of storage and shake them out, and hang them in direct sunlight. The light exposure and the movement of the fabric will kill the fragile larvae and cocoons.

- Clean Your Closet
Cleaning and regular vacuuming will prevent dust from piling up. Moths love dust as much as fabrics, and if you let them have it, it will be another breeding ground for them.

- Moths Balls
Moth balls or flakes contain Para dichlorobenzene (PDB) or Naphthalene. Neither PDB or Naphthalene will repel clothes moths or prevent them from laying eggs -- the vapors from these materials are lethal to clothes moths, but only when maintained at sufficient concentrations. In order to achieve these levels, the vapors must be tightly confined with the items you wish to protect. Naphthalene is not very soluble in water, so it is difficult to remove by washing. It would probably be wise to dry-clean any articles that have been stored with mothballs before using them.

- Other remedies
If you want to create a moth's trap then do the following: Mix one cup of molasses with 2 cups of vinegar. Mix this solution well together and put it into a yellow open container to attract the moths. Moths like the sweetness of the molasses, and are attracted to the color yellow. What they don't know is that vinegar will kill them.

So next time you decide it is time to put your winter cloths back into storage, make sure to follow the advice in this article. Protecting your clothes from moths will avoid unpleasant surprises the following winter, and will help you save money on buying new clothes.