I remember when I was younger and staying the night at my grandparents’ house, the smell of mothballs escaping from the spare bedroom closet was a very pungent aroma. I always wondered if the smell would penetrate my grandmother’s clothes. Maybe that was the reason she wore such strong perfume when going to church on Sundays. Regardless, in this article we will discuss four effective ways to get rid of closet moths and five ways to best prevent the problem from happening again. Hint, the use of grandma’s mothballs is on this list.
What Are Closet Moths?
Closet moths, also referred to as clothes moths or Tineola bisselliellas (for those smarty pants out there), are unwanted pests that can harm clothing fabrics. Closet moths feed specifically on animal fibers, such as wool, silk, feathers, fur, felt, cashmere, leather and cotton. These natural fibers contain keratin, which is a fibrous protein that closet moth larvae will gain useful nutrients from.
Closet moths prefer dark dwelling and therefore are hardly seen. Closets, attics and even basements are the preferred domains for these creatures. Although, many people may believe that closet moths and pantry moths are the same creature, they are very much different. Most notably, the closet moth, as mentioned above, feeds on fabric, where the pantry moth feeds on grains such as cereal.
While both moths are relatively close in size, about ½ inch in length, the closet moth is grey to beige in color with somewhat hairy wings, whereas the pantry moth is partly reddish brown in color.
What Damage Can Closet Moths Do?
Although closet moths do not cause harm to your clothes, the larvae will. Closet moths can lay around 40 to 50 eggs over a three week period, which will eventually hatch into textile consuming larvae. In this stage, the closet moth larvae can wreak havoc on various fabrics, furs, carpeting, drapes and even upholstered furniture. Small holes will often appear in these fabrics rendering them less eye appealing – perhaps so much so that the trash bin may receive another donation.
Where Do Closet Moths Come From?
Like with bed bugs, closet moths can catch a ride from one place to another. They often arrive in your home from second hand goods, from thrift stores, consignment shops and neighborhood garage sales. They may also find their way into your closet via fabrics stored within storage lockers, garages and sheds. Other times, the closet moth will often find its way inside your home and closet via open doors, windows, torn window screens and even unknown crevices in walls of your home.
Effective Ways to Get Rid of Closet Moths
Okay, so what is done is done. You have a closet moth problem and now you need to rectify the situation before you need to buy an entire new wardrobe. Below are four ways to do just that. Find the solution or solutions that will work best for you, and follow through with them.
Solution One: Freeze Salvageable Clothing
Remove your clothing from the closet and, using a hand broom and dustpan, brush away any noticeable moth remains and dispose of them outside. Next decide which clothes are salvageable and which are not. Immediately dispose of any unsalvageable clothing, and for those which you have deemed salvageable, seal them within Ziploc bags and place them in the freezer for at least 24 hours. The cold temperature will kill any of the closet moth larvae. Afterwards, any clothing items that are machine washable, wash them with hot water. For those that are not, dry clean.
Solution Two: Vacuum Carpet Floors
Once the clothing within the closet has been discarded, placed in your freezer and cleaned, vacuum the carpeted floors of both your closet and your room. You should also vacuum any heating vents in the area. This will remove any larvae as well as hair and lint that may assist another infestation. When vacuuming make sure you include the carpet edges, beneath furniture and along the baseboards of the room. Some may even prefer to hire a carpet cleaning service to make sure the area is thoroughly cleaned.
Solution Three: Thoroughly Clean Any Furniture in the Room
The same way you would approach cleaning the carpeting in your room, you should also vacuum any upholstered furniture in the area in order to get rid of closet moths and larvae. There are hand held vacuums that you can utilize to remove the larvae from your furniture. Again, you may want to hire a professional upholstery cleaning service to do this instead.
Solution Four: Closet Moth Sprays
There are products sold today that will kill closet moths, eggs and larvae. One such product is Reefer-Galler’s SLA Cedar Scented Spray. Although not recommended to spray directly on clothing, this product is often highly touted to destroy closet moths, bed bugs, beetles, ants, bees, cockroaches, crickets, spiders, silverfish, lice and lice eggs. Many individuals recommend this product to be used after removing your clothes from the closet in order to kill any closet moths larvae and eggs that may still remain hidden in the problem area. Below link is to Amazon.com.
| SLA Cedar Scented Spray – By: Reefer-Galler |
A couple more sprays that offer protection from moths, again not recommended to be sprayed on the clothes themselves are below. Links to Amazon.com.
| Cedar Power Spray with Lavender Essence Scent – By: Household Essentials | Six Feet Under Insecticide – By: Dr Killigan |
Prevent a Future Closet Moth Infestation
So now that you have made sure that the issue has been well addressed, you may want to take steps to prevent the same issue from occurring again, or at least spot a potential issue before it gets out of hand. Below you will find preventive measures you may want to take.
Preventative Tip One: Moth Balls and Other (Better Smelling) Moth Preventatives
Well I warned you that mothballs will be on the list. Here they are. Mothballs are still a very popular way to prevent acquiring clothing or closet moths, as they are an effective way to both prevent and even kill closet moths. Luckily, for us, they can be purchased in a less offensive aroma. Nowadays, mothballs can come in a cedar, lavender or a sandalwood odor.
Preventative Tip Two: Moth Traps
Moth Traps often use pheromones to attract and trick any moths they may be finding their way into your closet. I almost put moth traps in the category of how to get rid of closet moths, however, I believe they are a good way to monitor any problem going forward so that you can be alerted to an issue before it can get out of hand. Below are a couple of highly rated moth traps found on Amazon.com.
| Powerful Moth Traps – By: West Bay Retail | |
| Premium Clothing Moth Traps – By: Dr Killigan | Eco-Friendly Moth Traps – By: Mottenfalle |
Preventative Tip Three: Clean Closets More Regularly and More Thoroughly
I know, I know, cleaning is not the first thing I want to do when I wake up in the morning. If it is even on my to-do list, it will be along the bottom of it. However, cleaning your closets thoroughly and more regularly will pay dividends – especially to prevent future occurrences of closet moths. Try to keep your closets free from clutter and vacuum inside your closet regularly.
Also, every couple of months, try to work through your closet, taking out the clothes that have not been worn for awhile and shake them out outside.
Preventative Tip Four: Wash Your Second Hand Store Purchases Before Hanging Them in Your Closet
We mentioned that many closet moths come from second hand stores. If you do end up purchasing clothes from a thrift shop or another second hand store, throw them in the wash or have them dry cleaned before hanging them up in your closet. You never know when that great looking but inexpensive shirt can cause turmoil in your closet.
Preventative Tip Five: Keep out of Season Clothing in Airtight Bags or Containers
If the winter months are over and it is time to say farewell to your favorite sweater for a short while, make sure you wash it as directions say to do, then store it with any other out of season clothes in vacuum-sealed garment bags and airtight plastic containers. This will make it more difficult if not impossible to fall victim closet moths.
In Conclusion
You can call them closet moths. You can call them clothes moths. If you are feeling smart and want to impress your friends you can also call them tineola bisselliellas. However, you definitely will not be impressing any of your friends with small holes throughout your wardrobe. Maybe some day a fancy cashmere sweater with moth holes in it may come into fashion. Now, however, it is best to do what you can to beat the problem of closet moths. I hope above strategies were enough to help you with a solid game plan in order to get rid of closet moths. You can and will make closet moths a thing of the past and prevent their return.
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