Damp, warm conditions wreak havoc with your hair, but there’s something much more horrifying to keep you awake at night when temperatures rise: moth larvae are enjoying a perfect munching playground. Prepare for a biblical onslaught. “For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool,” to paraphrase Isaiah.
The clothes moth has good taste: luscious cashmere is its favourite dish, closely followed by natural fibres including silk, lambswool, shearling, feathers and cotton. So, how to defend your Dolce, guard your Gucci and secure your Celine against imminent infestation? Follow Vogue’s tips for safe-guarding your wardrobe.
How do you know if you have a clothes moth infestation?
Most people realise clothes moths have invaded their wardrobes when they see small holes in their knitwear or silk dresses. If you see a moth flying around your home, that is not necessarily a clothes moth – as the ones that feast on your cashmere (called Tinea pellionella) are smaller and difficult to see. These golden moths also prefer dark, quiet spaces, so you’re unlikely to see them flying around your home – if you do, it’s an indication that you have a significant infestation.
You might also spot the webbing that larvae leaves behind on your clothes. One option is to keep Pheromone super sticky glue traps, which attract the male moths therefore removing them from the reproduction cycle, in your wardrobe or around your home. They also act as an indicator as to whether you have moths and so are a helpful tool to monitor an infestation. You might also spot the larvae’s empty cases from when it has hatched – these can be an indicator of which drawers or areas in your house where the infestation has been concentrated.
How long do clothes moths last?
The life cycle of a moth is 65 to 90 days, with female moths laying up to 300 eggs each. This means your small moth problem can very quickly escalate. It’s the larvae that feast on natural fibres, not the adult moths which don’t actually have the ability to eat. Eggs will hatch after anything between four days and three weeks (in summer this process is faster than in winter).
Can you ever get rid of clothes moths?
Yes – however it requires real commitment and dedication (and sometimes professional help) to get on top of an infestation. Once you have managed to do so, the key is to keep following the below steps to safeguard your wardrobe against clothes moths and prevent further infestations from happening again and again. Moths can enter your home through cracks, windows and on new items of clothing, so just because you have got on top of your problem doesn’t mean they won’t return.
7 tips for preventing clothes moths and managing an infestation
Moths like undisturbed corners that are dark and warm. Remove everything from your wardrobe, vacuum all the corners and drawers, and wipe all your surfaces with a detergent-soaked cloth to kill off larvae. Then wash all of your clothes (and curtains and upholstery, too).
Dry cleaning kills moth eggs and larvae, and is an excellent option for bulky items like coats. Freeze anything you can fit on your freezer shelves; sub-zero temperatures kill larvae, although make sure you put clothes in plastic bags prior to freezing to avoid a condensation build-up. Keep them in there for at least 48 hours, or up to a week if you can. Heat also kills larvae and eggs, however, hot temperatures can damage cashmere.
Moths love to feast on human sweat, food particles and stains. Do not put any clothes back in your newly cleaned wardrobe that are dirty – especially knitwear or natural fibres. Make sure you keep vacuuming and cleaning your wardrobes regularly – moths hate light and movement, and so this can disturb them.
As summer beckons, store winter knits, coats and any other items you particularly value in zip-lock bags (Argos has zipped garment cases in a range of sizes, from £5.99), and line the bags with anti-moth paper strips (Rentokil’s are unscented and kill both eggs and larvae, which not all do – from £5.64 at Amazon). Line your drawers in anti-moth paper (from £18.50, Total Wardrobe Care) and deploy cedarwood sticks (£6.95 for 20 sticks, Muji).
Vintage clothes should always be dry cleaned or put in the freezer before being introduced to your wardrobe, as they are often the source of infestations.
Moths hate them, and they’ll keep the shoulders on your dresses and jackets neat, too (from £12.95 for 3, Muji). Always take your clothes out of the plastic hanging bags from the dry cleaner. The plastic attracts dust, and the dust attracts moths.
Keep checking your clothes for moth holes, keep rooms well-ventilated as temperatures start to rise, and keep a natural oil diffuser in your wardrobe at all times – it smells great and wards off moths (£20, Total Wardrobe Care). Rentokil’s moth cassettes are also a good precautionary measure, keep them hanging on your rail at all times (from £5 at Amazon).
EnviroGuard provide a 24-hour emergency call out service and will fumigate your house if the problem is significant. Overkill? We think not. A moth infestation can cause thousands of pounds worth of damage depending on the clothes you have in your wardrobe, and so bringing in the professionals is often worth the investment.
