A danger detected is a danger less! Here we will give you helpful tips how you can spot cloths moths correctly, combat them effectively and prevent future moth infestation.

The clothes moths can hardly be seen with the naked eye. You will be able to recognize a moth infestation only if you regularly check your clothes and furniture with textile parts. First indications of an infestation by clothes moths are little holes in fabrics. You should especially keep an eye on fabrics that clothes moths preferably like to infest. These are all fabrics that are made of animal hair or hair like materials - such as fur, felt or wool fabrics, carpets or upholstery furniture. Principally no cotton or synthetic fabrics are infested.

Another indication for an infestation by clothes moths are the so called white cocoons - hardly visible, mostly white threads on the fabric that look like very fine cobwebs.

If you neither find holes in fabrics nor discover white cocoons but still want to be sure if a moth infestation is given or not, you should set up pheromone traps. These are sticky traps that emit a sexual attractant. This attractant appeals to the male clothes moths who then stick to the sticky surface of the trap. Important: Pheromone traps determine a moth infestation, but don’t destroy! This is, because they only attract the male moths but not the females. Fertilized females therefore can still lay their eggs and clothes moths will be able to carry on with reproducing themselves even though the males have been caught in the traps.

Has one or more of these procedures lead to an ascertainment of a cloth moth infestation it can be combatted with different methods.

If clothes or other textiles such as cushion covers or soft toys for example have been infested you should wash these in the washing machine at the highest temperature possible. From a temperature of at least 60 °C eggs, caterpillars and moths butterflies die in any case. Should textiles be infested that cannot be washed at such high temperatures (i.e. woolen jerseys) you can also fight the moths with freezing temperatures. Cold temperatures kill the moths such as heat does. For this procedure just pack the infested textiles into a plastic packet and store them in the deep freezer for one week.

You have to approach the matter a little differently if large textiles have been infested that you cannot put into the washing machine or the deep freezer - i.e. a sofa, an armchair or a carpet. In these cases you can use a hair dryer on its highest temperature settings and slowly move it over the infested fabric. The hot air will kill all the moth eggs.

If clothes or other garments stored in wardrobes and dressers have been infested you should clean the infested objects thoroughly. It is recommended to start with cleaning the wardrobe or dresser with a vinegar-based cleaner and then proceed to wash it with a warm soap solution. If the wardrobe or dresser has shelves remove these before cleaning so that the gaps between the wall of the wardrobe and shelf can also be cleaned. Because this is where cloth moths preferably like to hang around. In addition to the cleaning with vinegar-based cleaners and soap solutions you can also bring the hair dryer into action: Turn the hair dryer to the highest temperature setting and slowly move it over corner, edges and cracks of wardrobes and dresser. The high temperatures will kill the moths.

When cleaning a moth infested room you should always clean the complete room. This is necessary because the moths crawl or fly up to 400 meters in few weeks of their lifespan. If an infestation has been discovered in a certain room it is advised that all wardrobes and dressers of this particular room are cleaned thoroughly and then use the hair dryer.

Inspite of all thoroughness it can happen that individual moths, moth larvae and eggs survive the freezing, heat or spraying actions and also get away during the cleaning process. As a last security when combatting moths you only have one biological method: ichneumon wasps. Ichneumon wasps are microscopically small (usually only 0,4 mm in size) and completely harmless for humans. But they can however combat clothes moths all the more effectively because they lay they own eggs into the eggs of the clothes moths which consequently die. Ichneumon wasps will find every moth egg in an infested room without exception and will reliably eliminate the complete moth population. Once this has happened the ichneumon wasps themselves die because they can find no more food. You will receive the ichneumon wasps in little booklets that you can distribute in the infested rooms.

If you have successfully won the fight against a clothes moth infestation it is necessary to prevent a new infestation.

Clothes moths feed on organic residues such as fat and skin or hair scales that already have collected in worn clothes. That’s why you should only keep clothes in cupboards for a short time once worn as not to attract any moths.

Clothes moths cannot bite through newspaper or plastic. Even if this may not be a solution for all clothes it is recommended to wrap very valuable or seldom worn garments in newspaper or plastic bag or to cover them with a plastic cover such as those used by dry cleaners.

Moth balls and moth paper that are commercially available contain certain odors that keep moths away. If you do not want to have chemical agents in your wardrobe you can make use of household remedies and put out sachets of cloves, lavender or dried orange peels. The effect is the same - clothes moths stay away.

Check clothes and other textiles that are prone for moth infestation regularly and also check for holes or white cocoons (see above mentioned A 1 and A 1). In case you suspect a new moth infestation you should lay out pheromone traps (see above mentioned A 3). A special note for carpets: Check underneath carpets because that is where they preferably like to nest.