Use This to Get Rid of Moths in Your Closet
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This article is provided in partnership with Moth Prevention. They provided me with their products to use in my closet to prevent moth infestations from occurring. If you’d like to learn more about their products click here.
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Holes in your clothes? Or worse, finding moth casings stuck to your garments? You have a moth infestation! Here’s why, and what to do about it.
How do moths get in your closet?
Moths are nocturnal, and they love cozy, dark, small spaces like… THE CLOSET. Perhaps you left your window wide open and moths flew in. There also could be a crack or two in your wall or large space under your closet door for them to enter.
What happens next?
The female lays eggs on your soft, cozy cashmere sweater.
The larvae, once hatched, are partial to snacking on your clothes. They prefer animal based fiber and cotton, but won’t turn their noses up at a synthetic blend fabric either.
What should you do?
Determine if the infestation is isolated or widespread.
Use a flashlight to inspect the closet for holes and assess the condition of your wardrobe.
If only a couple items are damaged, place them in a Ziploc bag and stick them in the freezer for 24 hours. This will kill the larvae that may remain.
If a substantial portion of your wardrobe is damaged, seal salvageable items in a trash bag to clean.
Clean the closet thoroughly.
Use a vacuum cleaner to remove cocoons, casings, and remains from the closet.
Remove the contents of the vacuum from your house immediately to prevent re-infestation.
Use a paintbrush and a food-safe insecticide solution like Delta Dust and apply it to cracks/openings where moths could get in.
Use a natural moth repellent spray and spritz the closet a few times over the next couple weeks. Focus on walls and carpeted areas especially.
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3. Clean the damaged clothing.
Machine wash items in the hottest water possible.
Dry items on the highest setting.
Take dry garments outside to shake loose any remaining debris. Make sure debris is contained and disposed of outside.
Dry clean only items can be taken to the cleaners. Just be sure to let them know the condition of your clothes.
4. Mend damaged clothing.
How to prevent re-infestation in the future.
Check out my feature product partner - Moth Prevention
They have professional-grade moth killing and prevention kits that will take care of the infestation AND prevent reoccurrence.
Their closet moth traps are easy to assemble and come with a convenient hanger to stick on your closet rod. The traps attract male moths with a powerful female pheromone to prevent them from mating. The traps work really well and only need to be replaced every three months.
Check out my quick video demo of how to assemble the closet moth trap!
I hope you enjoyed this little feature partner post. If you found it useful or have questions, be sure to comment below.