# Help! I found moth holes. Now what?



## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

It seems I made a fundamental error by not dry cleaning my new vintage pea coat immediately, so now it has moth holes. Screw the pea coat; I only paid $39 for it. But what now? At my cleaner's recommendation I brought her all the wool coats that were in the same closet for dry cleaning. Only one of them has a moth hole, so it looks like I'm just in time. Next steps?

Invest in canvas garment bags? Cedar? Do I have to go dry clean every piece of clothing I own?


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

I should note that it's frustrating how when I do a search for "moth," I get a thousand hits, which is tantamount to nothing. But once I post something about moths, I see at the bottom of the page "similar threads," many of which are actually quite helpful. I wonder if the search function can be improved, since clearly there's some good stuff already written up on this topic.


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## Racer (Apr 16, 2010)

You do not have to dry clean every piece of clothing. Wash all the washables. Use a clothes brush on everything to remove as many eggs or larvae as you can, then have larger items drycleaned and treat smaller items. One trick that works for the smaller stuff like ties, sweaters, etc. is to put clothes in your freezer for a week or two - that will kill the eggs/larvae.

The main thing is to thoroughly clean out your closet to get rid of the source of the infestation, before you put any cleaned or treated clothes back into it. Take everything - EVERYTHING - out of the closet, and give the closet the most thorough cleaning it's ever had. Get a dust-brush and a broom, and thoroughly sweep every surface in the closet, then get a powerful vacuum cleaner and vacuum every centimeter of the closet, making sure you clean out cracks, crevices, under baseboards, etc. Then wipe down walls and hard-surface shelves/rods with a damp cloth to pick up any stray eggs or larvae the vac might have missed.

Thoroughly clean everything out - brush your shoes, and vacuum inside them, along with anything and everything else you had in the closet. The goal is to eliminate any possibility of the moths coming back after you've cleaned/treated your clothes.

Garment bags are a good idea if you don't have moth problems already - it's something of a preventive measure. If you've already got the infestation, garment bags are actually bad, because you encase the larvae in with the garments, and then you can't see what they are doing until it's too late.


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## Finian McLonergan (Sep 23, 2009)

You could also try transfluthrin-based products:

https://www.rentokil.co.uk/resident...-products/moth-killer-hanging-unit/index.html

You should also learn how to identify the early stages of moth infestation, subtle signs of damage which precede the appearance of holes.

And while clothes moths mainly feed on the natural fibres in the cloth, they are strongly attracted by residues of food and sweat, so a thorough clean prior to placing clothes into seasonal storage is also a good idea.

As is the case in so many aspects of life, a sound preventative routine systematically observed is all that's required to minimise the problem.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

all good advice; regular, all-over brushing with a stiff clothing brush is very helpful; sending anything that might have grease spots on it to the drycleaner is also important. Garment bags that breathe are a good idea.


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## Preacher (Jul 5, 2008)

I just found moth damage to one of my wool top coats. I was doing the annual winter storage / spring switchover when I noticed the holes in my coat. I then noticed a wool sweater that had large holes in it that I could put my finger through. I put my winter clothes in air-tight rubbermaid containers with a block of fresh cut cedar between every layer of clothing. Getting everything dry-cleaned would cost as much as buying a new BB suit so that is not an option. I'm hoping the cedar works.


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## Racer (Apr 16, 2010)

Preacher, what exactly are you hoping the cedar does? It's not an insecticide. It will not kill existing moths or larvae.


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## Grayson (Feb 29, 2008)

Finding such damage in my own long-term storage closet required me to throw away a number of suits, sweaters, and coats *shudder*... followed by intensive inspections of all my clothes, dry-cleaning everything, and the immediate construction of an 8x12 cedar closet. Expensive, but now I can store my woolens without fear.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

just make sure there are no eggs or larvae on the garments when you put them in to it.


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## Kurt N (Feb 11, 2009)

Racer said:


> Preacher, what exactly are you hoping the cedar does? It's not an insecticide. It will not kill existing moths or larvae.


I read somewhere that it's not even a repellent--that all it does is produce a scent that masks the smell of sweat, etc., so the moths have a harder time finding the clothes. Is that true?


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## Racer (Apr 16, 2010)

Yes, that is correct.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

I've read otherwise. Either way, it seems that cedar is effective as a preventative measure but not as a remedy if there already is an infestation


Racer said:


> Yes, that is correct.


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## tocqueville (Nov 15, 2009)

Ok. Thanks for these responses. So far it seems that my moth problem is relatively contained to the one closet, although I have to be vigilant. I sympathize with the issue of the cost of having everything dry cleaned. My cleaner is charging me $100 to clean four wool coats. I can't keep that up, although I might be willing to do so for my better suits, since I only really have two good ones, the demise of which would be a real blow. I'm not sure my freezer is cold enough, since I've read it needs to be at zero F or below. See here for an article that debunks the idea that just any household freezer would do:
https://www.fuzzygalore.biz/articles/moths.shtml

Tonight I will be doing some major cleaning.

Anyway, help me put together a shopping list of items one should have to deal with moths. What really works?

1. Cedar balls? (I can't do chemical moth balls because I have young children).
2. Garment bags. Are breathable cloth bags as opposed to plastic bags necessary?
3. Are cedar hangars of any value with respect to moths?
4. What else?

There appear to be a variety of sprays on the market, both chemical and "cedar essence." It's not clear to me what value any of that has.

My poor pea coat. It survive more than 60 years only to meet its demise in my closet after only a month. How dumb of me not to get it dry cleaned on day 1!


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## Racer (Apr 16, 2010)

tocqueville said:


> I've read otherwise.


I'm sure you have. There's a ton of folklore about the effectiveness of cedar against moths; however, that's what it is - folklore. If you read the information produced by university entomologists, pest management experts, and the like, you will find that the most any of them are willing to say is that cedar has, "...limited value in fabric pest protection unless other measures are used" (that one is from Utah State University, and their suggested "other measures" involve the use of paradichlorobenzene or naphthalene).



> Either way, it seems that cedar is effective as a preventative measure but not as a remedy if there already is an infestation


Again, according to the experts, it's only effective if it is used along with other preventive measures. Cedar alone won't prevent moths. For example, at one point I rented a house that had a cedar-lined closet in the master bedroom, and discovered the hard way that the closet was moth-infested.


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## Haffman (Oct 11, 2010)

I've found what really works is the 'moth traps' that use pheromones to attract the male moths, which get stuck in the trap and die off...breaking the breeding cycle. Reduced the population of moths in my house to zero in a few weeks. I live in UK and got mine off amazon...sure there must be similar in USA. They are also odourless (to humans!)

Not a quick fix and not a substitute for regular checks, brushing and good storage as detailed above...but they def worked for me and i would recommend


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## Taliesin (Sep 24, 2004)

You have to be sure you are actually dealing with moths. Have you seen any? There are other insects that can cause similar damage. Carpet beetles are a big source of presumed 'moth holes.'


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## CharlesFerdinand (Jun 18, 2010)

Haffman said:


> I've found what really works is the 'moth traps' that use pheromones to attract the male moths, which get stuck in the trap and die off...breaking the breeding cycle. Reduced the population of moths in my house to zero in a few weeks. I live in UK and got mine off amazon...sure there must be similar in USA. They are also odourless (to humans!)
> 
> Not a quick fix and not a substitute for regular checks, brushing and good storage as detailed above...but they def worked for me and i would recommend


I will try those out as well. I had a serious infestation about a year ago (but then, a good excuse to splash out on lots of new stuff) and since then, I vowed to use every anti moth device known to man


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## omanae (Aug 19, 2008)

One of my co-workers had a large moth problem recently. He dry cleaned a lot and washed what he could, but he also put some things out in the cold for a few days (it was in Jan.). This apparently kills the moths and larvae as well. Possibly while your cleaning out your closet thoroughly put all your clothes in the freezer for a day or two.


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## stubloom (Jun 6, 2010)

I addressed the issue of cleaning, storage and moth damage prevention on The London Lounge forum.

https://thelondonlounge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9979


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

As a couple others have suggested, a large chest freezer and large plastic garbage bags should be a major component of your arsenal against the invading hordes!


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