Last spring my bedroom was infested by clothes moths. I’d never seen so many moths at once. One day dozens of them were just flying around the bedroom! I was shocked. All I could think was, oh, no! what about my wool fabric! My vintage hats! My silk fabric that I’ve been saving for the right pattern?
I immediately checked my fabric and I didn’t see any telltale holes but I was paranoid that they would get eaten or maybe they were in danger of being clothes moths fodder. My hats were fine. A wool scarf in the closet had a few holes in it but luckily my actual damage was minimal.
But I didn’t know where the clothes moths were coming from or what they were eating. They were hanging out on the curtains but the curtains didn’t have any holes in them. Plus they were crawling around on the carpet. Yes, these things don’t just fly, they also crawl around like any other insect with legs. Ugh.
I started doing some research online and found this very helpful page on home pests, courtesy of the University of California. I learned some gross facts, which I will excerpt here:
“The larva is the damaging stage of the clothes moth. Both species feed on wool clothing, carpets, and rugs; upholstered furniture; furs…. They will feed on synthetics or cotton blends if these fabrics also contain wool. Larvae might also use cotton fibers to make their pupal cases. Damage generally appears in hidden locations such as beneath collars or cuffs of clothing, in crevices of upholstered furniture, and in carpeted areas beneath furniture. Fabrics with food, perspiration, or urine stains are more subject to damage.
Ewwwww. It’s the larva that eat the natural fibers and after they are done munching on your cashmere sweater, they moth emerges and flies around to lay more eggs. And get this, female moths lay “an average of 40 to 50 eggs during a 2- to 3-week period and die once they’ve completed the egg-laying process,” according to the UC page. Yes, 40 to 50 eggs!!! That’s how you can easily get an infestation of clothes moths.
We have a synthetic carpet in the bedroom so I knew they weren’t eating that. But I couldn’t tell where the clothes moths were coming from. A couple of weeks later I discovered that clothes moth larvae had infested a small wool rug that was under the TV cart in the corner of the bedroom, near the curtains. I totally didn’t see this. It wasn’t until I vacuumed the rug the second time that chunks of wool pile came off the rug.
The wool pile was no longer attached to the backing because moth larvae were munching on it! Here’s what the rug looked liked after I brushed off all the wool that was eaten where the tufts meet the backing.
Here’s a close-up of the larvae. This really, really grossed me out. I took the rug out of the house immediately, put it in the direct sun to kill them and then tossed out the rug.
Before I made this gross discovery, I posted a photo on Instagram asking for advice on killing clothes moths. They were still flying around and their crazy flight pattern made it hard to kill them by clapping my hands together. I had more luck when they were resting on the curtain or the wall. The response made me realize that it is a HUGE pain in the ass to get rid of clothes moths. I got some helpful advice from the following people:
Sonya Philip (@sonyaphilip) of 100 Acts of Sewing: “Take everything out, shake stuff and the vacuum the heck out of all the closet nooks and crannies.”
Brooke Wilkerson (@sewbrooke) of Custom Style: “Put everything you have in sealed plastic bags while it has to wait in line to be washed.” She also tagged Traci Hutton (@arttdolls) to ask her opinion and Traci commented: “Once you do your cleaning of everything, I always seal smaller wool pieces in some kind of ziplock bag or larger bag to seal them out. I then also use some type of cedar shaving or lavender sachet. Cedar wood blocks need to be sanded over time to activate the smell again. Nothing smells better than a cedar lined closet if you like that idea which is the best, IMO. I love mine. There are “kits” you can purchase from hardware stores. Time and money to do it right though.”
Here’s what I did in my attempt to eliminate and control my clothes moths problem:
- You have to break the clothes moths life cycle, which means you need to kill the eggs. Moth eggs could be in crevices in the closet, the carpet, in clothes, you name it. This is the most time-consuming and expensive part of the process.
To kill the eggs, I did the following:
• I put all my wool hats in zip lock plastic bags and then put them in the freezer for a about a week. Freezing is supposed to kill moth eggs. My freezer isn’t very big (top part of the refrigerator) so it took me about a month to freeze them all. My berets were easiest to freeze because they’re flat and don’t take up too much room.
• I vacuumed every inch of the carpet twice over and then once a week afterwards.
• I washed or dry cleaned nearly everything in the closet. Wash in hot water if you can. My bedroom closet is a walk-in closet with two racks of clothes, mine plus my husband’s, plus coats are also in there because we have no coat closet. After a few loads of clothes were washed and dried, I put them in large plastic zip lock space bags (affiliate link here) to keep them safe from clothes moths. You put your neatly stacked clothes inside and then use you vacuum hose to suck the air out. They store fairly flat. These large bags are expensive – about $16 for three. But they are reusable. It took about a month to get everything cleaned.
• Dry cleaning is expensive. If you have wool clothes, consider investing in a clothes brush and give them a good brushing before they go back in the closet. No need to constantly dry clean your wool garments, according to Douglas, the dapper staff member at Britex Fabrics. Wool resists dirt so good brushing will keep it clean and you can cut back your dry cleaning to once a year or so.
• I washed the closet shelves with warm soapy water but maybe I should have used hot soapy water to guarantee clothes moth egg death.
• In my initial panic, I put my expensive wool fabrics in a plastic container and bought some lavender-scented Moth Sachettes from the hardware store. The box said they were supposed to kill larvae and eggs. BUT the scent is super strong – sort of like moths balls but with a lavender tinge. My husband couldn’t stand the smell. The scent didn’t stay contained in the so-called air-tight container. I had to throw out the sachette put the container outside until the smell would lessen. I haven’t opened the contained in months. Now my wool may be larvae free but it stinks, creating a different problem. (sigh) - You need to trap clothes moths to prevent them from mating and laying more eggs. I bought two different types of traps because I didn’t know which would work. I got the Safer Clothes Moth Alert Trap about $10 for a package of two at my local hardware store (Amazon associates link here), which works by attracting male moths through a pheromone. They fly inside and then get stuck to the adhesive on the inside. I also got a similar trap by Raid (associates link here).
The first Safer traps I got didn’t catch anything and the Raid trap only got a couple of moths. But when I bought another package of Safer traps, they caught several moths. Maybe the first one I bought was old or my timing was off and there weren’t any moths around to attract.
I also hung up a strip of clear packing take near the trap in the closet. My thinking was: If they were attracted to the trap, maybe they’d also get stuck on the tape. I was right. Here’s a photo I took last year of the trap in the closet and the packing tape. You can see all the knitwear in big zip bags on the left and my berets in bags just below.
The moths flew to the trap and some got stuck to the tape. I don’t think it matters whether your tape is clear or not. It’s just what I had on hand.
What didn’t work
I bought this cedar wood kit to repel clothes moths. I had read mixed things about the effectiveness but I thought, why not? The kit was a little over $12 (affiliate link here). I even bought the cedar spray to revive the scent in the wood. You’re supposed to sand the wood or spray it with cedar spray to reactivate the scent.
One day I saw a moth literally on one of the cedar pieces I had put in the closet. So I can’t say that they are effective. Also, they don’t kill moth eggs or larvae. Their purpose is to repel moths. Maybe they need more constant reactivation. I don’t know.
What does work
Stay vigilant. Put at least one Safer Clothes Moth Alert trap in your closet, check it every week, and change it every three months. If you see a lot of moths, hang a strip of wide packing tape near the trap. I saw a moth in the bathroom on a towel. So now I need to check the linen closet. We may have clothes moths there. But at least they are out of the bedroom!
Vacuum your carpet at least once a week.
This Vogue UK article, recommends that you only store clean clothes in your closet because “[m]oths love to feast on human sweat and food particles. Do not put any clothes back in your newly cleaned wardrobe that are dirty – especially knitwear.” The article also has links to other products you can buy. (Thanks to Catja of Gjeometry for pointing this article out to me.)
California has been in the drought for five years so I have not been washing my clothes as frequently as I used to. This meant that I put skirts and tops I’ve worn (and not washed) back in the closet. One tee-shirt has two small holes in it so that got eaten.
I hope my experience will help other people who face a clothes moth infestation. If you have any tips on what worked for you, please let me know!
I have a Black Flag hand-held bug zapper in each room and have become adept at frying every one I see flying around or on walls at night. Smell is bad but dissipates after half an hour. Population has decreased, and I feel better. Good sticky traps are too expensive.
I am in tears as I write this and so embarrassed… I dont know where to turn or where to start! My clothes moth issue just snuck up on me and I am in trouble I realize that. Is there a place that I can write to, ask questions, get advice. I am disabled, 63, a clothes collector.. hoarder.. an upstairs, back bedroom and main part of house, all is full to the brim of stuff. No washer, dryer, no vehicle and not lots of money, I am scared… thank you very much, lori Pitalori@gmail.com if anyone has ideas for me… thank you!
Hi Lori – moths are nothing to be embarrassed about. Infestations happen to many people. You might try your local government pest control for advice or if there is a local college or university with an entomology department that may have some advice.
In the meantime, if there are things that have been absolutely destroyed, throw them out. Or get them outside.
For anything that you want to save, put it in the freezer to kill the eggs. If you don’t kill the eggs, they will continue to have more moths.
If you can find the main source of the infestation – perhaps a particular area, get rid of their main source of food – maybe it’s some wool sweater or a wool rug.
If you need assistance with moving things, perhaps a local community organization can help you. Good luck!
We had a carpet moth infestation at our last apartment, have now thankfully moved but it seems they got into our clothes. I have frozen some particular items at -18C for a week and still a few weeks after taking them out, I find new holes!! It’s very frustrating. To make matters worse these are cotton trousers! Cotton!! Hate that I now have to deal with this for the rest of my life and so disheartened that the freezing hasn’t worked. What is eating my clothes? It is a super bug. I have nightmares about it.
I have also been dealing with a moth infestation since November. I had an exterminator come out. We emptied every closet in the house, washed\dry cleaned every bit of clothing, froze and or washed\dried stuffed animals, put bed bug covers on mattresses (because we also had carpet beetles) and are doing weekly vacuuming of furniture, rugs and closets. Cedar, lavender and traps everywhere. I also have been spraying rose water in the closets weekly. All sweaters\coats have been cleaned and packed away now that winter is over.
I also put these in my attic (which isn’t used for storage) and the unfinished part of my basement (which is used for storage). They stink so I wouldn’t recommend putting in regularly used areas.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LNS3ZU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I no longer wear items once and not wash them. I would keep a pile of lightly worn clothes and wear more than once before washing. No more! I’ve also hired a “cleaner” to add to our vacuuming. She also steams our curtains bi weekly.
And yet we are still seeing the occasional moth. I search daily for sources and am coming up empty handed. It’s driving me crazy! I will say this though. I think what we are personally doing has been much more effective than the exterminator. But since we paid for a yearly contract, I had them come out again once spring hit and we saw a resurgence. Oddly enough, I have most frequently seen them in my shower. Weird. There’s no fabric in there! But my robe that hangs next to it is getting washed more frequently than it used to.
Keep fighting them! Maybe eventually we’ll all be moth free.
Hi,
Do you still have any clothes moths in your bedroom? I’m having a clothes moth problem in my bedroom, and they seem to be concentrated in my walk-in closet (sounds similar to your situation). I have since emptied out my entire closet and am storing all my clothes elsewhere, but I still find lots of clothes moths in the closet – now they just hang out on the walls! My biggest problem is finding the source – my bedroom is pretty empty now so I have no idea where they could be coming from. It is carpeted but made from only synthetic fabric. I see no visible damage on the carpet or any of my clothes, so I’m left wondering what they could be feeding on. Any ideas/suggestions would be much appreciated!
How long did it take before your problem “resolved”? I have trouble sleeping some nights because I feel an itch and think it’s a moth on me!
Moths are horrible. I confess that I still have clothes moths in the bedroom closet. 🙁 When I saw your comment, I did a little search and found this 2012 article, which says, “Moths eat dust, fur balls and hair that would otherwise build up in our homes.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/9209062/Arm-yourself-moths-are-coming-to-attack-your-wardrobe.html
The article also says “Vacuum cleaners are moths’ worst enemies. They don’t like disturbance, so open up your cupboards once a month and shake everything out. Do the same with carpets – move furniture and clean under wardrobes and tables.”
So it looks like we both need to vacuum. It’s a lot of work and vigilance to get rid of them. I need to do a follow-up post on this and talk to some insect experts.
I did get rid of the major source in the bedroom (that wool carpet) so they are no longer there but I’ve still got some in the bedroom closet.
If you are still having issues, lavender helps to keep moths out of clothes areas. As well as removing moths it is important to remove any larvae you come across. These like to hide in undisturbed places so it is important to move and vacuum under all furniture especially things you wouldnt usually move
Oh, wanted to add: clothes moths aren’t supposed to like CLEAN clothes. Ours do!
We’ve had clothes moths for around a year. We’d had a Christmas party and moved some furniture with nothing noted. We also had put up the Christmas tree but after hoovering I noticed a bald patch. The threads were missing down to the webbing. In February we noticed a few moths but I didn’t know enough then to really be worried and I didn’t realise the moths and bald patch were related straight away. Once I realised we hoovered everywhere and moved all furniture. Come May the numbers rose and we saw them in pretty much all our rooms. I killed all we saw, using a swiffer to kill any up high. Lots of clothes washing, keeping doors shut and I sprayed permethrin ant spray on the carpet, caught a few mating pairs on the wall in the hall and by shining a torch on the carpet, they become the same colour as the carpet. Around October I found a tiny bald patch on the stairs and using the torch I found frass in the carpet crevice at the stairs. I was a little relived as I feel I now know where they’re coming from. I Hoover and spray the lounge and hall regularly, moving all furniture, we still keep doors closed. Touch wood, not seen one for months, but I did find a bald path in a spare room so repeating hoovering, furniture moving and carpet spraying. I am tempted to try the tape, just to see what it picks up. I’m also using the moth repellent balls but I’m not sure of their effectiveness
We discovered that we had clothes moths three years ago. Tried cheap traps with no results, then bought expensive ones (five traps plus shipping, around $75!) and had incredible results! Problem is, those traps stopped working, and others that we tried did little too. One moth per trap every three months is ridiculous! Can moths “learn” to avoid traps or are traps just poorly made? We continue to find them in dresser drawers, and have found damage, in one case, on an oriental rug that was stored in a chest. Our clothes moths do other weird things too. They sometimes fly around in daylight for example, which they aren’t supposed to do. They also have no dislike for natural lavender oil!
Ugh! Clothes moths are terrible. I guess they must evolve and then avoid the traps? We also stuck strips of clear plastic tape high up in the closet – 2-inch wide packing tape. They get stuck to the tape. They have not invaded dresser drawers. Yikes. I think I also read that you may need to hire a professional if you have a major infestation. I tried cedar wood but that doesn’t seem to do much either. I don’t think scent repellant works if you already have moths.