How to Protect Your Garments from Clothes Moths

You go to get your favourite sweater out of the wardrobe and you notice it’s full of holes. It’s likely that clothes moths are the culprits. They love to feast on natural fibres, they breed fast, and can cause a lot of destruction. If you have a clothes moth problem, you have to act fast. Here’s how to protect your garments from clothes moths.

Identify What You’re Dealing With

Unlike house moths, clothes moths don’t tend to fly around. You’re more likely to find them on walls, in wardrobes, and in other undisturbed locations. You might be tempted to get out your can of moth spray and yes, you do need to control the adult moths. However, it’s not them that do the damage to your precious garments, it’s their larvae.

To mature into adult moths, larvae feast on keratin, a natural protein found in animal fibres like wool, silk, fur, and feathers. It’s not just your garments that are at risk either. Carpets, rugs, furniture, and blankets made from natural fibres will also be a target.

Give Your Wardrobe a Good Clean

It’s not just the moths you need to eradicate, you need to get rid of the eggs and larvae to break the cycle of infestation. To protect your garments from clothes moths, remove them from your wardrobe and drawers. Then give the wardrobe and drawers a good hoover, making sure you get into all the nooks and crannies. Don’t forget to vacuum carpets and rugs too, especially areas under undisturbed furniture.

Wash Your Garments

Wash any affected clothes at the hottest possible temperature to kill any eggs. If some garments are not machine-washable, send them to the dry cleaners.

Don’t Put Dirty Clothes Back in the Wardrobe

You only had that jumper on for half a day and it passed the sniff test. Still, you shouldn’t put it back in the wardrobe. It will already have your natural oils and grime from the environment on it, and this makes it more attractive to clothes moths. Wash it before you put it away to be on the safe side.

Store Garments Properly

Store clothing made from natural materials in airtight containers or sealed vacuum bags. This is a great way to protect your garments from clothes moths.

Can I Get Rid of Clothes Moths on My Own?

Using sprays and mothballs can get rid of adult clothes moths, but there are a few problems with this;

1. You might not feel comfortable indiscriminately using chemicals around your home;

2. Only killing the moths you can see probably won’t get rid of an infestation.

The only way to really protect your garments from clothes moths is to call in professional pest control. Contego’s expert pest technicians will assess your home, determine that you have a clothes moth infestation, and take the most effective steps to eradicate it. As well as dealing with the active infestation, we’ll also give you advice on how to prevent a reinfestation.

Need help protecting your garments from clothes moths now?