If you think of your great-grandmothers clothes reeking of moth balls when asked about clothes moths you’d be right. However, if you thought that the moths that munch their way through your clothes and wool carpets were a thing of the past you’d be wrong.
Safeguard Pest Control is raising awareness that moths are infesting people’s homes once again causing devastation in their wake. What’s the cause for the return of the clothes moth? Well, it’s basically down to changes in lifestyles.
Central heating, yes, that old chestnut, is partly to blame for the increase in pests such as clothes months. We keep our homes warm throughout the year, giving the moths the ideal breeding ground. Few of us open our windows during the colder months to control these little creatures with a blast of cold air, sufficient enough to kill them or their eggs.
Then there’s questions of cleanliness to maintain pest control. Times have changed and people no longer spend the amount of hours on housework as they once did. The moths and their eggs can get into the smallest crevices and wait for an opportune moment to start feasting; so, unless you thoroughly hoover every nook and cranny of your house on a regular basis (let’s be honest not many of us do), then you may find that you have holes in your best cashmere jumper and carpets.
Overfilling our wardrobes is another culprit – today many of us have far too many clothes squeezed into our wardrobe. This doesn’t allow for air circulation, but it does allow the moths to move from one piece of clothing to the next with ease. Putting clothes away without washing them is also not advised, as moths love nothing more than dirty clothes with sweaty armpits!
The return of natural materials to manufacture our clothes can also be blamed on the return of the moth. Clothes moths only eat natural fibres, such as wool, cashmere, etc. so if you have a panache for these luxury materials the moths will adore you. Stick to man-made fabrics and you won’t be affected.
Where you shop can also bring moths into your home. Shopping for retro clothing and bargains at charity shops and you could be walking the moths’ right into your home – a bit like bringing bedbugs back from a hotel in your suitcase.
If you’ve noticed nibbled clothes or holes in your carpet you’ll need to give serious consideration to getting rid of moths. There are basically two routes you can follow; the first is the chemical route using pesticide sprays and treatments, the other is the ‘natural’ route, where you try and get rid of the infestation by rigorous cleaning, de-cluttering and using natural remedies such as cedar balls, lavender, etc.
However, if you have a bad infestation either of these methods can be very time consuming and at the end of the day you may not have entirely solved the problem.
Call in the pest control specialists who are used to treating moth infestations – such as Safeguard Pest Control. We can also give you hints and tips of preventative measures to help stop the moths from returning in the future.
Image: Dgjones via cc Flickr
