How To Get Rid of Clothes Moths

You spend hundreds of dollars while shopping for your clothes and you are the proud owner of a closet that’s filled with clothes, purses, dainty designer handkerchiefs, etc. Now what could potentially be the single most dreadful thing for your wardrobe? It would be that your clothes might get infested from moths. If that sends shivers down your spine, obviously you haven’t given it much thought. Well, it’s time you did.

As it is any harm done to your cloths can’t be pretty. The moth infestation in clothes is even more dangerous because the damage done to the clothes can’t be reversed by simply washing off the clothes. The moth infested clothes usually show some tell a tale signs that something is wrong with them.

Some signs that prove moth infestation in clothes include small holes in the clothes, presence of rust colored dusty substance on the clothes, presence of small delicate threads on cloth surface, blackening and rotting of some of the portions of cloth. If you fear the invasion of moths on your expensive clothes, then you can counter the threat using these tips.

Get Rid of Clothes Moths

First of all isolate damaged clothes to prevent further closet infestation: Identification and isolation of clothes that are infested from moths is extremely important in protecting the other non infected clothes from damage. The moth infected clothes can identified by the holes created by the moths and by the webs or secretions that they leave on the infected clothes. Such clothes should be immediately placed in separate bags to treat them further. The closet in which those moth infested clothes were found should also be completely emptied to prevent further damage.

Wash the clothes and place moth balls in the lint free closet: If you detect one or two holes in the clothes and the moth infestation is really minor, then you should first of all wash all the clothes by using sufficient amount of surfactant. Washing the clothes would wash off the presence of moths if there were any. Also, before placing the clothes in the closet back again, you should clean the closet by scrubbing the interior closet surface with a wet cloth. If you find the presence of lint, then you must scrape it off using some pointed object. For mild infestation, sun drying and ironing the clothes would do.

Use a combing brush with soft bristles to brush those blazers: The moths spread very quickly by hatching eggs that are known as larvae. The moths usually find dry and warm clothes to lay their eggs. These larvae are very tiny and you can’t see them with naked eyes. These larvae that are hidden in between the fibers of cloth fabric can be removed by brushing the fabric. You can use a hair brush or comb with somewhat soft bristles to lightly scrub the fabric by holding it in vertical direction. The larvae would fall off from the clothing by this method.

Use the age old ‘hot water- cool water’ treatment for killing moths: The hot water-cold water method is highly effective in treating moth infected clothes. However, this method can’t be used on every type of clothing item. Delicate silks etc can be damaged during the process. Cotton and woolen clothes can be treated by this method. You have to soak the clothes in very hot water for an hour. Then you have to shift the clothes immediately to a bucket filled with icy cold water. After doing this repeatedly several times, you just have to dry the clothes. This method will kill all the moths or larvae that might be present in the clothing.

Make use of widely available trap for moths to get rid of them: Traps for moths are an alternative to the moth balls for killing the moths. You can buy these moth traps from market. Usually a moth trap is a tissue or special paper that has certain kind of chemical coating. This moth trap is placed in between folded clothes. When the moths come in contact with the chemically treated traps, then the chemical substance enters their body and poisons them. This moth trap is not effective for eliminating the larvae from the infested clothes. However, severe cases of cloth infestation from moths would require professional help.

Use a strong leave in disinfectant if you’re going to store clothes: There are many kinds of leave in disinfectant products available in the market. These products help in treating the clothes for making them moth resistant. These disinfectant products are usually available in the form of sprays for clothes. They are very helpful if you plan to store the clothes in the cabinet for elongated period of time. For example, when you store woolen clothes at the end of winters, then you can either use this leave in chemicals or moth balls to safeguard the cloths.

Use this homemade herbal remedy to kills of the moths and larvae: There is a homemade remedy for killing the moths and preventing future moth infestation for the clothes. It is extremely useful if you are worried about using chemically laden moth killing substances due to the presence of small children at your home. Prepare a powdered mixture of dried mint leaves, cinnamon bark and cedar. Then sprinkle some fish oil on this powdered mixture to make it slightly moist. Then place this mixture at various places in the clothes cabinet to keep off moths.