Harry Traulsen lives alone in an upscale Brooklyn studio apartment, where he maintains an impeccably curated closet full of suits, sweaters, shirts, and accessories. Back in November, Traulsen opened his closet to find a small moth, the size of a pinky nail, fluttering around.
He ignored it, reasoning it had come into his apartment from the hallway. Traulsen spent the remainder of the day cleaning out his closet and implementing preventive measures he found on the Internet to save his remaining undamaged clothes. Start by identifying if you actually have clothes moths.
According to the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute , many other bugs feed on clothing, but are easier to kill, including carpet beetles, hide beetles, and harder beetles. Beetles tend to have a relatively long life cycle PDF , making them simpler to eliminate before damage occurs.
Additionally, their grain-of-sand-sized eggs can easily be sucked up by a vacuum, whereas moth eggs are smaller and covered in an adhesive layer. In either case, the treatment plan is the same. Anything longer than 1 cm is likely not eating your clothing.
Only two moth species will damage your clothes: The casemaking clothes moth Tinea pellionella and the webbing clothes moth Tineola bisselliella most commonly infest clothing PDF. Both are about only 1 cm long, and yellow or grayish in color. Moth larvae prefer fibers of animal origin, including wool, mohair, cashmere, fur, and feathers.
They are particularly attracted to dark, warm, humid spaces, and dirty clothing especially unwashed items that may have lingering body oils or food residue. Discard particularly infested items. If the clothing is extremely damaged, it may be impossible to repair. Thoroughly clean the clothes you do keep. Read your labels, though, as many wools will shrink and felt if agitated at such high temperatures. If you have a non-agitating shelf in your dryer, that would be a good alternative for killing moth larvae on woolen clothing.
In , English Heritage launched a study called Operation Clothes Moth, giving out traps to visitors to place in their homes and report back on. Operation Clothes Moth showed it was more widespread than we probably thought.
There are a range of reasons for the rising numbers. Hotter winters are almost certainly to blame, plus the fact we keep our homes so warm. Our housekeeping is probably not what it once was, either. Washing clothes at a lower temperature saves energy, but it means eggs are not being killed.
This is less of a problem if you wear something regularly, but lots of us have so many clothes that outfits go unworn for months or even years. There has also been a shift back to natural fibres in carpeting and clothing, which has created food for the pests.
Even worse, I know one house where they blew wool in cavity walls. She cleaned the house from top to bottom and put insecticides down. She discovered her clothes were being ruined, including a treasured and expensive coat.
Carpets were devoured and had to be pulled up. She has tried hanging up bags of herbs and cedarwood, but nothing has worked. Every morning when I wake up there are about 10 or 12 on the wall. That is often around this time of year.
Each female can lay eggs. They hatch within a few weeks of being laid. In ideal conditions, he says, hungry larvae will take three months to mature into moths, but it could take up to nine months. That is a lot of munching time. It is believed that case-bearing moths have been in the UK since at least Roman times.
The webbing clothes moth is thought to be a much more recent arrival; it is not described in scientific literature until the Victorian era. The pupae may be seen in corners of cabinets, drawers or walls. Moths are capable of infesting a home long before their populations are noticed.
As a result, substantial damage can occur to clothing or furnishings. While some are harmless and others are known to be beneficial for their silk and nutritional value, most moths and caterpillars are considered nuisance pests. A few, including the Io moth, the saddleback caterpillar moth and the southern flannel moth, are more concerning because the larvae can sting.
Particularly in agricultural communities, some moth and caterpillar populations cause severe damage. Gypsy moth caterpillars are known to damage forested areas in the northern United States. Fruit farms suffer from codling moth infestations, while cabbages and mustard crops are often destroyed by the diamondback moth.
Some moth larvae are known to consume cotton, tomatoes and corn. These larvae are commonly referred to as cotton bollworms, tomato fruitworms and corn earworms. Some moth species are also known to eat fabrics made from natural fibers, such as wool and silk.
Moth behavior, diet and habits are as varied as their appearance. They range from beautiful pollinators to sneaking blood feeders. Some moths are major agricultural pests, while the majority complete their life cycle with no significant direct impact on man.
They often are the food source for many animals, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, arachnids and even some plants. Indoors, homeowners most likely encounter moths that are either feeding on stored pantry items or on fabrics. Although they are most famous for their ability to ruin wool clothing, webbing clothes moths are also attracted to a variety of other natural materials, including silk, hair, felt, fur and feathers. These moths tend to measure 2.
Webbing clothes moth larvae, not the adults, are responsible for destroying clothing. They prefer animal-based fabrics. Moths may consume sweaters, coats, blankets, carpets, decorative items, comforters, pillows and toys. They prefer not to feed on synthetic fibers, but will consume blended and stained fabrics. They avoid light and are most commonly found in dark locations such as basements, attics and closets.
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