Remember how appalled I was back in November after discovering that an infestation of clothes moths had decimated my wardrobe overnight? Wool, cotton, silk, viscose/manmade – these voracious buggers were not fussy. Well, an interesting thing happened the other day. No, unfortunately, it’s not good news on the moth front. The deep freeze is now my wardrobe and all clothes storage places are hung about with pheromone traps, cedar wood balls and rings, and are sprayed regularly with a cedar wood deterrent.
I was working in the shop. Crede has a sale on at the moment (and an excellent sale it’s been too). A customer was happily browsing and having chosen a jumper she asked if a particular dress she had her eye on would be reduced further. I replied it probably would and to keep popping in to check. We continued chatting about the glumness of January, the ubiquitous cold bug and the hope that the cold, dry snap had killed off a lot of the germs…
“As well as all the wretched parasites and pests, especially the clothes moth” I threw in.
“Oh” she exclaimed “don’t talk about them!”
“Why? Have you had an invasion?” I asked, ears immediately pricked
“Well not exactly me. But in my line of work – definitely yes!”
“I’m intrigued…if you don’t mind me asking, what’s that?” interested because of Robert’s mothly passions.
“No, not at all. I’m an entomologist. I work for the National Trust, moth control is one of the things I do”
“Oh wow, so do tell me – is there a big problem there? Is even the National Trust experiencing moth devastation?”
“It’s been quite appalling.” she said “Due to the very warm winters and wet summers the population has exploded and instead of just hatching one brood they may hatch three or even four!” She went onto explain that with such a population explosion, it really didn’t take long for the creatures to chomp their way through an entire stately home let alone a small farmhouse. She had developed such a paranoia she used to take her work clothes off in the garage to avoid contaminating her house! I did take some comfort that I alone had not been singled out.
I went on to ask about the deepfreeze treatment and she said yes, that did help, but the temperature had to be extremely cold for effective short sharp annihilation. Items have to be kept in a domestic freezer for a good length of time. It doesn’t finish there; one should then brush/hoover all the items very carefully to remove any debris or frass, and treat the whole of the room or even building!
“They are extremely difficult to get rid of.” No new news there, unfortunately. She did however give me the name of the man, company and product the National Trust use, as they try not to, other than exceptional circumstances, rely on the use of toxic insecticides.
So this may be of some interest to you if you’re suffering moth damage and for those of you who don’t think you are…maybe you should just have a quick peek at those less frequently used items at the back of the cupboard!
10 comments
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January 22, 2009 at 8:44 pm
colouritgreen
I live in fear of the clothes moth.. we have wool all over the house, though do seal it up in bags and boxes once carded or spun.. but still….
someone told me conkers work as a deterrant.. no idea if true – but I plan to gather some next autumn and keep them in the wool boxes etc.
January 22, 2009 at 9:09 pm
LittleFfarm Dairy
When I pulled on my knickers this morning I discovered the little blighters had even chomped a hole in them. Is nothing sacred…?!
January 24, 2009 at 8:13 am
Jane
I have to admit that when we moved into this house 4 years ago we had it fumigated (before we moved in). We had clothes moths in every room, every nook and every cranny. We still see a few of them but nothing like they were (in their thousands!). They had chomped their way through several antique rugs before we arrived and I didn’t want the same happening to all our clothes. We now have plenty of creepy-crawlies back in the house… just not of the clothes-devouring variety. Good luck with your crusade! Jane
January 24, 2009 at 11:53 am
paula
It’s a frightening thought cig. We also are full of wool – I always thought that if wool was unwashed or still had a reasonable proportion of its lanolin it was protected – but I’m not so sure now. I also have rugs that were grandparents/great grandparents and I fear moth damaging these – though they are in use and hoovered, so that maybe some help.
Never heard about the conkers – shall most definitely collect some in the autumn – I’ll let you know…
January 24, 2009 at 11:55 am
paula
Oh no Jo! That’s one liberty too much
January 24, 2009 at 11:58 am
paula
When I read your comment Jane I had nightmare visions of this house by the end of the year! I have no idea how to begin – we are full of beams, crumbling cob, dark corners, inaccessible crannies – well, just moth heaven.
January 24, 2009 at 7:14 pm
heidi
I wish you all luck on the moth eradication front. Dan would weep if they got to his kilts.
Now I’d like to know, as your on the destructive insect topic: will your cold weather be enough to diminish the biting midge population ?
January 25, 2009 at 10:57 am
mary
Some funnies on here especially the knickers! No respect.
It’s a recurring thought of mine that after we (the human beans and all the other animals) have left the planet, the insects will remain.
January 25, 2009 at 1:53 pm
elizabethm
Such a scary prospect. We have no moths so far, just spiders in their hundreds, and I don’t mind those. Really hope your deep freeze treatment works.
April 14, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Jean Moss
Hi, I write a Q&A column in the UK magazine, Knitting, and have a question about clothes moths. Would it be OK to use your image, with full credit of course?
I’d appreciate it if you could reply asap as my deadline is looming.
Thanks,
Jean Moss