How To Keep Moths Away From Your Clothes

Keep moths away from your clothes. No need to run out and get greeting cards for this “holiday,” but in case you missed it, National Moth Week started yesterday! Whooo Hoooo! Yup, you read that right, this is the second day of that very special time of the year! Moth Week! Who knew it was even a thing? I learned about it at the hairdresser the other day in a copy of Woman’s Day that they had laying around. Because it had some great, useful information in it, I started to research and I thought… why not share what I learned with you, my friends? No one wants their beloved clothes ruined by yucky moths; we all have enough chance to ruin them ourselves with salad dressing and spaghetti sauce… so we really don’t need any extra help. It’s pretty easy to keep moths at bay, however, with a few easy steps, so consider the following…

Keep Moths Away From Your Clothes: Clean Before Storing

Did you know that moths consider food stains a source of food? Yuck! That’s disgusting. So it’s not just your wool sweaters they are after; they are in to stains. So if they get into your clothes, they will seek out and eat stained fabric. Who knew? If your clothing has stains, moths will find them and munch away. The stains you see, of course, are a no-brainer, but moths will even eat clothes that have perspiration stains and other “invisible stains,” like those from clear liquids. So make sure you clean your clothing before putting them away for the season. When it’s time to wear them again, you’ll be glad that you did.

Keep Moths Away From Clothes…Say No To Mothballs

Everyone I know of a certain age remembers the oh-so-weird smell of mothballs that emanated from their grandmother’s closets. The smell of these babies was said to keep the moths at bay. It did work and they are still available for purchase in a lot of places today, but research says that they can cause a myriad of health risks. According to The National Pesticide Information Center:

“Mothballs are nearly 100% active ingredient, and the active ingredient may be either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene. Each active ingredient can cause different health effects if the exposure is high enough. Mothballs slowly turn from solids to toxic vapor. When you smell mothballs, you are inhaling the insecticide. Mothballs can also be dangerous if they are chewed or eaten. Children, pets and wildlife may mistake them for food or candy and eat them. One mothball can cause serious harm if eaten by a small child.”

NPIC

Instead of mothballs, Woman’s Day suggests that you keep out-of-season clothing in airtight bags or boxes in the main part of the house rather than in attics or basements where humidity is greater. Lack of air makes it impossible for moths to survive. Yeah!

Keep Moths Away From Clothes…Infested Clothing? What To Do?

If you suspect that your clothing is already infested, is there anything to do other than throw it out? Yes. You can wash infested clothing in hot water and dry it on medium-high heat to kill larvae. Dry cleaning will also often do the trick for non-washables. Be respectful of your dry cleaner, however, and bring the item in in plastic, and make sure to inform them of what you suspect. If all else fails, throw the item out. It’s not worth risking your other, non-infested clothes.

A Final Thought…

Well, that’s it for my first blog about bugs, after over 200 blogs it was bound to come up eventually. I hope you thought it was helpful information? And, let’s face it, it was also such a great way to celebrate National Moth Week, other than cake, which, of course I going to have too!

Happy Sunday, My Friends. Marianne