moths (that eat cashmere)

brooklynpotter

i've never had more moths than in my apt here. the little goldeny ones that prefer munching on cashmere.

we have them (we're south slope near PPW), i know flexi has them (she's also in the nabe.)

anyone else? no moth remedies work (i've worked with fiber in the past. little deters these nasty creatures). i've taken to keeping each sweater in it's own little ziploc bag.

can it just be us?

sweet tea

us too.

awful.

we're washing and bagging everything.

brooklynpotter

it totally sucks that they prefer cashmere.

i found a mitten i'd left in a bag in my closet. (i'd been wondering why they kept flying out from the closet!) said mitten was missing a giant chunk. i'm not talking about a hole, i mean a quarter of the top of the mitten was gone, like a human had taken a bite from it.

brooklynpotter

and they eat silk and rayon, btw, when they can't find wool.

mooca

I'm still going to try the lavender from my garden. It might not work, but it will smell nice.

Having bought a gorgeous cashmere sweater yesterday, I will try the ziplock thing too

goluxx

Have you tried storing them with cedar? That's always worked for me.

brooklynpotter

yup. didn't work.

i fear this genus of moth is unstoppable.

mantic

I did notice they have been back in the last week or so. Stinky, my cat, has been munching back on at least two a day.
In the morning and evening. It's amusing to me. It's like he can smell them or something. He will go into a room, sit down and starts calling it out. When he stops, I know he caught it.

If you use Cedar, Lavendar or any other scent. It can't be too faint.

brooklynpotter

he can catch the tiny creatures? they're zippy

booklaw

We've had 'em (lost a few good vests and sweaters) from time to time... but don't have them at the moment.

katbka

Sorry to hear!!!
The only way I know of is to kill the larvae by washing (gasp!!!) all your clothes in Woolite in the washing machine. Try to use the gentle cycle. And yes, you have to wash ALL your clothes. Coats can be dry-cleaned. Use the dryer for whatever you can dry.

Then clean all the drawers with some nasty stuff, like clorox or windex, then fill it with cedar and lavender or, for more adventurous, moth balls. Then pray they don't come back...

Oh, one more thing - always wash seasonal clothes before storing them off-season. Apparently, the little critters LOVE slightly soiled clothes more than crispy clean ones.

smitty

I threw away three sweaters last week that I had on a shelf that weren't in plastic like the rest of mine - one even had multiple large holes.

I've also noticed carpet beetles lately. Ugh!

whatchuwant

You know, my mom has this problem, but these guys tend to gravitate towards the kitchen. We assumed that they were coming from the supermarket (possibly in the brown paper bags). But now you've got me thinking that they're into the laundry...

Then again, she doesn't have a problem with holes in her clothes, so maybe different moth???

The little two-tone brown guys??

brooklynpotter

no, goldeny and when you smoosh them they're chalky

sweet tea

yeah, they're different moths, though they're of similar size.

curlyjj

I have the same problem with holes in my sweaters but I've never seen a single moth. I wish I did see the moths because then there would be a culprit.

smitty

I hate the smell of moth balls too.

brooklynpotter

good. and it's not as if they work anyway

jamzer

Try bats. Bats love to eat moths.

brooklynpotter

perfect!

pastoralia

Growing up we had this bug spray called SLA that a neighbor gave us. I've had the same can for like seriously 20 years. It will kill anything and doesn't smell that bad. It's supposed to be for moths especially but I've used it on bees, roaches, ants, spiders...if it crawls or flies it dies. Just spray it in the area of your closet and not on your clothes and I think the moths will die.

You might be able to find it at True Value hardware. If not- you can buy it on amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Willert-1474-12-Cedar-Scented-Spray/dp/B001CEPC2Y/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1224008931&sr=8-1

zebra

I believe it is the moth larvae & not the moths themselves that eat your wool. Or have I been misinformed?

catscan

Hi! Found this thread via Gowanus Lounge. I live in the North Slope and have been battling the clothes moths (the little golden kind) for almost two years. These pests are TENACIOUS and have robbed me of my peace of mind! I'm almost at my wit's end.

Some quick facts:

1. It is, indeed, the larvae of the moth that chews your wools and silks. Adult moths do not even have mandibles. They do, however, spend their short lives laying hundreds of eggs which then turn into more material-eating larvae. So kill every adult you see. Pheromone traps work well, but only catch the male moths.

2. The larvae can also live in pockets of dust or pet hair. Watch out for animal beds. They also love felt--my Christmas ornaments were wrapped in paper and stored in shoeboxes, and they found their way into them.

3. Lavender and cedar ARE NOT ENOUGH to battle this problem. I can't stress this statement enough. I tried taking this route for the first few months of my moth problem and lost valuable time. Also, moth balls will only work in sealed containers--so don't risk exposing yourself to the extra toxins by throwing them under the bed or at the bottom of closets (if the closet is not air-tight).

4. I thought that I had the problem under control (I've been catching hardly any in my apartment) but I just checked my traps in the carpeted hallway outside my apartment and they are INFESTED. I suspect that the carpet is where this infestation began in the first place.

5. Clothes moths are not related to pantry moths (the kind that sometimes are found in dry goods). When purchasing moth traps, make sure that they're for the correct moth.

I'm girding myself to do battle again with the landlord about getting a capable pest control company to come in and treat for the moths in the hallway. (The last guy he sent had never treated a clothes moth infestation before, and did nothing but hang up moth traps.) But I feel like there is only so much I can do to control the hallway environment (unlike my apartment). I don't want to move, but I can't keep living with a destructive insect infestation.

Good luck! I wish that there was a support group for these kinds of problems.

smitty

I've just taken to storing all my sweaters in plastic boxes. The ones that got eaten were left in my closet

bendy broad

CatsCan, you rock for posting all that info.

In the meantime, I'm just praying that hole-y cashmere is all the rage this fall. It can be "recession chic."

brooklynpotter

more washing and bagging to happen tonight.

they ate the f'ing silk linings of both a vintage beacon bathrobe and my grandmother's persian lamb coat.

oh, and i found another sock. or, 2/3rds of a sock.

catscan

The moths are back, in a big way.

I tried reporting my landlord to 311 for an untreated insect infestation. The city inspector came, saw the moths fluttering about the hallway, was very nice and sympathetic but doubted he would be able to help... Sure enough, no violation was issued. Can anyone help? I've lost well over a thousand dollars in clothing and furniture, and that doesn't take into account dry cleaning costs. At this point, I'm afraid that if I move I'll just take the moths with me. Exterminator recommendations? Anyone know an agency that offers free legal assistance? (I was laid off this summer and am currently living on unemployment. Oy vey.)

Thank you so much!

brooklynpotter

catscan, i've been working with a company which handles this kind of pest infestation, and fogging the apartment won't work. you need baits and liquid stuff that you put in the cracks of your furniture, which is where they live.

there kinds of moths don't care if your clothes are clean or not, and they will eat any natural fiber, including silk, rayon, etc.

i'm at work so don't have the contact info withme, but when i get home this evening i will message you the name of the company i'm going to use.

read: i have not done this yet, and each sweater still has its own bag. i cannot imagine a time when i ever let anything cashmere sit out in the open

catscan

Thank you so much--I'd be deeply grateful for the information.

I've been using pheromone traps which catch a small percentage of the male population. Most of my sweater and all my silk scarves are in plastic bags. Living like this is awful!

Next week I might try visiting housing court to see what the process is to deduct extermination costs from my rent. If he takes me to court, I've got an airtight collection of emails for two years documenting that he knows about the problem, and doesn't care. :

brooklynpotter

catscan, the problem is that they could be living in the grooves of your furniture, so there's no proving where they came from. you could have brought them with you or brought them in on another occasion, or they could have been there. and there is no proving that

shishkab

yeah i've got them too. ech!