AMIT ISRAELI
Tips to get rid of clothes moths
1. Deep clean your wardrobe
Moths like undisturbed corners that are dark and warm. Remove everything from your wardrobe, vacuum all the corners and drawers, and wipe all your surfaces with a detergent-soaked cloth to kill off larvae. Then wash all of your clothes (and curtains and upholstery, too).
2. Dry clean and freeze your clothes
Dry cleaning kills moth eggs and larvae, and is an excellent option for bulky items like coats. Freeze anything you can fit on your freezer shelves; sub-zero temperatures kill larvae, although make sure you put clothes in plastic bags prior to freezing to avoid a condensation build-up. Keep them in there for at least 48 hours, or up to a week if you can. Heat also kills larvae and eggs, however, hot temperatures can damage cashmere.
3. Use a natural moth spray
To ensure you’ve got rid of all the larvae and eggs, Total Wardrobe Care’s Julia Dee explains that you can start by “applying natural moth-killing products, such as chrysanthemum-based sprays.” This will prevent any more moths hatching, so you don’t go back to square one.
4. When all else fails, turn to fumigation
A moth infestation can cause thousands of pounds worth of damage depending on the clothes you have in your wardrobe, and so bringing in the professionals to fumigate your house if the problem is significant is often worth the investment.
Tips to prevent clothes moths from coming back
1. Keep your clothes clean
Moths love to feast on human sweat, food particles, and stains. Do not put any clothes back in your newly cleaned wardrobe that are dirty—especially knitwear or natural fibers.
2. Clean your wardrobe
As well as laundering your clothes, ensure that your wardrobe and drawers are also clean. “Regularly wipe down surfaces with soapy water and thoroughly vacuum cracks and crevices to remove any larvae or eggs,” Dee recommends. Moths hate light and movement, so this can also help disturb them.
3. Store your knitwear in garment bags
Always store winter knits, coats, and any other items you particularly value in zipped garment bags (like knitwear and cashmere bags), and line the bags with anti-moth paper strips. Line your drawers in anti-moth paper, and deploy cedarwood blocks.
4. Vet your vintage
Vintage clothes should always be dry cleaned or put in the freezer before being introduced to your wardrobe, as they are often the source of infestations.
5. Invest in cedarwood hangers
Moths hate them, and they’ll keep the shoulders on your dresses and jackets neat, too. Always take your clothes out of the plastic hanging bags from the dry cleaner. The plastic attracts dust, and the dust attracts moths.
6. Be vigilant
Keep checking your clothes for moth holes, keep rooms well-ventilated as temperatures start to rise, and keep a natural oil diffuser in your wardrobe at all times—it smells great and wards off moths. Moth cassettes are also a good precautionary measure, and you can keep them hanging on your rail at all times.
