What can be done against clothes and food moths?

The most important points in brief

• If you find moths in your own four walls, you can't avoid fighting the pests consistently.
• Because both female clothes moths and food moths lay a lot of eggs, and the offspring are hungry to no end.
• Prevention is important - but what if the moths have settled in the closet and kitchen?
• Removing the moths and their brood is laborious, but there is no alternative.

Nobody likes having an armada of insects around the house. However, if the animals are moths, this can have particularly dire consequences. Food moths attack dry food and take over the regime in kitchen cupboards and in the pantry, clothes moths - more precisely: their larvae - prefer to eat textiles because they need the protein keratin, which is found in feathers and furs, from which clothes are partly made. < / p>

The larvae of food moths and clothes moths are especially voracious

You don't like to see adult moths in your closet either, of course. But the offspring, in other words: the larva of the moth, are especially voracious. If moths manage to nest in wardrobes and lay their eggs there, the offspring like to eat their way through our clothes after hatching (preferably through keratin-containing materials such as feathers and wool) and contaminate them with webs and excrement.

If there is an infestation with food moths, then this is at least as annoying. Because with these animals, too, it is the voracious larvae that attack our supplies, such as flour, nuts, dried fruit, cornflakes or chocolate. Needless to say, once the moth larvae have feasted on it, you have to throw away the entire supply of food.

Preventing moths? Actually not difficult

One thing is clear: You cannot defend yourself 100 percent against such pests as food and clothing moths. However, there are a number of defense measures that make it difficult for the moths to lodge for a long time after entering our four walls (which cannot always be prevented) and to lay their brood. Because where there is no potential source of food for the offspring, the moths will not leave eggs there either, and that is between 250 and 300 depending on the species of moth.

In the wardrobe, scents such as lavender or cloves help against intruders, and the smell of cedar trees and laurels also deter moths. Regular vacuuming in the closet also helps. It is best to store clothes that will not be worn for a long time in plastic bags. You should wash carpets and curtains from time to time, and mosquito nets are not only recommended against the intrusion of moths. Finally, you should always keep muesli, pasta, rice, flour and the like in well-sealable containers.

And what if moths and larvae did invade?

Then a whole range of effective products against moths will help. In addition, you should go looking for the nest and remove it wholeheartedly. Put it in the bin - and with the nest also the clothes or food on which the larvae have lost themselves. If you can't see any noticeable moth damage, you can store the clothes - or preferably the entire contents of the wardrobe - in the freezer for up to two weeks or wash them once at at least 60 degrees. Because neither the cold nor the heat does not please the little tormentors.

If you have supposedly cleaned everything up properly, it’s time for the major cleaning. Vinegar cleaner is urgently recommended for all infested shelves, storage cupboards and wardrobes, and you should also pay attention to and clean all cracks and possible hiding places.

Anyone who would like to fight moths with other insects, which is certainly not for everyone, can get ichneumon wasps as useful helpers: The larvae of the insects eat the moths and their clutch - and die after they have eaten all the moth eggs / p>