Moths are annoying, of course. You have to get rid of them as soon as you notice some signs before things get worse.
Some easy ways that you can keep in mind to determine whether a moth problem has occurred is when you find some small holes in your clothing or webs around your food. It’s because there are two types of moths in general which are the ones that eat natural fibers of clothing and eat dry foods in your pantry.
Getting rid of moths is not that difficult and won’t cost you a lot. You just need to use some easy home supplies that you can place in particular spots around your house.
Check out our complete guide on how to get rid of moths below for your ultimate reference to handle the problems.
How to Get Rid of Moths
Prepare these supplies:
- Airtight containers
- Cedar (oil or blocks)
- Small fabric bag
- Strong-smelling herbs (thyme, cloves, and rosemary)
- Dried lavender or lavender oil
- Vacuum
Follow these steps:
Seal potential food source
The first step is to eliminate the food source that may invite the moths to come around. Some foods like rice, grains, and pet foods are a big potential to lure the moths, so you have to put them in airtight containers. Keep those containers in the hidden places in your pantry.
If you have some vacuum bags, it’s highly recommended to seal clothes there in the off-season. It’s because moths also love to eat animal-based fabric like silk, cashmere, and wool.
Spread cedar
Some of you may have already known that cedar is a good moth repellent. Cedar releases pheromones that work really well to repel moths so you should include it in an attempt to keep them away.
Both cedar blocks and cedar oil can do a really good job, so the choice depends on your preference. With cedar oil, you can mix it with water and put the mixture in a spray bottle then spray it on your clothes. For cedar blocks, you just need to put them in your closet corners or dresser drawers.
Make herb sachets
Adding cedar herbs to your checklist is actually optional. You can use it as an alternative to cedar if the scent is too strong or it doesn’t really work.
Here’s what you can do:
- Prepare some small fabric bags or make ones from used rags.
- Fill the bags with strong herbs.
- Hang the herbs nags around your bedroom closet and pantry.
- Replace your herb sachets every week or so since the smell with fade away over time.
Use lavender scent
Some of you may not really like to get your bedroom closet to smell like a pizza parlor. No worries, you can use dried lavenders or lavender oil as an alternative.
Here’s what you can do:
- If you use dried lavender, you can fill some fabric bags to make lavender sachets that you can place around some potential areas.
- If you use lavender oil, dip some cotton balls into the oil and place them in some potential areas.
(Read also: How to Remove Candles from Carpet Quickly)
Use moth balls
Moth ball is another easy home supply that you can really rely on to get rid of moths. The balls are made of chemical that releases gas to kill the moths and even their larvae.
As you may have been aware, moth balls are often placed in cupboards, drawers, and under the bed which actually are the spots where moths often hang around. Moth balls are cheap and easy to find everywhere and, surprisingly, they can last up to a year so you don’t have to frequently replace them.
Install moth traps
If you just want something that you can place and leave, you can try to use moth traps. With this, you don’t really have to put extra effort to deal with some DIY steps. Moth traps lure the moths by releasing some kind of pheromones, Once the moths get on the trap, they will stick to it.
One thing to keep in mind is that you need to purchase different types of moth traps to place in different spots around your house. It’s because different types of moth traps contain different chemicals that attract different kinds of moths. Food moth traps are good to place in your kitchen while the clothing moth traps work well to deal with your closet area.
Kill the larvae
Moths that live around your closet often leave larvae on your piece of clothing, and you can kill them with extreme temperatures. There are two ways that you can decide once you have read the care instructions for each piece. It’s either you can wash and dry them at the highest temperature setup or add them in the plastic bag then place it in the freezer for around 3 days.
Both extreme temperatures can kill the larvae of the moths so you can minimize their invasion. Of course, this step is only applicable for clothes, you can do this to kill the larvae that lay on your foods or dry goods.
Wash everything
You may execute all of the steps above or just some of them. Regardless, you really need to wash everything once you’re done. For instance, once you have to replace the moth traps that you place on your bedroom closet, you have to wash the surface immediately. It’s to ensure that there are no larvae left around.
You just have to mix warm water with some soap or vinegar and warm water, put the mixture in the spray water, and spray the surface.
Regular vacuuming
You can’t really expect to successfully get rid of moths if you don’t regularly vacuum your home. The carpeted area is definitely the one that you really need to pay extra attention to, especially the one under the bed or near the closet.
Always empty your vacuum filter after vacuuming since the moths may hide inside.
