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[colliemom4]

Does anyone have a method for getting rid of moths that doesn't involve those horrible smelling mothballs etc? I thought it would be too cold for them but they ate holes in one of my tops recently.

[Marsha2003]

Sometimes, it's not moths, but carpet beetles that are eating your clothes. I would call an exterminator, but first empty your closet and vacuum and dust really well.

[qualitygal]

Moth balls? I always thought they worked.

[RedTop]

Once you have moths inside your home, you continue to have moths inside your home until you eradicate them. Several years ago one of my best friends kept seeing tiny moths inside her house. She traced them to a dried wreath someone had made for her, which she truly did not want to get rid of. I suggested she put the wreath inside a trash bag and place it inside her chest freezer for several months. Since it was a fall wreath, and this happened during a winter month, she wound up leaving the wreath in the freezer for more than 6 months. When she removed the wreath from the trash bag, there were several dead moths inside the bag, and she hung it back on her wall with no further problems.

[gazelle77]

A few years ago I got some moths from bird seed. Now I freeze my bird seed before using. I used those moth traps for about two years. They would usually come back to life every spring. Last spring there were none, so I guess they ran their course

[colliemom4]

Thanks for all your tips and advice. I've been in there cleaning a bit and plan on finishing tomorrow. I did have a wreath in there and I took it outside to store in the garage. I never knew they attracted moths, but when I looked at it the wreath had been chewed on. I also purchased some lavender moth ball hang up devices. They don't smell too bad. If none of this works I'll have to call an exterminator.

[Rosehill_1]

Colliemom, your have received some good advice here-especially about dried flowers. I had a huge problem with indian meal moths about 18 years ago-they came into my home in dried flowers that I had purchased. They moved to every square inch of my kitchen-I spent a lot of two exterminators, but I was very uncomfortable in using poison in my pantries. Moths can have a long incubation period that the eggs can sit within, (not doing anything), and when the conditions are right-they hatch. I ended up going through all the food in my house and throwing a lot away. I bought Pantry Pest Traps & they finally broke the cycle -I used them for about 2 years until I got them all.

Try the Pantry Pest Traps and see if they catch any of these clothes moths. You have to find infested materials and remove them all. (I have a friend who has been recently been fighting clothes moths, and she had to throw away a beautiful rug that she brought home from when she lived in Brazil-it about killed her- but she had to throw it away. You must break the life cycle of the adults, and the traps have a moth s*e*x lure in them and they really work. They catch the adult moths. If you cannot find the pantry pest traps-Lowes now carries moth traps with the lures, too. You will have to be dilligent in your efforts-it takes a long time, but you can do it.

I realize that clothes moths are a different species from the Indian Meal moths, so check the packages of these traps and see which moths they say they work for. You could google and read some threads on how people have attacked their problem.

[shopasaurus]

Several years ago I had moths from a bag of dog food-I opened the bag and out they came. I used cotton balls soaked in eucalyptus oil and placed them up high- on top of door frames, cabinets, etc. It took care of the problem in a couple of days.

[spot555]

Its easy to NATURALLY repel moths inside your home. You can buy cedar in different forms....some hang, some are shaped like eggs and lay in drawers, etc. These work beautifully. Then, once a year (usually in spring), I refresh the cedar. You can do this by very lightly sanding the cedar by hand, or by sprinkling with some 100% cedar oil (I buy Aura Cacia). If I use the oil, I let it absorb for a day or 2, then make sure it doesn't touch any clothing until its completely dry.

Works like a charm!