How to Kill Moths

Dealing with holes in your clothing caused by moths is an expensive and annoying thing! Moths are a common household pest to deal with not only with clothing but even with cereal, breads, flour, and other things. We will explain how to identify and kill moths in a safe way so you don’t end up with serious health consequences just to rid your home of these pests!

Identifying a Moth Problem

Let’s start by asking the question, “are these really moths?” When you are seeing your cereal being devoured and other things, you may have another pest on your hands like ants, silverfish, or even a mouse. It helps to know how to properly identify what a moth does so you know how to kill them. Typically the moths are active at night, which is why closets and pantry’s are popular areas for them. You can identify the moths as they usually do not fly and are content to burrow in your clothing where they may lay eggs but have encased themselves into a small silken cell. If you do see them, they are usually brown in color and may or may not have spots on their wings.

Dealing with a Moth Infestation

The problem of moths could be a simple annoyance but it can easily become an infestation if you do not take care of it soon. Moths can easily lay 40-350 eggs! Most moths will live about one month. A severe outbreak of moths will require more than store-bought moth balls to treat them. You will need to use several different insecticides and your closet and pantry area will need to go through a deep cleaning to properly destroy them.

What do Moths eat?

Many people do not realize that it is not actually the moth’s that are eating your clothing but the larvae. Moths are actually attracted to your body oils that may be left on the clothing. This is also why they are also found in down feather pillows and other areas where body oils may be found. They actually “suck” up the residue of foods and oils instead of actually eating them.

Can I have Moths with Pets?

A lot of people with pets will deal with moth infestations as well. Pets just like humans have body oils that will be left behind and their fur comes with protein, which is naturally attractive to many insects. If you have pets, it is best to do a deep clean of your home often in order to prevent many different types of insects from getting into the home and ruining your furniture and other areas. Keep your pets cleaned and well-groomed as well, making it harder for pets to attach to their fur and skin.

How can I treat Moths?

Once you know that you are dealing with moths, you need to figure out how to get rid of them. In the case of moths that are feeding in your closet, you can destroy them using Aerosol sprays that are designed to kill moths. For a larger infestation, such as one that is in your pantry and closet, you need to use bug bombs. These require you to leave the house for several hours to properly destroy the moths. You will then need to ventilate the home when you return. Use moth balls to control future outbreaks of moth infestations. These moth balls do not smell great, but they work effectively at controlling the problem. If moths are damaging clothes in your closet, clothes moth traps are especially effective.

When will I see results?

Once you use treatments for your moth problem you will see immediate results. You have to toss out the foods in the pantry that have been destroyed and it’s a good idea to clean out the entire pantry and replenish your supply to make sure you have destroyed them. Typically you will see results in less than a week for pantry moths. The moths that attack your clothing are a little different as it can take a couple of days to notice they are dead. The best thing you can do is to clean out your closet. Toss out the destroyed clothing and leave the rest of your clothing in the sun for about 48 hours. This will destroy any of the larvae that did survive the bug bomb.