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A serious thanks to all for the moth advice.They sound horrid.

 

'Our' moths weren't impressed by that at all. Not by cedar oil, cedar wood blocks, lavender oil, fresh lavender, etc either. I had to resort to regular spraying for a few years.

I still see the occasional moth, but Dewi and I can manage those, albeit in different ways.

 

The only way to get rid of them is to remove their food source. I did a massive amount of research on these monsters to get all the facts.

That means getting rid of all fabric made from animal hair like wool, cashmere, etc. Although I read that they might eat silk or cotton, they didn't seem to care for those items.

Also.... and this is huge...they like cat hair.
I found the teeny weeny eggs, tiny empty cocoons and also larva munching away in the cat's bed. Also in the crevices between the carpet and the wall, where the cat travels frequently. You'd be surprised where cat hair can accumulate.
Picture me on my belly with a flashlight and a magnifying glass, looking for moth activity in the carpeting.
Anyway, we tore out all the carpet, and replaced with wood planking.
We haven't seen one in a year, fingers crossed.
And we still have the cat.

Now I am a much better housekeeper, out of fear!

 

Ours did, they even liked manmade fibres. A degenerate lot.

 

Uggg, wool moths. Once upon a time I had wool rugs all over the house until one day.....moths appeared. Out with the rugs, sweaters, blankets. Now, some 8 or so years later, I still haven't brought wool back into the house. (They also do eat other things like silk.)

I steamed the carpets to try to kill anything in there and was advised to vacuum daily including along the baseboard. That did help. I rarely see any moths anymore and the traps I put out are usually empty. Once in a blue moon I see what might be a moth flitting by. I do have cats though and doubt I can be hair free enough to risk having beautiful rugs again.

Boo wool moths

 

If I ever see a moth flitting by again, I will have a heart attack on the spot.
I'm that traumatized.

 

I know! When they destroy your clothing, carpets, curtains, it feels like they're destroying your entire world.

 

It was a really horrible experience.
They also infested my Navajo rug.
It's been out in the garage wrapped in plastic for 2 years now.
I'm afraid to bring it back into the house.

 

I sympathize. I found live larva in my fur coat, on my wedding day, in the coat I wore to my wedding. (This was decades ago when it was still ok to wear fur.) At least I got a good story out of it.

 

Has anyone else tried freezing & refreezing items as Taupou mentioned ?
PS-I realize not everyone has big freezers .

 

Pretty difficult with a large chinese carpet (which I can't even lift), curtains, or my entire wardrobe. Even if you freeze items that fit into a freezer, they will be infested again the minute they come out because you can't freeze the contents of the house in one go.
I had to throw the Chinese carpet away. Had to cut it in pieces first, because of the weight and volume.

 

It's funny how a beautiful treasured item or piece of clothing becomes taboo when dealing with moth infestation.

 

It is a standard technique used in museums, since recognizing the harm caused by repeated use of pesticides. There are also moth traps which are helpful in "monitoring" a situation.

https://www.insectslimited.com/store/p/clothes-moth-flat-trap-kit

 

I used to freeze feathers that came in for my leather crafts.
Some people would present me with feathers with mite holes: "I picked this up for you because it looks so pretty, just like lace". Very sweet of them, but someone who works with feathers would rather not have feather mites.

 

What a real nightmare ! The health effects could be 'iffy' at best,but could you tent & gas the house like w/ termites ? It sounds horrible.

 

Are the moths y’all are talking about the little gold ones? Like when you smash them with your hand it looks like gold glitter? Those are the ones I’ve had experience with. One of my exes had them in the condo. Battled them for many years with only mild success. I thought for sure when I moved out I’d bring them with me but I only ever saw one or three and that was that. She had a tons of cat hair everywhere so maybe that’s why she couldn’t get rid of them. I do find holes in sweaters I only occasionally wear and that’s a bummer. I got pretty lucky though.

A storage unit I frequent for work has the same little moths. I am always afraid I’ll drag them home from there too. I once forgot my jacket in a unit for a week or so before I could return. If it wasn’t a Patagonia down jacket I would have tossed it but I couldn’t bring myself to do it and was safe again luckily.

 

In one regard with this stuff I feel lucky; I'm allergic to animal fibers. I do have a wool carpet in the living room but can't have wool/cashmere etc clothing. I did make a quilt or two out of cashmere sweaters, some with mothholes. They went into the wash with warm water and then into a hot dryer. The idea was to shrink them so I could sew with them. (I wasn't always allergic and can handle cashmere for a while before a reaction sets in. Wool burns me or feels like it is.)

 

Yes, those are them!
If you see one, you can bet there are more.
The males are the fast ones, searching for a mate.

 

Oh yeah, the moths eat feathers, too.
I had a feather duster in the closet, and there were old cocoons and some very happy larva having a party in it.
I had to do a complete sweep of the house, throwing out anything that was potential moth food.
All my craft feathers, vintage fur stoles and fur collars are now in plastic bags.

 

Mine were those too. Pretty little things, but nerve wrecking when you have to deal with the aftermath.

Ditto.

I also bought new rugs, but they are oeko-tex anti-allergenic and anti-moth rugs made from recycled polypropylene. Sounds terrible, but they are nice and soft and easy to clean. And environmentally friendly.