Moths always seem to find the clothes we love most, don’t they?
Gorgeous sweaters. That really good t-shirt. Your little black dress. They hunt them down with military precision and devour them.
God forbid they could eat the grotty stuff we never quite got round to decluttering or only ever wear when our ongoing low-burn laundry crises erupts into a full on catastrophe.
It’s so unfair.
And the pesky moths are getting worse, aren’t they?
And no that’s not our imagination. It really is becoming harder and harder to prevent clothes moths and to get rid of them from our closets.
So what on earth can we do to prevent and repel moths?
What On Earth Can We Do To Repel Moths?
Well I’ve got good and bad news.
The bad news is:
- There are NO magic solutions you can buy at the store.
- There are NO even more magical DIY moth repellant remedies you can whip up at home.
- Getting rid of moths needs a serious action plan AND …
- … preventing moths involves changing the whole way we live!!!
But … the great news is, these last two changes have all sorts of other amazing benefits that help us reclaim our homes from – amongst other things – the curse that is clutter.
And that’s got to be good, right?
So what do we have to do? Well first off I’m going to cover 10 changes we have to make if we want to prevent moth damage for good.
Do save these tips for later and follow me on Pinterest for more non-toxic cleaning and pest control advice.
10 Tips To Prevent Moths
1. A Capsule Wardrobe
The single biggest cause of the explosion in moths is our huge stash of never and rarely worn clothes.
If you really want to banish moths curate yourself a capsule wardrobe.
If you’ve not a clue how to start check out these capsule wardrobe tips. I especially love these tips from Jennifer at Simply Fiercely – they’re practical and doable and make me laugh. Always a good combo.
2. Be A Closet Fascist
Chucking out our family’s clutter without their say so is – unfortunately – a bad, bad thing. But if you want rid of moths you gotta lay down the law.
Threaten ’em. Blackmail ’em. Terrorise ’em with tales of a plague of moths about to devour their favourite teddy!! Do whatever it takes in fact to get them to let go their hoard of outgrown t-shirts & hoodies.
3. Ruthless Laundry Rotation
Whilst you’re being bossy, insist everyone rotates clothes ruthlessly.
Moth eggs take roughly 10 days to hatch into the minuscule larvae who make the holes. So ideally you want to wear and wash everything fortnightly to stop the damage and the moth population exploding.
Sounds impossible, right?
But each moth can lay 100 eggs. That’s 10,000 potential grandkids partying in your wardrobe!!! So go back over and over to #1 and #2, until you’ve all only got clothes you love and wear and wash frequently.
4. Store Seasonal Clothes
We can’t wear all our clothes all year round, so twice a year – religiously – store seasonal clothes away in moth proof storage stuffed full with moth repellents of choice.
5. Enjoy Life Clutter Free
Those sweet little larvae don’t just gorge on our clothes, they also love the dust that gathers amongst the clutter shoved under beds and balanced on top of cupboards.
So aim for a clutter free bedroom.
You won’t get there overnight but my step-by-step declutter plan will help you clear loads of stuff easily.
6. Say Farewell To Soft Toys
It feels like the meanest thing ever, but all those loved but scarce cuddled soft toys are yet another breeding ground for baby moths, and you really need, if you possibly can to say your farewells.
If your kids – and you – struggle, like us, to say goodbye to toys try the Toy Story trick. It does help.
7. Dutiful Dusting & Vacuuming
I’m not a big fan of cleaning. I’m messy and lazy and naturally chaotic but I’ve had to accept we have to dust and vacuum pretty thoroughly every week if want to prevent moth infestations.
There IS no getting away from it.
Otherwise they lurk in the dust waiting …
8. Spring Clean Thrice
I know, I know, spring cleaning once is bad enough.
But I’m not talking about the whole house.
Just make sure in the new year AND around Easter AND in early autumn you take clothes out of wardrobes, closets and drawers and vacuum thoroughly so you get rid of any moths or eggs hiding in corners.
It really is worth effort.
9. Get Real About Guests
Once you’ve got on top of clothing, toy and general clutter in bedrooms and got into a regular vacuuming routine start tackling all that bed linen you’ve been storing “just in case” you have 95 people to stay one weekend.
Sadly, cotton and wool in unused bed clothes is another feast for those pesky clothes moths and their gluttonous larvae.
If you’re not using and washing bed linen frequently, you need to think hard about the real cost of storing them.
Keep telling yourself: one moth = 10,000 little larvae grandkids. And if they’re on your unused sheets, they’ll be on your much loved sweater.
10. Turn Thermostat Down
OK final moth prevention tip coming up.
Moths are over wintering in our best clothes because our homes are just too warm. So to banish the moths for good AND save cash AND help the planet turn your heating down a good couple of degrees.
If you do it degree by degree you won’t notice the difference and you can actually wear those cosy sweaters in your closet to keep warm so they’re not sitting there feeding the moth babies.
These 10 moth prevention tips can seem like a big change in lifestyle to get rid one of little pest but they will make a massive difference and really can prevent moth infestations and get rid of moths before they get to gorge on your favourite things.
Next week, I’ll take you through a manageable step-by-step action plan of when to how to get rid of moths when you have a bad infestation.
So do follow me on Pinterest and for more help getting rid of household and garden posts try these tips:
- Get Rid Of Flies Naturally
- Get Rid Of Ants Naturally
- Get Rid Of Slugs & Snails Naturally
- How To Prevent Fruit Flies
- How to Stop Mosquito Bites Itching
Original image source: sweaters, moths