moths?

[furrycelt]

That reminds me. I was wanting to ask everyone's opinion about that sort of thing. I know that "moth balls" are reliable for keeping the hungry creatures out of one's closets, but they stink. I can't stand the smell of moth balls, and I don't want that chemical around my pets and kids. My dad was raised on a good ole fashion country farm, and he says that cedar is just as effective.

If I could afford it, I would store all our import cloth items in a nice cedar lined trunk. Or better, have a cedar lined closet! In a standard ubiquitous home-improvement store, I came across these cedar disks that you loop onto your hangers. They lost their smell quickly, and probably their efficacy.

Opinions and suggestions welcome.

[Sherry]

You can add a few drops of cedar essential oil that you can buy at the health food store or online. Don't get the oil on the clothes, though.

Sherry

[mddock58]

Give it a light sanding will renew the smell as well.

[Nick Fiddes]

From my own personal experience of having once lost a whole generation of woolly sweaters to the little blighters at home, I can add just two pieces of advice. One, if you see a clothes moth either in flight or on a surface, be ruthless! Kill kill kill! Sorry if this offends any animal rights activists, but I suspect the Buddha himself might have invoked an exemption for these horrors.

Second, if you find an infestation (it's the tiny black eggs that do the damage when they hatch, not the moths themselves) and don't want to trash the garment, put it in a sealed plastic bag and then in the deep freeze. I believe this kills them, and nothing else seems to work. Hope this helps.

[Mike n NC]

I hadn't given it much thought but what Nick said about freezing makes sense! Being a cigar collector and having something near 1K cigars in storage I have learned some things.
When or if my cigar storage temperatures get above 70 F the chance of tobacco beetle infestation is always there. The way to get rid of them, the only way that I know of, is to freeze them. I would think that using the same proceedure for woolen items would work. As he said, wrap the item in plastic and place it in a freezer for 24-48 hours, the colder the better. I usually use my chest type freezer that maintains -10 F. That takes care of the little buggers! You guys that live up in the frozen wasteland can just toss it outside I guess.
One more thing...If you see one, there are many more you don't see. Let caution be your guide.

Mike

[Big Paul]

I fear those little buggers myself.

[Iolaus]

Here is an excellent article about clothes moths,with photos to help ID them.