They will eat your kilt.......

[Blu (Ontario)]

This morning, while doing a bit of laundry, I noticed a very small insect clinging to a black sock. A quick Google revealed it to be a larva of Attagenus unicolor or Black Carpet Beetle. These small insects will eat a variety of materials including Wool. I immediately fanned out and inspected all of my kilts, socks, jacket, etc. just to make sure I didn't have an bigger problem. I found no evidence of damage or infestation but I'll be keeping an eye on the situation. I hope it doesn't come down to using moth balls... I hate the smell of that stuff. (and so do the bugs I suppose).

Anyone else ever encounter any nasty, kilt eating critters?

What do you do to protect your wool valuables?


blu

[Panache]

After once losing a very expensive wool sweater to moths, I always put wool things in a plastic garment bag. You can use cedar balls or blocks to discourage the little buggers as well.

[The Supreme Canuck]

Does cedar work as well as mothballs?

[Panache]

Moth balls are pretty darned toxic! I can say that people have been using cedar chests to store linens for a very long time to protect them. I also think that the cedar smell is far and away a better one than moth balls. I think the key thing is just to have them inaccessable (hence the plastic garment bags).
I just toss in a couple of cedar balls in each bag.

[motorman4life]

I'd fumigate immediately. Get some of the Raid gas bombs, open your clossets and drawers and close a bomb up in your room. Find out the life cycle and time to hatch and do it again when any eggs might hatch. The quicker you nip it in the bud, the better. Putting it off and living in denial will only encourage infestation.

Once you have bombed, get everything washed, wipe down the surfaces and vacuum. Then get some thin cedar boards and line your drawers and closset. You can also get cedar balls to put in your drawers.

I agree, cedar over mothballs. I also found a place selling cedar oil in a spray bottle that I use to refresh the planks on the floor and back wall in my closet 2x each year.

Don't procrastinate. For less than the price of a cheap kilt, you can protect all of your clothing, linens, carpets and kilts!

[Blu (Ontario)]

I'd fumigate immediately. Get some of the Raid gas bombs... Don't procrastinate. For less than the price of a cheap kilt, you can protect all of your clothing, linens, carpets and kilts!

Good advice I'm thinking... I understand that there are also baits that you can get that will attract the little monsters. I bet that finding one, means that there are probably more. Perhaps reason enough to line the closet with cedar paneling.

[Pleater]

Our house is infested with the varigated carpet beetle - some arrived in a large batch of yarn sent for charity blankets. I sprayed them with some now illegal insecticide, many died, but some escaped.

They have eaten carpets, jerseys, skirts. fluffy slippers - at least the larvae have - plus they destroyed some very expensive cashmere yarn.

It is a constant battle. Leave nothing undisturbed, move the furniture, vacuum clean everything - use a steam cleaner on everything that can take it.

They can get under carpets and eat the parts of the pile which are under the hessian backing - then when you brush the top it all comes loose.

Carpet beetles are undeterred by moth repellant substances, and I have found nothing now available as a spray or powder which kills them. So I have resorted to squashing, mashing and otherwise getting physical with them. They crunch.

They tend to make neat round holes which go through several layers - so kilts would be most vulnerable to their work.

[Prester John]

Strong fresh cedar does indeed work as well, and it is kinder to human olfactory sensibilities as well.

[KiltedKnight]

Call me paranoid but if I see a moth flying around the house I take each article of wool that I have one or two at a time and put them into a plastic trash bag and then into the freezer for a couple of days to kill any larvae or eggs that might be getting into the threads. I used to do a lot of deer and wild boar hunting so I have a fairly large chest freezer that works quite well as a moth egg/larvae capitol punishment device.

Chris.

[GlassMan]

After once losing a very expensive wool sweater to moths, I always put wool things in a plastic garment bag. You can use cedar balls or blocks to discourage the little buggers as well.

I'm sorry, I've been trying to resist this all day but my will power has left me... I know, this is a realy groaner...

I didn't know cedar tree's had balls?!?!?! I know that was a really bad one. Just be thankful I didn't repeat any one of the horrid "moth balls" jokes.