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With fall approaching, you may think there is no need to give your home a good cleaning. WRONG as spring arrives and you start cleaning some of your linen, clothes, and curtains have holes in it.
WHY… it’s time for the moth larvae to cause damage! The larvae hide in the dark, humid areas waiting for spring and summer to arrive to start thriving.
For this reason, fall is the best time to take action as these moths live in your home with the high temperatures to thrive indoors. Yes, we already see your mind running around and wanting to grab mothballs to place everywhere after giving it a good cleaning.
STOP that mothballs you are using is toxic and turns to gas when exposed to air, causing not only a pungent smell but unhealthy for you and the family. Now, what should I do to get rid of cloth and pantry moths becoming an annoyance?
We want to help and have looked at different ways available to take care of moths. So grab a cup a Joe or tea, sit back and enjoy reading this article for some helpful tips on which moth repellent can work to get rid of moths!
About Moths
Before you grab moth repellent to start cleaning the home, it helps to know more about the moth. Moths do not bite humans but pose a danger for humans and pets. The feces and cocoons can contaminate the fabric and food they touch, triggering an allergic reaction. What’s more, consuming contaminated food can make you ill.
While moths do not bite humans, most don’t have a mouth but do cause allergic reactions through the wings. The insect thrives on fabric found in the home from clothes, carpets, curtains, to linen. The devastating part is that the larvae cause the most damage, and the moth present is known as textile pests.
Furthermore, it does not stop here as you can find another pest in the home, the pantry moths that thrives on flour and grain.
Moth Infestation
The number of moths in the textile and pantry moth can increase rapidly and spread into any area of the home. Where there are holes, crevices, or cracks, you can find them there. In the pantry, when you do not seal the flour, cereals, and more, they are there, causing havoc.
Once the pest finds a food source and with the high temperature in your house throughout winter, they start to thrive. Interestingly enough, the moth lives for about two weeks, but in that short time, they can lay from 40 up to 1000 eggs, and larvae start breeding out.
So, if you notice one moth in the house, the likeliness is there is much more hiding. Moreover, before you try to find a way to get rid of them, we recommend checking out the types of moths you can see in the home.
How to deter them naturally
What essential oils repel moths? Interesting question as many people have asked if peppermint essential oils will help get rid of moths.
Yes, the essential oil works effectively as a moth repellent and will deter the insect but will not kill it and only wards it off.
In most cases, different essential oils only help deter them and keep them away from fabric items. Here are some essential oils you can use to keep them out in the house:
Lavender – dried lavender or cotton balls covered with the essential oil placed in drawers, closets, and boxes helps keep moths away as they do not like the smell.
Mint – is another homemade moth repellent that works effectively. You can use dried peppermint placed in sachets in between your clothes and other fabric and helps keep mice away.
Cedar – the natural repellent works, and you can line your clothes closet with cedar chips or use cedar drawer liners in boxes where you keep your clothes stored. Once the smell of the block wears down, you can sand it lightly and get the oil to apply to the wood.
Cloves/Thyme/Rosemary – takes a sachet bag and mixes the three herbs to keep moths away. You will need to replace the contents every six months.
Other Methods
The herbs work well as a moth repellent, but it will not kill moths. You can buy repellent sachets or make them using empty tea bags, waffle balls, fabric pouches, or a bowl to get rid of moths.
You can make your repellent with mint, thyme, lemon, cloves, rosemary, eucalyptus, ginseng, and peppercorns by mixing it all.
An alternative is to use ribbon, cotton balls, and a handkerchief by sprinkling a few drops of essential oil on the cotton ball and place it in the cloth tied with the ribbon to use where you keep your clothes and linen.
Two More Applications:
1) Take a spray bottle to make moth repellent spray, place a few drops of the essential oil of choice inside it, and fill it up with water. Please give it a shake and spread it in pantries and the wardrobe.
2) Another great way to help deter the moth is by using a diffuser as usual with essential oil near the area. You can use any of the essential oils mentioned, but peppermint oil for moths leaves a fresh smell in the house.
Home remedy solutions
Yes, we know repelling moths is not going to solve the problem, as you need to kill the moth eggs. A fact is you need to move fast as the moth has four stages the eggs, larva, cocoon, and adult stage.
What’s more, if you do have an infestation, we recommend calling a professional service to help eliminate the infestation first. After completing the service, you can take precautions to prevent it from happening again.
However, if you do not have the funds as many of us in these difficult times, you can do the following by starting to eradicate the eggs and larvae and take prevention using essential oil:
Find the source of the problem – you may notice clothing with holes or found your carpet has holes.
Remove the adults – this is a crucial step to do by placing moth traps to help catch adult moths to prevent them from laying more eggs. Make sure to vacuum all affected areas.
Launder all fabrics – now you must launder all your infested clothes and other textiles at a high temperature to remove the eggs and larva.
Further Precautions
Once you have done this, you can use baking soda and vinegar to restore the carpets and eliminate some of the cocoons you missed. You can start sprinkling the baking soda over the mats and use a brush to brush it into the carpet. By doing this, it helps to remove the eggs or larvae as it dries it out.
Now beef it up even further using a mixture of white vinegar with an equal amount of water in a spray bottle, shake, and spray it over the area where you sprinkled the baking soda. You will hear a fizzing sound as the two ingredients combine working together.
Use the brush again and brush the carpet and let it dry overnight. When morning arrives, use your vacuum to give the mat a good cleaning leaving it smelling fresh. Preferably, use a high-power vacuum that is clean before you start. While you’re at it, make sure to vacuum the whole house from cracks, nooks, wardrobes, and more.
Once done, take care to remove the content into a sealed bag and place it in the rubbish bin outside. On the other hand, if you can afford it, gets a professional carpet steaming service to bring your mats back to life.
Moreover, once done, use a spray bottle with essential oil of choice mix with water as an air freshener in closets, mats, and more. The critical things to ensure you give the oil and water a fair shake before using it.
Protection and Prevention
Now that you have taken care of the moth infestation and your mats look new, the next step is to keep it maintained. As moths enjoy high temperatures for breeding make, sure your house has enough ventilation.
Furthermore, when placing clothes into storage, it helps keep the fabric in sealed containers sprinkled with a bit of Epson Salts as no fish moth or even a pantry moth likes the smell. You can give the items a spray with essential oils to give it a fresh scent before closing the lid for safety.
You can place open packets of Epson Salts in the pantry to keep them away and make sure your food’s tightly sealed to prevent any pests from getting access. If you do plan on using a spray of essential oils in the pantry, ensure that it does not get in contact with the food.
As you can see, using mint oil and other essential oils help repel insects but will not kill them. What does kill the pest is keeping the house vacuumed, placing some essential oil traps, and using baking soda with white vinegar on the mats?
However, if you find you are not able to control the infestation with different essential oils, call in a pest control service to give you a hand.
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