Don't Make The Clothes Moth Steel Your Wardrobe!

The majority of us often notice the odd moth in our houses, certainly during the summer time and don't think anything of it. In most situations this is fine, as the majority of moths are harmless insects that are only interested in the light. However, how would you feel if the moths in your home were the variety that breed and infest a home, munching its way through all your fine clothes and soft furnishings?

The Common Clothes Moth, also referred to as Tineloa Bisselliella, have a totally different nature in contrast with various other types of moth. They seldom fly as they prefer undisturbed, dark places of the home and often travel through either by running or hopping. They survive and breed in the home through eating their way through different textile items and sadly they have a tendency to love the most expensive materials and will do anything in their power to get to them. These can include wool fur, silk and feathered products, as the majority of these materials include a substance known as keratin, which is actually one of the most ingestible proteins. However, certain insects including the clothes moth have special conditions in their gut, enabling them to break down the keratin making it a digestible material.

Regarding their appearance, clothes moths are usually around 5mm long and are yellow/brown looking in colour with narrow wings fringed with long hairs. They are actually rarely noticed in the home due to their inclination to immediately hide inside garments or furniture if ever disturbed, which makes them particularly difficult to eliminate. Carpeting, blankets, feathered and fur items can be severely damaged by this pest and there have been cases where victims have had to replace the carpet in their entire home and #33;

There is no real answer why only certain houses suffer from infestation, although older homes tend to be more affected than newer builds, due to a moth's love of older garments and the difficulty in completely eradicating a moth infestation. The bad news is that over the last twenty years there has been an increase in the number of houses affected by these unwanted pests. Some say this is due to the warmth of houses in today's society, as many years ago moths would be killed off in the winter weather, others say the increase is due to the sheer amount of clothing the average woman now owns, meaning hundreds of moths have plenty of products to feed on, or on the other hand the increase could also be down to lack of hygiene, moths adore dirty materials, therefore putting away unwashed clothes items, or leaving a winter coat hanging up that hasn't been dry cleaned, is like leaving crumbs of bread out for a rat.

There are certain remedies that if followed can reduce the probabilities of becoming the victim of a moth infestation; regularly shaking garments in the light where moths tend to remain, such as rugs, cushions or blankets, will disturb them and motivate them to leave. As already mentioned moths love un-clean clothes particularly clothing such as coats and suits that sit in a wardrobe for many months without being cleaned, regularly deep cleaning any textiles and then storing them in sealed plastic cases will also help prevent an infestation.

If all else fails or you are uncertain, contact the industry experts - A reliable pest control business will handle each case differently and offer diverse types of traps and treatments dependant upon the severity.