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Flying clothes moths do not eat your clothes or rugs, but the females do lay hundreds of eggs each, and these eggs hatch into larvae. It is the larvae of clothes moths that attack the fabrics. In the house, they feed on wool, hair, fur or feather products wherever they have access to them. Clothing, carpets, furs, blankets, upholstery, piano felts, brush bristles, and lots of other items are subject to their attack. They also feed on synthetic fabrics and fabrics from botanical sources if they are mixed with fibers or materials of animal origin. The larval stage lasts for 1 to 3 months during which time the larva eats and damage is done. Clothes moth larvae prefer to feed in protected locations such as under collars, inside hems, under folds, on the backside or in cracks at the edges of woolen carpets, under furniture and inside storage containers. This is why you should never store uncleaned items. The larvae tend to crawl about as they feed and eat the nap from the fabric surface. If the larvae remain for a long time, deeper damage and holes may appear. Adult cloths moths are buff colored and about 1/4 inch long. They are seldom seen; they avoid light and remain hidden. Unlike the larvae, they do not feed or cause any damage. The larval stage lasts for one to three months. Clothes moths dislike direct sunlight. Moths cannot complete their normal life cycle on clean, processed fabric. It must be contaminated with some nutritional supplement such as food, beverage, sweat or urine stains. Such stains provide the proteins, the mineral salts and the vitamin B complex and the cholesterol essential to the moth. Clothes moth larvae chew holes in fabrics. The holes appear to be scattered about the garment and are generally small. The Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE) reports that an infestation often involves more than one item and encourages isolation. Larvae can spread to (or from) woolens or furs hanging in a closet, sweaters stored in a drawer or to carpets on floors. A garment damaged by moths can sometimes be repaired, but reweaving a large area of a garment or rug can be expensive.   To identify the presence of moths, look for one or more of these signs
To treat infestations: According to a report from Iowa State University, if you determine that one item has been the victim of moth damage, immediately clean all items (including woolen area rugs and piano brushes) to control and eliminate further infestation. Infested items that cannot be discarded should be dry-cleaned or washed in hot soapy water and dried at high temperature. Be sure to advise your drycleaner that you have a moth problem, so that he/she can segregate your garments until they are processed. Rugs and furniture should be thoroughly vacuumed to remove loose hair or lint that may be infested. Special attention should be given to cracks, crevices, corners and underneath objects. The rug or furniture should then be cleaned. Cleaning infested items: Often moth damage is not always easily discernible to the naked eye, and can only be detected under magnification. Larvae will often feast on the backside of a pile fabric or on a tastier color thread in a woven item. As a result, either the pile vanishes when cleaned or brushed, or the 'tastier' thread is weakened and disappears in cleaning, washing or vacuuming. This by-product of maintaining infested items is unavoidable. Often times, these items can be saved by reweaving, though for large areas (i.e. rugs and tapestries) this can be a very expensive undertaking. | Keep Whites, White! | Storing Winter Clothes | Leather Care | Buying Winter Coat | Best Hangers | Label Information | Facts about Goose Down | Moth Damage | Cashmere | Layering For Cold Weather | | Return Home | Our Services | FAQ Page | Contact Us | How Do I? | |
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