The fight against moths has been carried out by people for a very long time, but neither high-tech means nor the achievements of the chemical industry can completely get rid of it. The reason for such survivability lies in the diversity of moth species and the need to take into account the characteristics of each of them when fighting.
In other words, depending on the habitat and the food consumed, the methods of dealing with moths also differ.
The fight against indoor moth species - clothes, fur coats, furniture
The greatest financial damage and psychological discomfort is caused by indoor moths, which must be dealt with comprehensively and especially carefully. This common name refers to several different types of insects: clothes, fur coats, furniture. These butterflies come in different shades of yellow and live in the folds of clothes and the joints of furniture.
The clothes moth is omnivorous - it feeds on wool, silk and plant foods. In other words, the clothes moth can eat carpets, rugs, furniture upholstery, grain, cereals, flour, bread.
The fur coat moth prefers fur, wool, felt, felt, and can also eat feathers and down.
It is interesting
The fur coat moth, which has settled in the fur, not so much eats it out as it gnaws at the roots when moving (this is done by moth caterpillars). That is why the fur coat moth can be recognized by the numerous hairs of fur dotting the space under the fur coat.
Furniture moth is very similar to clothes moth, but is more dangerous, multiplies faster and damages a wider range of materials. She lives in the upholstery of upholstered furniture, on the wrong side of sofas and chairs, in closets and on bookshelves. Furniture moth is unpretentious and can also parasitize on semi-synthetic products.
On a note
Almost all the moths that can be seen flying around the apartment are completely harmless males. They don't have mouthparts, meaning they don't feed and can't harm. The main danger is represented by moth larvae that eat away clothes and furniture, as well as females that lay eggs.
You can fight moths with preventive and liquidation measures. Preventive measures to combat moths in an apartment are aimed at preventing the very possibility of the appearance of moths, and elimination measures are designed to get rid of already existing insects.
House moth eradication measures include the following:
- shaking out clothes and subsequent mechanical destruction of falling larvae
- warming clothes in the sun on hot days
- washing at a temperature of more than 40-45 ° C
- treatment of clothing with aerosol insecticides.
The preventive fight against moths in the house includes airing in the fresh air and drying things in the sun, keeping clothes only in a clean state, periodically cleaning and washing furniture, including with disinfectants.
On a note
One of the oldest remedies for moths and fighting it is naphthalene, but its effectiveness is somewhat exaggerated. Naphthalene balls really scare away adult moths, but they are completely useless against larvae.At the same time, it is considered a carcinogen and can be more dangerous for human health than moths for sanitation of an apartment.
It is always better to prevent the appearance of moths in the apartment than to deal with it later.
You can fight the moth already existing in the house not only by mechanical cleaning and washing, but also by using chemicals. Conventionally, they can be divided into contact and fumigation.
Contact agents are insecticidal solutions or aerosols that must be applied to the affected surface. Moth caterpillars, eating and even just crawling on things treated in this way, will soon die.
Moth fumigation means are tablets and plates that are placed in the places where moths may live. Slowly evaporating, they also kill pests.
Review
“I never thought that the moth is such a tenacious insect and it is so difficult to fight it! It seems that everything has been revised, washed and aired - all the same, they periodically appear from somewhere. I bought special records, but they do not seem to work. Now I have been advised a can of Armol, but I am afraid that it will not be poisonous.
Christina, Nikolaev
Currently, there are many drugs for moths and to combat it. Aerosols Raptor "Moth Protection", Mosquitall (Mosquitol) and "Armol Expert" are effective against both butterflies and moth larvae.
"Morimol", "Mittoks", "Supromit", "Foksid" - solutions for protecting upholstered furniture and carpets. "Antimol" and "Dezmol" - plates against moth butterflies.
Kitchen moth and ways to get rid of it
Many people think that moths are found only in living rooms, but fighting moths in the kitchen is no less debilitating. Grain (food, kitchen) moth has a silvery-white color and lives in cereals - wheat, rye, barley, etc. In addition, it can also spoil dried fruits and berries, nuts and seeds.
Unlike room moths, it is impossible to fight food moths by simply spraying the food with chemicals (after all, then the poison will get into the food, which is unacceptable). That is why the fight against moths in products is often protracted and requires the complete elimination of stocks of contaminated food.
It is necessary to start fighting the cereal moth with an inventory of products. Clumped grains, gray coating and cobwebs indicate that the moth has already been here. You can get rid of the larvae by thoroughly heating the cereal in the oven or leaving it in the freezer for several days, but it is still better to throw away the spoiled product.
Fighting moths in the kitchen is better according to plan. Kitchen furniture should be washed with soapy water, wiped with table vinegar and ventilated well. Throw away all contaminated food. And in the future, pay attention to the quality and volume of purchased food, do not let the products "stagnate"
Review
“For a month, while the house was empty, a moth appeared in the kitchen. And how to deal with this infection? Caterpillars crawl in the corners, butterflies fly under the ceiling, they have love there. Without thinking twice, I did a general cleaning, threw away everything that was left of the products. Just in case, the furniture was wiped with vinegar. And unexpectedly it worked! I didn’t think that folk recipes help so much ”
Oksana, Murom
Methods of dealing with potato moth
One of the most dangerous potato pests is the potato moth, which must be controlled both during the cultivation of potatoes and during their storage. The potato moth is a small gray-brown insect whose larvae gnaw through winding back passages inside the tubers.
It is necessary to deal with potato moth in a comprehensive and systematic way:
- plant only healthy tubers to the maximum allowable depth, after warming them up;
- periodically spud and warm up the plantings;
- mow and destroy the tops in advance;
- Process the harvested potatoes with special means (Dendrobacillin, Entobacterin, Lepidocide) and store at a temperature of 3-5°C.
As you can see, potato moth control methods include both agrotechnical and chemical measures.
How to get rid of tomato moth
Tomato moth, which affects crops of tomato, eggplant, potato, pepper, looks like a potato moth. It is an exceptionally prolific insect with high adaptability.
Measures to combat tomato moth:
- isolation and disinfection of greenhouses
- regular destruction of weeds in an open field;
- the use of special traps as indicators of the appearance of tomato moth;
- tops burning;
- the use of biological products (Boverin, Baciturin), and, if necessary, chemicals, for example, Aktara, Aktellik, Fufanon.
chestnut miner moth
The chestnut leaf miner is a parasite of horse chestnut and sometimes maple. Having a very small number of natural enemies, it is extremely dangerous for all types of these trees.
It is interesting
The caterpillar of the chestnut moth gnaws winding passages in the leaves of the tree - mines.As it develops, it molts, leaving a rounded dark spot in the place of molting. Before turning into an adult insect, it is able to destroy up to 90% of the leaves of a tree!
Control measures against the chestnut leaf miner include the use of a trichogramma parasitic on moth larvae, top dressing of trees and improvement of the soil, as well as the introduction of preparations based on Imidacloprid into the vessels of the tree - with it, the leaves of the tree become poisonous to the moth.
apple moth
Apple moth is an extremely dangerous pest of fruit trees, and not only apple trees. Apricots, plums, pears, cherries and other trees also suffer from it.
The apple moth butterfly is light gray, almost white, with numerous white spots on the wings, the caterpillar is greenish with two rows of black dots. It is the caterpillars that cobweb the leaves of the trees and cleanly destroy the foliage on individual branches. With a serious defeat, a small tree may be left completely without vegetative parts.
You should start fighting this fruit moth ahead of time:
- Before the flowering period, spray the trees with an insecticide.
- Hang pheromone traps around the garden to control the presence and quantity of apple moths.
- Collect and destroy infected leaves in time.
- To attract natural enemies of the apple moth to the gardens - braconid wasps.
- If necessary, apply additional chemicals.
Review
“Last year we were late with the processing of trees in the garden. It seems that they knew about the apple moth and how to deal with it, but they missed the moment, and the crop turned out to be small and beaten. But in this, a fungicide was used and traps were hung out, so in some places there were local cobwebs, but they could easily be assembled by hand or inventory!
Stepan Nikolaevich, Kherson
Each type of moth has its own specific qualities and leads a unique way of life. It is not surprising that measures that are effective, for example, in the fight against fur coat moths, will not give the expected result against furniture moths. Therefore, each type needs its own approach and a competent combination of methods and preparations.
How to deal with moth folk remedies: useful video
And this is what a clothes moth larva looks like (the one that spoils fur coats)
