Many apartment owners periodically have to think about how to remove moths. This insect takes root perfectly in a person's home, causing a lot of trouble, and sometimes damage for significant amounts (for example, when it comes to irreparably damaged fur coats).
The moth known in everyday life is simply divided into two types: clothing and food, each of which feeds on materials and products corresponding to its name. To determine how to get the moth out of the apartment in each case, you must first decide what kind of moth you have to deal with.
Methods and means of removing clothes moth
You can remove moths and prevent damage to your clothes, furniture and fur products using various methods. Let's look at the main ones.
- Physical method of dealing with clothes moth. The moth is afraid of extremely low and high temperatures for it (below minus 5 ° C and above plus 45 ° C). Accordingly, in the cold season, you can freeze the apartment by opening the windows wide open, and this will be fatal not only for the moth butterflies, but also for its larvae. It is important to protect the radiators so that they do not freeze. Or you can wash clothes at the maximum temperature allowed for it. Special industrial units operate more efficiently, which allow high or low temperatures to be applied locally.Those who are trying to get moths out of a fur coat should pay attention to a special refrigerator for fur products.
On a note
The larvae and eggs of clothes moths are weakly attached to clothes, and therefore regular shaking out of things will allow you to get rid of most of them.
- Chemical method. It is most advisable to destroy the clothes moth with chemical insecticides specially designed for this. They are presented in the form of aerosols (easily sprayed and do not require special preparation), fumigators (the design with the insecticide is connected to the mains, and the substance gradually evaporates), sections (cardboard plates are impregnated with a deterrent and placed in a cabinet).
- Folk remedies. You can also remove moths from the apartment with the help of various folk remedies, since folk wisdom has accumulated many recipes for the destruction of this harmful insect.
It is interesting
The clothes moth feeds on keratin, which is contained in keratinized materials of animal origin (fur, wool). Keratin is also an essential part of human hair and nails, which could be a great meal for an insect. Fortunately, moths do not attack people, but they will eat a natural wig or hair left on clothes with pleasure.
Remove moths with aerosols
The aerosol form of insecticides is the most popular among the population. The reason is simple: the tool allows you to quickly and conveniently poison all the clothes moth in the apartment, both butterflies and larvae. Each aerosol contains a poisonous substance and a solvent, and modern moth aerosols have a low odor, in addition, they often use pleasantly smelling fragrances.
Many aerosol moth preparations are used not only for the local destruction of pests, but also for the prevention of their appearance in cabinets and wardrobes.
To remove the moth, it is enough to treat the things in the closet with the agent, as well as the inner surfaces of the cabinet themselves. Sometimes the manufacturer advises cleaning the processed items, for example, washing them. But, as practice shows, this is not mandatory: aerosols effectively destroy the moth and its larvae even without this procedure.
Review
“For a long time we thought about how to deal with this moth. It is clear that with mothballs and all sorts of vinegars of all advisers - to the garden. We bought Armol, sprayed all things, cabinets, sofas and a carpet, repeated a week later. Some of the clothes were previously washed at 50 degrees. A couple of sweaters had to be thrown away, but after treatment, no traces of moths appeared for more than a year. I don’t know if this Armol is on sale now, but it’s a cool product.”
Veronica, Sterlitamak
Before removing moths in the house, it is worth remembering that insecticides used in aerosol products can cause an allergic reaction and even mild intoxication if they enter the human respiratory tract. Therefore, when using aerosols, it is necessary to strictly follow the instructions and use personal protective equipment.
Listed below are some of the best aerosols for clothing (fur coat) moths:
- Antimol (active ingredient - permethrin)
- Mosquitol (pralletrin, 1.7%)
- Dezmol
- Phoxide
- Armol (permethrin)
All these products do not leave stains on the fabric and can be used for any natural products.
Moth fumigators
Fumigators are another fairly effective way to get rid of moths.They are produced in two types - pyrotechnic and electric. The first is produced in the form of a spiral, which, after ignition, emits poisonous smoke. The second one is more modern and works due to electric heating of plates impregnated with a poisonous substance.
The most popular fumigators today are Raptor, Reid and Moskitol. They are odorless and not dangerous to humans or warm-blooded animals. Usually they are positioned by the manufacturer as a mosquito repellent in the apartment, but they are also quite effective in the fight against moths.
If the fumigator works with plates, they must be changed before each treatment session. Advanced models use a liquid that lasts for a long time.
One of the options for using a moth fumigator is to turn it on in a closed cabinet by passing an extension cord there. To start the device, you just need to connect it to an electrical outlet.
Sections against moths
Sections are the easiest and hassle-free way to deal with moths. They are plates impregnated with a repellent that are laid out or hung in places where moths are supposed to accumulate.
In some moth sections, the plates can have a high adsorbing and evaporation effect, which allows them to simultaneously perform 2 functions:
- absorb excess moisture in the closet (moth does not like dryness);
- as well as evaporate repellent substances that affect the pest.
The variety of moth sections available in stores allows you to choose a model with any flavor and any shape. Some of them are made in the form of hooks to hang them next to the clothes on the tube of the wardrobe.
There are many manufacturers of sections, the most famous of them are Reid, Raptor, Antimol, Moskitol and Gardeks.
How to remove a mole folk remedies
To learn how to remove moth larvae and adults without chemistry, you should turn to the help of folk remedies. Many of them are available and inexpensive, but most of them are intended only for repelling insects, so they should be used as an additional method of control.
Consider the most famous folk remedies for moths in an apartment:
- Spread fresh orange peels, dried lavender, tobacco (or strong cigarettes), strong-smelling toilet soap, naphthalene (not recommended - scientists have proven that it is a carcinogen), fresh fragrant geranium leaves in places where moths accumulate.
- Plant a few fragrant geranium plants in the room where the moth settled.
- Shift things folded for the winter with fresh newspapers (the advice is not suitable for light fabrics and fur).
- Apply essential oils of geranium, orange or lavender to pieces of cotton, which are then laid out in the room and closet.
Treating cabinet joints with kerosene is considered even more effective, but not every owner of good furniture and clothes will agree to such measures.
Fighting food moth
The need to remove moths in the kitchen usually arises when numerous moth butterflies are already fluttering around the kitchen, but the reason for its appearance is not yet clear. As practice shows, not all apartment owners at the same time understand that somewhere in cereals, flour, dried fruits or nuts pest larvae have already started. For some reason, many people think that moths can only live in closets with clothes.
The food (kitchen) moth differs from the wardrobe moth and belongs to a completely different family - the family of moths.Accordingly, the fight against it has its own nuances.
Before removing the food moth, it is imperative to review all bulk food products: they may contain pest larvae or a characteristic web. Infected cereals should be discarded, and only if there are very few larvae, rinse and then dry in the oven at a temperature of 70 ° C.
Kitchen cabinets are washed with a strong solution of vinegar, which then needs to be washed off with water. All cereals and other dry products should be repacked in glass jars with a tight lid or linen bags, previously soaked in a solution of vinegar or salt water, and then dried.
After these manipulations, which are paramount in the fight against food moths, you can already take on the destruction of butterflies. In this case, you can use the same means that are used to destroy clothes moths - aerosols, it is only important to prevent them from getting on food.
Review
“They couldn’t even put their minds to how to get moths out of cereals. You can't spray it from a can. Roasted, but we have a lot of it, for the whole winter. And it was all infected. Half a bag had to be thrown away, butterflies were caught for another month, they put things in order in the pantry and sprayed with Raptor. And the moth is gone. My advice to you is when you buy a large batch of the same buckwheat, carefully inspect it. Instead of bringing out the grain moth, just don't let it in."
Stanislav Dobrozhansky, Vinnitsa
Prevention of food moth infestation is simple: regular cleaning and airing of cabinets in the kitchen, as well as periodic checks of bulk products for pests. Each package of cereal brought from the store is checked without fail.It is useful to avoid buying cheap products of dubious origin.
Do not forget about the prevention of the appearance of clothes moth. Regular cleaning and airing of wardrobes with clothes, timely cleaning of fur and wool products, and shaking out clothes also help with this. To completely protect yourself from the appearance of this type of moth, you can use sections for a wardrobe all year round.
Useful video: how to get rid of food and clothing moths in the house
How to quickly get rid of moths in the kitchen
