Moths And Mice: It’s You or Them

If your home is always perfectly clean, don’t blame yourself:  mice and moths have now become able to adapt to both urban and extra-urban environments . They find shelter inside homes, favoring attics, attics, cellars, garages, attics and any other space that is hot and humid. In these environments they live and  reproduce very quickly , feeding on the food residues they find around, in the most hidden corners of the house or near some areas particularly at risk such as garbage cans or pet kennels and bowls.

Where there is no mice repellent, the mice are always around throughout the year but Moth season begins in May. Do you let them feast in your apartment and eat the wool rug and foodstuffs or stop them?

What Differentiates Wardrobe Moth From Its Kitchen Relative? 

The wardrobe door can sometimes be mistaken for its kitchen relative. The difference between the clothes moth and the food moth is that the clothes moth has shiny silvery wings, while the food moth is half white and half gray-brown in color.

Less widespread than the wardrobe moth ( Tineola bisseliella ) is the very similar fur moth ( Tinea pellionella ). They are almost unrecognizable. The fur moth has a small dark spot on its wings. The body of both of these moths is about 7 mm long, with a wingspan of 1 to 1.5 cm.

Wardrobe moths like musty, dusty, dark places. They do not tolerate light and a fresh smell. They eat natural clothing materials or man-made materials with the admixture of wool, such as carpets. The most expensive materials are their most popular:  wool, cotton, cashmere, fur, leather, and feathers. They eat anything that contains keratin. This is the protein contained in hair, hair, or dry skin flakes that fall from us and are contained in household dust.

That is why it is important not to store worn-out items with skin cells or hair remnants in the closet. Leave worn clothes to hang for 24 or 48 hours before putting them away in the closet. Moths are attracted to the slightest moisture, so they are attracted to sweat residues in clothes that have been cleaned after being put in the closet. Female moths like to lay their eggs in such places because the larvae have a guaranteed supply of food after hatching.

All the damage in the form of chewed fabric, holes in the carpet, and the sweater is caused by wardrobe moth caterpillars. Adult clothes moths no longer accept food and even create water inside their bodies through a metabolic process.

The Development Cycle Of Clothes Moths

The length of moth development from egg, through the caterpillar, pupa to adult moth is highly variable: from one month to two years. It depends on the temperature and humidity of the environment, the availability of food, and other factors.

The female moth first lays 50 to 200 pinhead-sized eggs, preferably in wool, fur, or carpet. 

Newly hatched caterpillars are very difficult to spot with the naked eye. If they are calm, they gradually burrow into the deep layers of the fabric. They feed on textile material or fur, molt several times and grow to 0.5 to 1 cm in size before pupating.

The caterpillars of the fur moth spin a protective covering of fibers and hairs, which they drag everywhere and peek out of it like a sock, see the photo on the right.

The chrysalis is also cream-colored, with a thread attached. After 15 days, an adult clothes moth hatches from the chrysalis. One development cycle of wardrobe moths takes about 4 to 5 months. A total of four generations per year will occur in a heated space, one generation in an unheated space.

What Do Mice And Adult Moths Eat?

Adult moths do not need food, and they do not need to drink (they make their liquid through metabolism). On the contrary, mice can finish all your foodstuffs if you don’t take action against them as early as possible. 

What To Do When Attacked By Moths And Mice.

A more reliable solution to eliminate moths, larvae, with products is to deep freeze the fabric. Place clothes infested with moths in a tightly resealable plastic bag. At leisure to ensure their deep freezing. Put in the refrigerator for 3 days. 

Then remove and “thaw” at room temperature for a day. Then take the contents of the bags outside and shake the clothes thoroughly outside. Then wash the clothes according to the label. For more delicate fabrics, a delicate program or hand wash is now sufficient, because the moths are already dead and it is only a matter of removing the dead larvae and eggs.

Prevention

As a prevention against moths, the key is to ventilate the cupboards and the things stored in them. Furthermore, regular brushing of clothes and tapping of carpets. Ideal in the cold, because the frost will also kill the mites. Once a year, it is advisable to empty the cabinet, clean it, vacuum it, and, if necessary, treat it with a pesticide with a residual effect. Again, we recommend  Vigonez Neptune moth spray.

Interior walls of cupboards pasted with decorative wallpaper are also an attraction for moths, as they also eat paper wallpaper.

Mice And Moth Repellents

Do not store clothes in plastic. Textiles don’t breathe and that suits the moths, they usually get inside anyway. Ever pest repeller as well as aromatic scents help as repellents against mice and moths: lavender, cinnamon, cloves, citrus peel, rosemary, wormwood, or hops. It is appropriate to place fragrant soaps in the cupboard or sprigs of dry lavender in a stocking. The flowers then do not fall between the clothes, and the stocking lets the fragrance through beautifully.

Whatever repellants you use against moths, you have to think about the fact that clothes will smell. For example, once used mothballs smell unpleasant, it is an outdated solution. Today’s anti-moth hooks or balls have a nice lavender scent.

Chimney Against Moths

Insect fumigators (we recommend Dobol Fumigator ) eliminate all developmental stages of moths. They are used in severe infestations. However, the smoke from the chimney may not penetrate deep the inner part of the fabric when clothes are folded.

Moth Catchers

Pheromone traps can be placed on adult moths. They work mainly on males, therefore they are used for prevention and confirmation of the appearance of moths.

And finally, a tip for a natural carpet repellent: just spray lavender essential oil with water.