You may seem to think of the moth as a harmless cousin to the butterfly, but you could be subject to an infestation of moths in your home that can be any homeowner’s worst nightmare. There are two kinds of moths that infest the home, and conveniently, they are named after household terms: Clothing Moths and Pantry Moths.

 

Clothing Moths, as you may guess, love anything made of cloth or fabric. Clothing Moths will lay eggs on several types of fabric that come from an animal or plant such as fur, cotton, wool, felt, feathers, silk, and hair. They can also grow larvae in nearby oils depending on whether the moth infestation gets to a more severe level. When eggs hatch on the fabric, the larvae will eat holes through the fabric, damaging clothes, hats, and even carpeting. It is also possible for larvae to reproduce in drapes, upholstery, and bedding.

 

If you come across an infestation of moths in your home, figure where the source is of this moth reproduction. Call pest control in Toronto to take care of this situation if you are not able to deal with the moths yourself. If your clothing is salvageable, you can wash it in hot water, freeze it, or dry clean it to eliminate possible remaining moth eggs and larvae.

To prevent Clothing Moth infestations, there are several things you can do:

• Constantly clean your clothes and rooms.
• Use cedar chips and/or moth balls near clothes put in storage to prevent mold buildup.
• Line your closets with cedarwood oil to repel moths and other pests from getting to your wardrobe.
• If possible, store clothes that are not in your closet in sealed bags or containers.

Pantry Moths are the other type of moth that infests households. Also known as Meal Moths, these moths produce in dry foods, such as these:

• Cereal
• Oats
• Cornmeal
• Nuts
• Crackers
• Dried fruit
• Dried herbs
• Grains
• Rice
• Seeds
• Powdered cocoa
• Macaroni
• Candy
• Chocolate
• Spaghetti pasta
• And even pet food

The reason that these foods are attractive to moths is that they have a high source of fiber, which is an important component to their growth and reproduction. The same can be said about clothes moths, despite that clothes moths are exclusive to eating fabric and pantry moths are exclusive to eating dry food.

 

You can either notice a family of moths eating all the dry food in your pantry, or you may eat a pantry moth while snacking on a box of crackers and not even realize it. If you suspect a Pantry Moth infestation, you can hire pest control in Guelph.

 

If you notice moths in your pantry, throw out all your dry foods, even if they aren’t yet opened. Larvae can chew through plastic or cardboard packaging, and you cannot reduce the risk of the infestation dispersing unless every container of dried food is pitched.

 

After you buy new dry foods, freeze them. You could bring new larvae into your home. You will not spoil food this way, but it will kill any possible larvae.

 

Clean your pantry in the meantime, and thoroughly wipe down every centimeter of every surface. Even clean cracks and indents where there could be more larvae or eggs residing.

 

You can also consider a moth trap in the pantry. These traps attract adult moths, and upon contact, they will be stuck for good. To completely get rid of each Pantry Moth, you will have to set a new trap until the moths no longer appear.