Possible non-toxic moth protection.

[tundramanq]

I hang my wool kilts with no cedar or other protection in my closet with the rest of my kilts and have never seen any sign of damage from moths
It is either that I live in an area where wool eaters don't exist or it is my bug zapper that kills moths that get into my house. It get 1 or 2 moths a week this time of year.
They are attracted to the ultraviolet light and cooked by the high voltage grid. I have it in my living room on a timer so that it runs from dusk to when the house is dark for a couple of hours at midnight. It is not placed over any furniture as mosquitos explode when zapped. I also built a catch tray under it to collect most of the victims. Moths, being rather large, don't explode they sizzle and roast for about 5 minutes. This smells like burning hair so when I am around and hear the sizzle I clear them out of the grid with a wooden stick and they drop into the catch tray. The smell seems to be the only down side of this approach. Seems effective for all my flying pests but house flies.

[Tarheel]

A bug zapper is certainly a great way to kill those pests that eat wool. Unless it contributes to "her art collection" in our house, the wife will only let me have one on the back patio. There also is the unexpected cat curiosity that prevails here. It's a good thing she approves of the smell of Cedar.

It's a shame that only frogs, carnivorous plants, gummy strips and mechanical "swatters" kill flies. It's good to hear you have a moth and mosquito free zone by using the Zapper.

[tundramanq]

Tarheel, You made me remember when we had a place at Tunica cutoff in Mississippi. The outside bug zapper would go from popping to buzzing to chocked up from the volume of mosquitos. We kept a 5 gallon bucket under the zapper and it would fill to overflowing every night. Great fishing though!
Dry and high altitude here makes these varmints rare here.

[Tarheel]

I'm just 50 miles east of the Tunica cutoff, but they share their mosquitos (including the West Nile infected) with us. This year, it is the Cicadas that are making bait.

At least Cicadas don't eat wool. I also promote bats, Purple Martins and Swifts to eat the flying insects.

[Pleater]

Keeping the kilts or any woollen garment clean and either in the light or in impermeable covers will deter moths, but not protect completly.

Cashmere seems to be the fibre of choice for moths, in that it is the first to be attacked. In wool mills there would usually be a tub of cashmere fibre which was checked regularly to warn of moth attack.

Another enemy of woollen garments is the variegated carpet beetle, looks like a dark ladybird with four light spots on its back. The larvae are very destructive. They drill straight into my cones of yarn, causing a lot of damage.

I have an ultra violet zapper in the kitchen - as the window is open in there fairly frequently, also mothballs, vacuum packs, zip lock and zippered storage bags, but I still find ruined yarn and fibre from time to time.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[ForresterModern]

I had a fairly heavily infested kilt closet a couple years ago. See this old thread:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-kloset-65986/

I had to bomb with the toxics after removing the offending source (a not so cheap full mask fox dress sporran whose pelt had obviously not been adequately treated by the sporran maker). After that I put all woolens in hanging garment bags, plastic storage boxes, ziplock baggies or close fitting drawers. Each container has both a cedar "plank" and a small lavender scented device (similar to the old hanging mothball cages except holding a refreshable porous material). I refresh each with a cedar oil rubbing or new lavender oil (respectively) to keep them scent continuous. Have not seen a moth in the house since and no holes in any of my kilts or kit.

Not sure the wife would tolerate a fluorescent bug-zapper inside the house, and not sure I could tolerate the occasional zzzZZpop let out when a flying varmint met its doom within my earshot.

On the topic of flies, besides all the above mentioned ideas for ridding one's space of those beasts I recommend a nifty (and fun) little device that is effective, non-toxic to man of other beast above the arthropod in size (in the small doses used), and quite entertaining as well, although it does require active human involvement for the "kill":

http://bugasalt.com/

There are some cool videos on the website as well as on Youtube that are kinda entertaining as well. Enjoy great White Hunter, mSahib.

[Kylahullu]

I haven't had any moth damages after I found these Moth Traps a couple of years ago.
http://www.ruskovilla.fi/EN/Products/Moths_protection
Just scroll down below the cedar rings.

[Stitchwiz]

I had a fairly heavily infested kilt closet a couple years ago. See this old thread:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-kloset-65986/

I had to bomb with the toxics after removing the offending source (a not so cheap full mask fox dress sporran whose pelt had obviously not been adequately treated by the sporran maker). After that I put all woolens in hanging garment bags, plastic storage boxes, ziplock baggies or close fitting drawers. Each container has both a cedar "plank" and a small lavender scented device (similar to the old hanging mothball cages except holding a refreshable porous material). I refresh each with a cedar oil rubbing or new lavender oil (respectively) to keep them scent continuous. Have not seen a moth in the house since and no holes in any of my kilts or kit.

Not sure the wife would tolerate a fluorescent bug-zapper inside the house, and not sure I could tolerate the occasional zzzZZpop let out when a flying varmint met its doom within my earshot.

On the topic of flies, besides all the above mentioned ideas for ridding one's space of those beasts I recommend a nifty (and fun) little device that is effective, non-toxic to man of other beast above the arthropod in size (in the small doses used), and quite entertaining as well, although it does require active human involvement for the "kill":

http://bugasalt.com/

There are some cool videos on the website as well as on Youtube that are kinda entertaining as well. Enjoy great White Hunter, mSahib.

My husband tolerated guns on the farm to keep the groundhogs under control but never he fired one in his life.
I am sure he would be willing to learn if it would keep the fly population down. He has an intense dislike for flies and they seem to love landing on him when we're out on the deck.

I have a stronger aversion to the moths...I've been known to use an automatic dispenser to keep the moths and flies out of my house...

[Tobus]

It's a shame that only frogs, carnivorous plants, gummy strips and mechanical "swatters" kill flies. It's good to hear you have a moth and mosquito free zone by using the Zapper.

This doesn't work for mosquitoes and moths, but I have found a very good fly killer that I use in my barn (where the flies torture my poor horse). It's easy and simple. Take a frisbee, shallow pan, or anything else that will create a shallow pool of water. Fill it with water, and add a few drops of Dawn liquid dish soap to it. The aroma will attract flies to the surface, but the dish soap alters the surface tension so they can't "land" on the water like they normally would. They basically drown in it. I catch a lot of flies this way.

[Tarheel]

I haven't tried that for flies Tobus, but I have added a lit candle to the same shallow pan, water and dish soap mix to catch fleas. They are attracted to the light and heat of the candle and drown as quickly as your flies do.

Let's all use this to defend our horses, even if they are not Jock's unicorn species (which may have magical anti-flea and fly qualities).