Defending The Wool Kilt Against A Moth Invasion

[Steve Ashton]

Remember that not all cedar is a moth repellent. Most recommend Eastern Red Cedar. Or Aromatic cedar.

And only fresh cedar works. While you may still be able to enjoy the scent of the wood, the concentration to deter moths must be very high. So most recommend refreshing cedar wood with cedar oil at least once a season.

In fact sprinkling cedar oil would be just as effective as the wood itself as it is the oil, not the wood, that does the work.

Camphor wood is felt to be a better deterrent than cedar. Many feel lavender to be a better than cedar but again it must be fresh.

Most feel that an airtight container to be more effective than a container made from, or containing the 'natural' deterrents like cedar, camphor or lavender.

In essence what you want is to suffocate the little larva. This is why moth balls have been used for so long. The balls dissolve (sublimate) directly to a gas and displace the air.

It is the larva that do the damage (The adults don't eat or drink) They are looking for dirt and sweat. They eat through the wool to get at the dirt. So meticulous cleaning seems to be the key.

As the common clothes moth prefers to walk, and not fly, most in my area feel the the sticky moth traps that will keep the adults from crawling around to be pretty effective.