Moths love wool

[Pleater]

Hmmm -refridgerator - maybe 2 to 5 degrees - it will certainly slow them down.

I have battled wool eating beasties for a long time and lost some of my best knitted and unknitted wool to them.

A batch of yarn for charity knitting, received a couple of decades ago, also brought me the varigated carpet beetle, which has devastated the good carpets in the house and drilled holes down into cones of some really expensive knitting yarns.

If the eggs or grubs are inside several layers of cloth it would take a very severe steaming to reach them, but the cold of a freezer penetrates deep, eventually, and they DIE!!!

Anne the wool beastie murderer - even the babies are not safe!!!!!

[JerseyLawyer]

I have some of the cedar hanging things in my closet, too. They seem to work (or, at least, I haven't found any of my clothes motheaten?). You should sand them every now and again to refresh the scent.

[Bugbear]

... Anne the wool beastie murderer - even the babies are not safe!!!!!

Mommy, Pleater has that look in her eyes again.

It's true, the freezer does kill the beasties of all sorts. * Riverkilt begins looking into a meat locker addition to his house. *

[Mipi]

you could hang the bags filled with nice smalling Lavanda (or Lavandin) flowers. Moths don't like the smell, but we do.

[wsk]

We've discussed this topic before in this thread.

[Carolina Kiltman]

Now that my kilt collection is growing, it just dawned on me that I might need to think about storage. I currently have my two wool kilts hanging in the closet and now live in dreaded fear of moth damage. Has anyone experienced this problem? I know that besides moths, silverfish also like to eat wool. I have a cedar chest and wondered if it wouldn't be a wise idea to store my kilts in it. If I do go that route, do I roll the kilt?

Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

RB

Yes, the freezer is a good idea if you have the freezer space. The way I understand it, if you have the kilt cleaned, then store it in an air-tight container, the adult moths cannot get to it to lay the eggs. Since currently my only kilt gets worn at least once weekly, moths are not a problem.
However I keep my Bramer and fly plaid (both 100% wool) in a bag with moth cake, as I wear them only on dress occasions. You might try checking with your County Agriculture Extension Office for other ideas, they generally have lots and you have already paid for the advice with your taxes! (There is no additional charge)

[Sylvain]

On the same note, do some spiders also like to eat clothing? I do not ever recall seeing much in the way of moths, but we have many spiders at different times of the year, like right now. I would almost swear that I have had holes appear in clothes from spiders. Can anybody confirm or refute this? If some spiders are also a menace, does cedar also work the same way on them as on moths? If not, what might repel them?

Spiders eat only meat, AFAIK.

[rollerboy_1979]

Thanks for all the info. I'm currently keeping the closet door open, and I try to wear my kilts at least once or twice a week, so I don't anticipate any problems. I also steam my kilts before I wear them, not so much for wrinkles but more to freshen the garment.

Good advice Kilt Crew!

RB

[Amelorn]

Exposure to sunlight, frequent usage, freshly sanded/oiled cedar, oregano, moth ball,s, airtight storage all help.

Personally, I'm a fan of combining frequent usage with exposure to sunlight (ie wear it outside). It's fun and functional.

The worst thing you can do is lock them in a closet for 6 months. As with the cedar closet in my house....it hasn't been sanded or oiled in decades. It's no better than a regular closet.

[Fox]

Ah, I see your point. Of course there is body oils, and dust is primarily human skin. :shrug:

Spiders eat only meat, AFAIK.