Yikes!! Moths in my Kilt Kloset!!

[azwildcat96]

I second the Scotch suggestion. Find a bottle that you don't care for, and drown the buggers! Then have a wee dram of the good stuff to celebrate the victory.
Seriously, good luck with the eradication. Let us know what works for you.

[tyger]

You are on sound ground there, Jeff.

I think the old entomologist's saying is that "The time for one to implement pest control is before one sees the pests."

My program includes a fogging of my closet of suits, sport coats, kilts every March and September.

[denmcdough]

Mookien,

I steam my several wool kilts quite frequently, like every time I finish wearing one. And, I tend to wear them a lot these days.

I purchased an inexpensive steamer at Wal-Mart and it works wonders. Really! It's great for working out wrinkles, and I hope it's been doing its job of destroying any moths. I haven't found any, as of yet. As for keeping them away long-term, well, not sure. So, I just keep at it every so often.

As for steaming each pleat....not a problem. The steamer has a nice size head, which is slender enough to whisk inside and do its job.

I store my wool kilts (by hanging them up) in a pillow case. All I do is cut a small slit on top, in the middle, for the hanger; place some tape on the covering; fold up the bottom and pin it. What's cool is that the pillow case breaths, but keeps intruders out!

[mookien]

denmcdough: Thanks for elaborating on your steaming technique. I'll give it a try. I have been hanging my kilts inside thin plastic cleaner bags and clipping the bottom together with gym clips. But they don't breath, so pillow cases seems like a better option.

I also use lots of cedar (blocks, thin sheets from cigar boxes, and hanger discs) and sand it up to bring out the aroma. It smells good to me, but may not be as effective as I hope. See the following article from the CSU Extension for details.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05599.html

[ForresterModern]

Well, after careful review of options and discussion with my wife we bombed the whole closet with all my woolens distributed about the small room. Since the fogger bomb was designed for whole house use we figure in that small space the saturation effect would surely be complete, and it seems so after cleanup. Supposed to be effective on all three life stages of the moths including the eggs and larvae. Swept and wiped down carpets and surfaces, then packed up all the fur sporrans in plastic storage containers, same with wool bonnets and caps, bagged up all the kilts in storage garment bags, and placed cedar blocks or hangers in each container. Added cedar planking to the shelf units, and have cedar oil spray on order to keep the cedar walls and else up to smell with frequent replenishment. All I need to do now is get a few more garment bags for my jackets, and put my long winter wool coats in similar long gown bags with cedar blocks for their final storage. Cleaned up several dozen dead moths from around the room, carpet, shelves and directly on several items. Shook all the hanging items out and gave them a good beating or brushing before returning them to the closet.

Hoping all this works. Will try to post pics of the demons and the source sporran (trojan horse of sorts), as well as the new and improved closet, later this evening, once I finish things up tonite.

As for the zippered pillow cover idea, I think king size covers should work for even my length kilts---will give it a try if they are wide enough for my kilt hangers.

Single malt salute tonite after completing the job.

jeff

[artificer]

Jeff,
sorry to hear about the terrible battle you've been facing.

Living as I do on the edge of a HUGE and heavily wooded area, moths are a constant concern for us as well.

It sounds like you've got the little beasties on the run, but if I may give one word of caution; be careful when storing leather in plastic. Leather and fur won't breath properly and can develop mold when stored air-tight.

I'd recommend zippered pillowcases or small garment bags for the sporrans as well.

[ForresterModern]

Jeff,
sorry to hear about the terrible battle you've been facing.

Living as I do on the edge of a HUGE and heavily wooded area, moths are a constant concern for us as well.

It sounds like you've got the little beasties on the run, but if I may give one word of caution; be careful when storing leather in plastic. Leather and fur won't breath properly and can develop mold when stored air-tight.

I'd recommend zippered pillowcases or small garment bags for the sporrans as well.

Thanks Artificer for the advice. I will probably take a tiny finishing nail and punch a couple breathing holes in the sporran containers for this purpose, but like the order the containers have brought to the whole system. So far the ones I have kept in freezer baggies have faired fairly well.

j

[artificer]

Here are the pictures of the offending agents and the trojan horse, of sorts:


... I just took a couple quick pics then tossed the whole package in the trash, with a bitter taste of disgust, both physical and emotional.

jeff

You should have put a warning on this post, it's enough to make a guy cry first thing in the morning.

If your trash collection hasn't been round yet, you might consider salvaging the cantle for future use. A quick dip in scalding water would certainly kill any more "uninvited guests"

Thanks Artificer for the advice. I will probably take a tiny finishing nail and punch a couple breathing holes in the sporran containers for this purpose, but like the order the containers have brought to the whole system. So far the ones I have kept in freezer baggies have faired fairly well.

j

The only other word of warning I have is that plastic shouldn't sit in physical contact with leather or fur. Wrap your sporrans in cotton or blue tissue. The stuff that leaches out of plastic can do some VERY strange things to a dynamic, living surface like leather (discolour, getting brittle, etc).

ith:

[ForresterModern]

You should have put a warning on this post, it's enough to make a guy cry first thing in the morning.

If your trash collection hasn't been round yet, you might consider salvaging the cantle for future use. A quick dip in scalding water would certainly kill any more "uninvited guests"



The only other word of warning I have is that plastic shouldn't sit in physical contact with leather or fur. Wrap your sporrans in cotton or blue tissue. The stuff that leaches out of plastic can do some VERY strange things to a dynamic, living surface like leather (discolour, getting brittle, etc).

ith:

Artificer

I will line the plastic containers with some leftover tartan or tissue paper to salvage the remainder of my sporrans. Excellent thought and explanation.

I considered trying to either salvage the cantle or possibly even the other non-fur parts of the devoured sporran with thoughts of covering it with another skin, but decided my level of disgust, both emotional and physical, would not abate after doing so, and if I ever used any of that sporran again I would have re-lived bad memories every time I wore it. I do too much reliving of bad memories, so I bid the whole thing, box and all, good riddance. Garbage men came yesterday so it is now in the county landfill, if anybody wants to claim it.

Thanks again.

jeff

[ForresterModern]

Here are the pictures of the offending agents and the trojan horse, of sorts:





Toby MacGregor (of Dundee, Fife, aka sporranmaker on ebay) full mask dress sporran with chrome cantle bought a little over a year ago and actually never worn, only out of this box once for a couple pictures, then stored in the kilt closet in box since. This is where all the moths in the closet were originating from. When I tried to lift it out of the box fur was falling off in clumps and the face completely collapsed and the eyes fell out of it, while a dozen or more moths lept to the air while their brethren stayed put in even larger numbers. I just took a couple quick pics then tossed the whole package in the trash, with a bitter taste of disgust, both physical and emotional.

jeff