Moths in the house sounds like a Hollywood film. These annoying pests have the ability to destroy everything in sight – and in record time. So, while you may think simply packing up shop and moving to your new house is the best solution to your moth problem, you’ll be sadly mistaken. Moths will travel to your new home with you, destroy your items along the way and make lunch out of your new home once you arrive. So, there’s no better time to get rid of them than right now. Waiting a day or two can be a costly mistake.
Start with a Plan
The first way to tackle a moth problem is to figure out what the problem is. This can take a bit of research but quickly, you’ll be able to determine what type of moths you have, where they are, what fabrics they like, and where they prefer to lay their eggs. Such information will help you determine how to eliminate the infestation, as different species don’t always react the same to pesticides and other forms of treatment.
Take Action
Start tackling your moth problem by gathering all of the fabrics they’re attracted to and washing them thoroughly. It’s important to take clean items straight from the laundry room and placing them directly into a new, sealed box that hasn’t been exposed to the infestation. Otherwise, you run the risk of having the moths lay larvae in the same items once again. You may even want to consider bringing fabrics to a dry cleaner and picking them up once you’re in your new home, sans moths, just to deter repeat offenders.
You also need to remove any eggs or larvae you find, which typically tend to be in items that contain hair, oils, sweat, etc. As such, bathrooms, bedrooms, linen closets, and laundry rooms are often the culprits to the problem. So, clean them thoroughly. Like the fabrics, place all cleaned products in a new, sealed container or box.
Here are some tips to remember:
- Don’t forget seasonal fabrics hiding in the back of closets.
- Wash and brush all fabrics, including carpets, towels, upholstery, etc.
- Remove and dry clean pet bedding.
- Vacuum like you’ve never vacuumed before and don’t forget the baseboards and corners.
Natural Ways to Treat the Infestation
Once you have removed the items moths like to take ownership of, it’s time to treat the infestation. Regardless of how thorough you cleaned each room, you’ll still need to treat the areas. Moths can hide their eggs in all kinds of nooks and crannies you never knew even existed in your home.
Unfortunately, treating the infestation isn’t always as simple as grabbing a pesticide and spraying your home. If you have children and pets, conventional methods are simply too harsh to be used within your interior. So, you’ll have to channel your inner creativity a bit and put some of these natural ways to destroy infestations:
- Use extreme temperatures to destroy eggs, such as ironing, placing bags of eggs in hot water or in the freezer to eliminate them for good.
- Control the humidity in your house as moths thrive in humid conditions.
- Implement red cedar into your interior. The natural oils will destroy larvae.
- Spray lavender oils throughout your interior and place sachets filled with the scent in highly infested areas. It won’t kill the eggs and larvae, but it’ll start clearing the moths out.
Conventional Treatment for Moths
If your home is vacant or if you don’t have any pets or children, you have the benefit of using conventional treatment options that are incredibly effective. While they aren’t always the most desirable way to eliminate moths, they work and can be the ultimate solution prior to a move.
- Place mothballs in infested areas and they’ll flock right to the sticky material, eliminating them at once.
- Hire an exterminator to spray the interior of your home.
- Hire a professional carpet cleaners to eliminate the eggs and larvae laying deep in the fabric.
- Line pheromone strips on the baseboards to trap moths in their path.
Having a moth problem can be a homeowner’s worst nightmare. So, it’s important to tackle the infestation as soon as possible. Otherwise, the problem will only get worse. Once moths have claimed your home to be their own, they will not go away without a fight. Fortunately, you now have the tips needed to tackle the problem before it becomes worse.
