Tip of the week: How to combat clothes moths
Clean like it’s 1899; Boil your wash; Avoid moth balls
Clean like it’s 1899. Clothes moths adore darkness and undisturbed natural fabrics, so clothes that aren’t stored in plastic should be aired out regularly. Because adult female moths live about two weeks, shake clothes out and beat or vacuum cushions and rugs once or twice a month to dislodge any of the eggs or larvae they leave behind.
Boil your wash. “The biggest draw for a hungry moth is stained clothing.” Before storing clothes, wash them for at least an hour in 118-degree water in order to kill eggs and larvae. Freezing clothing for 12 hours also works.
Avoid moth balls. They emit toxic particles into your clothes, and the odor is “almost impossible to remove.” Cedar kills only eggs and larvae, not adult moths, so pheromone-loaded moth traps might be the best organic weapon.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Source: London Daily Mail
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 educational cartoons about the Harvard pushback
Cartoons Artists take on academic freedom, institutional resistance, and more
By The Week US
-
One-pan black chickpeas with baharat and orange recipe
The Week Recommends This one-pan dish offers bold flavours, low effort and minimum clean up
By The Week UK
-
Merz's coalition deal: a 'betrayal' of Germany?
Talking Point With liberalism, freedom and democracy under threat globally, it's a time for 'giants' – but this is a 'coalition of the timid'
By The Week UK