The winter season is over and sweaters and warm winter clothes are being stored. You want to protect your clothing from one particular pest. Moths. Moths are insects that are closely related to the butterfly. Moths are highly destructive and can destroy not only clothing, but your garden as well. Moths seek out vegetable plants in gardens and suck out the sap from them. When moths are in the larvae stage, they destroy fruit on any fruit trees. If they find a way into the home, they’ll destroy clothing in no time. How awful would it be to open your clothing storage container in the fall and see holes in your favorite sweaters? We’ll take a look at ways to protect your home and clothes from these destructive insects.
The typical item to use for repelling moths is mothballs. However, mothballs smell horrible, and could quite possibly be dangerous to your health. They can lead to health issues such as liver and kidney damage. Mothballs are particularly dangerous to children if they swallow them. Natural moth protection can eliminate the bad odor from using mothballs, and are healthier for you to use.
Make A Potpourri
You can use your regular clothing storage container as you normally would, and place sachets in it. Sachets are filled with potpourri, and that’s basically what you’ll be making. It doesn’t have to be very fancy material that you use for the sachets, you can use an old pair of clean nylons, muslin, plain cheesecloth, or linen. There are certain smells that moths find unappealing. Unappealing scents to moths include:
- Mint
- Rosemary
- Lavender
- Cloves
- Thyme
- Eucalyptus
- Cinnamon
- Lemon
- Peppercorn
- Cedar
Place any of these items (dried, not oils) into the fabric of your choice. Then tie off the sachet and put it into the storage container with your clothes. Cedar is probably the most common thing to use. Cedar can be bought in chips, planks, or balls and will give off a pleasant aroma to us, but will keep the moths out. If you don’t want to put the sachets directly in your clothing storage container, you could hang them on a hanger in your closet in the same area as the storage container. That will work just as well. Placing these sachets in your garden will help to protect your plants and flowers. Place the sachets among fruit trees and vegetable plants to avoid moth damage.
Keep Them Out Of Your House
To prevent moths from getting into your home, there are several things you can do. If you have screen doors, use them. It’s nice to have your doors open on a warm spring or summer night, but if you leave the screen door open, you’re allowing all sorts of critters into your home. So make sure that screen door is closed. Certain food sources for moths can attract them, and will entice them to come inside. Food sources such as open containers of snacks and food, pet food, dried flower arrangements, and wild bird food could attract moths.
Keep Things Clean
Another way to prevent moths is to keep your kitchen clean, specifically cabinets. If you have any open boxes of pasta, cereal, oatmeal, nuts, or bread, put the left over food into a sealed plastic bag, or any airtight container. Basically any time you open a food item that is not resealable, put the left overs into a sealed container.
Clothes and food aren’t the only items moths can get into. They can also destroy rugs, carpets, upholstery, wool products, and piano felts. It’s important to keep these areas clean. Piano felts can be protected with the sachets mentioned above. For rugs, and carpets, vacuum or wash them frequently. Inspect any wool items regularly, and if you notice any sign of moths, take the item outside and shake it well. You can even use the vacuum hose very gently to rid any moth debris. After you vacuum, be sure to empty the vacuum bag immediately. The bag may contain larvae or moth eggs, and you don’t want them hatching in the bag.
Moths can be very destructive to your clothing and plants. Natural moth prevention can help save your treasured clothing or your vegetable garden. When you open your clothes storage container in the winter, you can be sure that they will be intact.
Speak Your Mind