AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

Took the suit I made for Alan out of the cupboard yesterday to confirm a collar detail with a student, and the moths have et holes in it!

He are very upset. Me too. Exploring possibility of getting holes rewoven, but methinks it's time for a new suit.

Bums!

OK, so how do we prevent moths doing the same again, without the terrible pong of mothballs?

Reply to
Kate XXXXXX
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I'm sorry. I lost some fine wool clothes to moths when I lived in a previous house.

An aromatic cedar lined closet would be great. While I don't really love the smell, it isn't nearly as bad as mothballs. Our current house already had one when we moved in. You can also get cedar hangers, mothballs, strips etc. for your closet.

--Betsy

Reply to
betsy

I understand that this was the original reason for packing things away in lavender - the moths don't like that smell, either. (prolly neither will Alan). However, there are a lot of old wives tales around about getting rid of moths, most of them ineffective. The best way not to get them is to have clothing cleaned or washed before you store it, but as you already seem to have an infestation in that cupboard, you will need to take everything out and scrub said cupboard - wall, floor, ceiling etc.- before putting clean stuff back in.

I once got moths in an old, secondhand trunk, and I ended up not only scrubbing it out but standing it open outside in the sunshine for several days, but you can't very well do that with a cupboard.

A Google search might be in order here.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Reply to
Olwyn.Mary

Dear Kate,

I'm so sorry that you lost Alan's suit after all your hard work making it. And now I'll ask, are you sure it was moths? Moths make irregular holes anywhere from 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide, and more long than wide. Carpet beetles, on the other hand, make small, pin-sized holes, sometimes many in the same location. You can get them out with freezing or no pest strips if they still sell them in the UK. But as Olwyn Mary says, you're going to have to moth-proof the cupboard. We used alkyd paint in our historic garment closets in the museums that I worked in. It seems to repel both carpet beetles and moths. To determine what kind of critters we had, we put sticky traps on the floors. After a couple of days, we would examine the traps to determine how to treat.

Other things eat clothes, too. Crickets, silverfish to name a couple. You might check with your dry cleaner and see if there is a mothproofing solution it can use on your woolens so they won't attract creatures. And all the aromatic treatments are pretty much ineffective, especially if the clothing has been worn before it is put away.

I once spent several days restoring a "fancywork" pin cushion from circa 1880. It was beautiful, the top all beaded. It had been stuffed with reindeer hair, and my supervisor told me to leave it, rather than replace it with new stuffing. It was riddled with carpet beetles, and within a couple of days, they had eaten through the new backing I had put on it. We put it in a bag with no-pest strips (can't get them here anymore), and left it for several weeks. I then replaced the backing again, and it was OK.

I recently ordered a piece of deep blue wool for a new suit. It got carpet beetle damage. I know it happened here (at my daughter's house} because I examined it when it came andit was fine. So I'm in the same boat. Have to clean out the closet and get some mothproofing materials. All my wool sweaters are in there, and I don't know which are treated and which aren't.

Teri

Reply to
gjones2938

Kate,

You could always put in a plastic garment bag that seals either with a zipper of sorts or a vaccuum seal.

We store wool all over the house and do not have a problem with moths. Mostly, our wool is in cloth bags that allows the wool to breath but doesn't allow bugs and such into the wool.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Rick Boesen Olivet, Michigan

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Reply to
Rick

Kate how awful! I made DH a three-piece wool suit, I know how devastated I would have been to find it with moth holes.

I really like cedar: a lined closet, or the hanging slabs or little solid cedar balls one can find. The scent is not as nasty as moth-balls and I have never yet had a problem with woolens stored in a cedar chest.

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Beverly

Reply to
BEI Design

Lavender oil and a tightly sealed cupboard for wools.

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also have been dermestid beetles:
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Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

Though ours holes are rather smaller than you describe (typically 1/4" to 1/2"), they are round and sort of pear shaped, and appear singly or in small clusters. Ther are definitely moths: there were a couple of dead ones and some empty grub cases that made identification easy.

I shall look out for that. Thank you.

How maddening!

Alan recently found a sweater with more moth damage, so we shall be clearing the cupboard and Taking Action this coming weekend. Couldn't do it sooner as I discovered the damage last night, as he was getting ready to go to Peterborough for two days!

Reply to
Kate XXXXXX

Buttons

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> Click on Kate's Pages and explore!> > Kate,

Once we have cleared out the problem, I shall certainly be looking into bags for some of the 'better' garments that aren't worn often. I like the idea of cloth ones. What are yours made from?

Reply to
Kate XXXXXX

atedicey.co.uk

I'm intrigued by the idea of the cloth bags, too. I would love to know how they were made. Can you use a good quality muslin, or do you use a synthetic fabric? And how do you seal them around the hangar opening?

I understand that most of the the bugs that go after cotton and linen (cellulosic fibers) won't bother wool (protein fiber); at least, I was told that in a textiles class. I live in a mild climate but love wool. Since I can only wear it in winter my wool garments last a long time. I don't want the nasty critters to get them.

I also stockpile wool fabric. No fabric store located conveniently near me carries nice fabric other than quilting fabric. So, when I travel, I buy fabric I like that I may not use for several years. I have that stored in a closet with cedar shavings in a bag on the floor. When the cedar odor fades, I replace the shavings. So far I have not had trouble, but it may just be that I have been lucky. I would be very sad to lose any of my wool.

Rosefolly

Reply to
Rosefolly

I've found most zippered bags leave a small opening on one end of the zipper; maybe the ones a person seal would be okay. Emily

Reply to
Emily Bengston

I really feel bad for you, Kate. Since both DS and I are severely allergic to wool, there is no clothing made from it here. I am certain, though finding holes in a suit, especially one I made, would totally devastate me, too.

Those are some great sites, Beverly. I have a cedar chest where I usually keep Christmas decorations, placemats and napkins. Emily

Reply to
Emily Bengston

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