[Fleecewife]

With the beautiful sunshine today here in the south of Scotland (and hopefully for all of you) I have been attacking my clothes cupboards, wardrobes etc.  I now have an array of woolly items on the line, to scare off any moths with a dose of UV and a good shaking.  Still got coats and sheepskins to do but no room today.  I'll turn them all inside out after lunch and vacuum out every corner and hidey hole in the storage drawers etc.  Very satisfying 
The reason for all this unaccustomed housework is that I rooted out the Dolly fleece I have (unwashed) and found it well and truly attacked by moth, by the evidence of pupa cases.  I will have to go through it and rescue any undamaged staples, wash them and store them in the freezer until I'm ready to spin them up.  What could have been a Dolly shawl will now be a small lacy scarf    I think my mistake was not to wash the fleece before storage.

I HATE CLOTHES MOTHS

[Bionic]

I hate them too. I have a couple of nice things in the wardrobe that have moth holes 
How was your Dolly fleece stored?  I have several unwashed in the stable but they are in the polywoven bags which (I hope) are tightly sealed.  The fleece from Tonto that I want to make my afghan with is out there too. I am wondering now if I should wash that.

[Fleecewife]

My Dolly fleece was very badly stored, so serves me right     I had put it in an IKEA bag, polyprop but it doesn't seal, then left it in the boiler room, where it's lovely and warm so the moths could breed away in winter as well as summer.  I had honestly forgotten it was there, and was wondering where the flying moths came from - apparently males on the pull    We could be seen in the evenings leaping and clapping to catch the little devils 

I'm not sure what to do about the woollen rug in the living room though as it's way too heavy for me to lift and for the washing line to support.  Maybe Mr F will put up a rope for me, and help to move it.  I have a carpet beater so thwacking that will serve any moths right if they get in the way.  Of course I should have done all this in the glorious summer weather we had.

I have been looking through the bags of stored fleece I have hanging in the barn, and various other sheds.  The only ones which have occupants of one sort or another are those not stored well, so perhaps sitting on the floor or with holes in the polyprop sacks.  Any which have been properly stored - completely hole-free sacks, tied really tightly and hanging in the cool, dry and dark with a bit of airflow - have all been perfect, even after several years.
If you are worried about your fleece, take it outside in the sun, spread it out and have a good look through it.  Let it warm in the sun, then turn it over and  do the other side.  Then store it again, perhaps in a new sack.  The jury is out as far as I can make out as to whether it's best to store fleece washed or just sorted.  I find it's better washed, but unwashed fleeces have survived as long as they are stored properly.

[devonlady]

Southernwood (lad's love) fresh or dried will keep moth away.

[Fleecewife]

Southernwood (lad's love) fresh or dried will keep moth away.

I'm currently making sachets with lavender so I'll add some of that.  I think santolina helps too.
However, they don't do anything to kill off the eggs or larvae, which are the damagers.
I looked online for moth treatments and anything which will kill them is Transfluthrin based - this is a pyrethroid which is also a nerve toxin.  Not as bad as OPs, but I certainly wouldn't want to have that stuff lurking inside my house.

I found a couple of moth holes in a lovely big woolly poolly I dyed and knitted for OH.  There are signs of frass (larva excrement) around the holes.  Once I've washed and repaired it I will store it in the freezer for months, to get past a couple of reproductive cycles of the moths so they should all be gone  .

I have also found some Cedar plus lavender spray to treat all around inside cupboards and drawers.  I'm also ordering some larger zip sealed plastic bags - I have lots but they aren't big enough for larger sweaters.  The problem isn't huge, but I've got to beat it, as a wool worker  .

[Bramblecot]

You could try products from this company which is local to me.  The sprays smell fresh and clean but I can't guarantee the moths will stay away

  www.lemongrasstrading.com

[Lesley Silvester]

I'm getting concerned about my fleeces now. They are stored in the loft in cotton bags. It's always cold up there. Will this put the moths off (I hope)?

[Fleecewife]

You could try products from this company which is local to me.  The sprays smell fresh and clean but I can't guarantee the moths will stay away

  www.lemongrasstrading.com

Thank you Bramblecot - their products look just the thing, esp the lemon grass with cedar and lavender,I think it is.  There's eucalyptus in there somewhere too.  All the good smellies should help with the repelling.  I'll definitely be getting some of their stuff.

[Dans]

Now I'm worried. Saw a moth in the lounge last night but no windows open, I had opened the door to call the cats in  but hadn't noticed any moths flying past. May have to check on my remaining fleeces :-/

Do they go for tops and roving too?

Dans

[Fleecewife]

I'm getting concerned about my fleeces now. They are stored in the loft in cotton bags. It's always cold up there. Will this put the moths off (I hope)?

Hi MGM    Can you get the fleeces down from the attic and give them a dose of sunshine?  Visual inspection is really the only way to know what's in there.

I've read that the reason for the current moth epidemic is the use of central heating, so the moths' normal seasonality is broken ie they can breed all year round.  Normally they mate twice a year in summer, but sorry I don't know if the cool attic will kill them or prevent them from breeding at all.  Even freezing them isn't supported by everyone - some say it's the only way to kill them off for sure without chemicals, others say it doesn't work.   So I would assume that they can survive up there.
Another quoted reason for the increase is that folk no longer do a massive spring clean with everything taken outside and battered with a carpet beater (helps to have servants to do that but I wouldn't know).  For your attic, there will be plenty of places for the wee devils to hide and breed.
I still have loads of fleeces to sort through outside, but we seem to be running out of sunny days, and time.
I can't use my attic for storage as there are mice up there, in spite of our efforts - not helped by the insulation our council kindly laid over the top of everything up there 

I thought I lived in a tiny house, but when you have to spring clean it does a Tardis 

[Fleecewife]

Now I'm worried. Saw a moth in the lounge last night but no windows open, I had opened the door to call the cats in  but hadn't noticed any moths flying past. May have to check on my remaining fleeces :-/

Do they go for tops and roving too?

Dans

Hi Dans    It's only certain moths which cause damage to fabrics.  The kind that fly towards the light are not the ones you have to worry about.  I have seen males clothes moths flying around at night inside the house - they are small, less than a centimetre, with their wings held close to the body when they're at rest, so they look narrow.  I suppose big moths do that too but look different. When flying they look tiny, delicate and off-white.  When you try to catch them they zap out of the way.  Best way is to 'clap' them with two hands.
I think though that you can say for certain that clothes moths don't fly in.  Normal moths are lovely, SO many different species.

The most likely way to discover you have clothes moth is to find holes in your woollies or cashmere, with dust-like frass around the edges (the same as garden caterpillars leave behind, but theirs is big and sloppy and green).  Some people have seen tiny tiny caterpillars (maggots?) chewing away, but I never have.
The link Bramblecot gave has a 7 point moth prevention plan which is good to follow.


Tops, rovings etc is best stored in a sealed plastic bag, in my opinion.  Take it out from time to time and shake it about to let the air back in, and don't pack it tightly.  I find that moths are less likely to attack well-scoured fibres, but not everyone agrees.

[Dans]

 

Ok the one I saw was much bigger than that. I had just wondered where on earth it had come from. I've a bag of cashmere in the shed that was full of frass but that I still couldn't bear to throw away. All my other fibres are stored in the house.

I hadn't even thought of tops and rovings being at risk until today, they aren't sealed at all at the moment.

Thanks

Dans

[SallyintNorth]

As I understand it, clothes moths will eat any textile if the mood takes them, including cotton.  So I am not sure I think the cotton sack / pillowcase for fleece storage is a certain barrier 

I've found moth damage in tops I was spinning, so yes they can infest tops.  These weren't dyed, I don't know if dyed fibre is maybe less appealing.  They've certainly made holes in coloured commercial jumpers, both jumpers I've bought and ones knitted from commercial yarns.

Much as I hate to disagree with Fleecewife, I find that on a farm, with sheep and cattle stuff about, clothes moths are generally about and so can fly into the house, yes.  Not in cold weather though, they definitely like it warm.  I kill any I see, and take care about storage of woolly things, and move things about - air them and floof them up - and keep things in the light, regularly moved, and cool, as much as possible.

The moths we get here seem to like moist textiles best of all, so unscoured fleece could be attractive when warm .  I make sure I dry my work jumpers off before storage - I always seem to have a wet patch where I've leaned up the sink / washbasin, washing my hands when I come in!  Before I twigged this, I was always getting holes on the lower fronts of my woolly jumpers. 

The following has been recently posted on Ravelry:

Having just spent a wonderful few days in The Netherlands including a trip to a textile conservation atelier, I have the definitive answer! Moths love dust, and the best way to be shot of them in a garment, fibre or textile of any kind is to put them in a freezer at -20C and leave them for 14 days. 14 days at that temperature will kill all moths, pupa and eggs of both the house moths and the carpet beetle.

You'd think a textile conservation expert would know their stuff? 

[Fleecewife]

Dans doesn't live on a farm   

[Dans]

Dans doesn't live on a farm   

  there needs to be more tears for that smiley!

Sadly I do not yet, hopefully soon though. PhD oh so very nearly finish and we have our eye on somewhere should know more next week 

Dans