LINDA KELSEY says it’s the only way to beat the worst moth invasion for years
unless it’s dry- cleaned before being installed, is a prime source of infestation. And so unfortunately, my visitor came with extra, unwanted guests.
I’ve followed some pieces of advice, but ignored others.
Storing knitwear in garment bags, I’ll admit, does make sense, but for me, the joy of the dressing room, with its open shelves, has been being able to see an item of clothing instantly and access it right away.
Keeping clothes in zip-locked bags may help prevent infestations, but it’s an inconvenience you’re unlikely to keep up for long.
After all, what woman has the time to unzip the contents of several bags each morning before deciding on what to wear?
Cedar wood hangers are also recommended as it’s said the sap acts as a natural moth repellent, but I’m wedded to the fabric ones I’ve collected over the years.
One effective thing I have done over the years is to invest in a plethora of anti-moth products, costing hundreds of pounds.
I’ve sprayed, shut the door and run, leaving the insecticide to do its work. I’ve tucked moth-killer papers between sweaters, draped Rentokil strips around doors and rails, installed a moth monitoring trap, which releases female pheromones to attract male moths, and hung lavender sachets between dresses, suits and coats. My tactics have worked to a degree, but just when I’d begin to feel things were back under control I’d find a moth or two stuck on my monitoring trap and realise I was back to square one.
AfORtnIght ago, when the monitors in all three rooms in which I’d hung them had amassed at least 20 moths apiece, I rang tino, the take-noprisoners pest controller.
Over 20 years, he has ridden my home of garden rats, kitchen mice and wasps’ nests. he told me that washing and/or freezing were the only answers, after which he’d come and spray the rooms and the carpets.
But it would only work, he said, if I did exactly as instructed.
So that’s when I went into full battle mode and logged on to the internet in search of a chest freezer I could hire. I settled on a 10 cubicfoot model which cost £120 a month and, most importantly, could be delivered the next day.
the only place I could fit it was a slightly raised area at the end of my dining room.
Perched on its plinth-like base, it looks like a place to store the entire contents of an abattoir rather than designer clothes.
HOW TO KILL THE BLIGHTERS THAT MUNCH YOUR FOOD ... STORE-CUPBOARD moths are different from clothes moths and are known as pantry or Indian mealmoths. They’re attracted to grains, dried herbs and sweets.
I found larvae in my tea bags, flour and even unopened packets of dried fruit, but only after being alerted by a few adult moths flying out when I opened the cupboard.
My shelves are adjustable and I found more worm-like larvae in the little exposed holes in which you place the wooden pegs to move the shelves up and down.
I dug in to the holes, which acted as a cosy breeding ground, with the end of a matchstick and found the larvae attaching themselves and wriggling out.
Everything except unopened tins went straight in the bin. I vacuumed into corners and scrubbed out the cupboards with an antibacterial detergent.
Wiping everything down with white wine vinegar would also sanitise it. I washed plastic storage containers in the washing machine.
In five years, the food moths haven’t returned. Victory!
nevertheless, I have bin-bagged every piece of fabric I own — from clothing to bed linen — and frozen them in batches for four days at a time.
tino left clear instructions that nothing was to be returned to the infested areas until his return today, when his dark arts will come into their own.
It will come as an enormous relief to be able to rehouse the items currently not languishing in the freezer, which have been clogging up my dining table and car boot for the past few weeks!
But there is one good thing that has emerged from my battle with my unwelcome intruders. the exercise of bagging up all my clothes has taught me just how many I have — and more importantly, how many I never wear.
And although I couldn’t face a clothes cull at the time, I’ve promised myself a massive clearout — and more than a few charity shop runs — before I put things back in my dressing room.
the final Push has begun. My plan, like my discarded sweaters, dresses and jackets, might be full of holes, but I’m hopeful.
the alternative is too awful to contemplate. for if the moths don’t move out, I may have to . . .