How to get rid of moths in the house?

How to get rid of moths in the house? This question often worries people who first encountered this gluttonous insect. Butterflies do not do much harm, but their larvae are characterized by an enviable appetite and cause significant damage to humans.

How to detect moth and its larvae?

How to find a moth and its larvae in an apartment? To do this, it is necessary to review all the bulk products available in the house, shake things folded on the shelves of cabinets. Depending on the type of moth, it must be sought on the kitchen or in a wardrobe. Food moth does not fly into the room. Her food is in the kitchen cabinets. Wardrobe or bedroom, on the contrary, does not favor the kitchen, as it feeds exclusively on fabrics. If you find fluttering gray butterflies in the kitchen, then most likely you have got food moth. In this case, its larvae can be found in food reserves by the following signs:

• web in banks and bags;
• lumps of grains or flour sticking together, upon destruction of which a white larva with a dark head can be found in them;
• empty skins left over from molted tracks;
• cocoons with dolls suspended on the inner surfaces of cabinets and the ceiling;
• spoiled, eaten cereal grains;
• moves in sweets and other sweets filled with caterpillars waste products.

A clothes moth betrays itself with the following symptoms:

• clothes have holes eaten through;
• pile of fur coats and fur collars as if trimmed at the base;
• on the surface of damaged clothing, upholstery or carpets there are pads, inside which a caterpillar is hiding;
• pupae on the inner walls of the linen closets.

Interesting fact! In nature, the larvae of food moths feed on cereals, and those of the body moths eat animal hairs and bird feathers.

Ways to get rid of moths

How to get rid of moths in an apartment? The method of control is selected depending on the type of insect. For example, larvae of food moths cannot be hatched using chemicals, since then the products will deteriorate. A clothes moth, on the contrary, is afraid of chemicals, however, preventive measures against it are often powerless, since it is impossible to hide all the clothes in glass jars, and its larvae can easily gnaw through plastic bags.

Chemical methods

Of the chemicals, insecticides in the form of aerosols are most often used. They process places where butterflies fly. At the same time, all products are pre-cleaned in the kitchen, kitchen utensils and utensils are removed. In the fight against clothes moths, such security measures are not necessary. Moreover, they try to carefully spray clothes where traces of the caterpillar feast are visible.

Against butterflies, you can also use an electrofumigator - a device with a heating element, on which a plate impregnated with an insecticide is placed. Its action is similar to aerosols, but the exposure period is much longer.

From solid chemicals, naphthalene balls and moth tablets are used. They do not destroy insects, but only frighten away butterflies with their pungent smell. Against larvae, they are absolutely useless, so they are more likely to belong to preventive control measures.

Folk remedies

Folk ways to get rid of moths include the use of odorous substances and herbs whose smell does not like moths. They also do not destroy any butterflies or their larvae, but only scare them away. So the grass helps from the moth just like naphthalene, insignificantly. The following plants are used to scare butterflies:

• sagebrush
• tansy
• lavender
• geranium
• dill
• rosemary.

They are laid out on shelves, put in bags with clothes, put in a vase next to food products.

To scare away butterflies in the same way are used:

• peel of citrus;
• laundry soap;
• ammonia;
• vinegar;
• essential oils.

Peel and pieces of soap are laid out on shelves, and ammonia, vinegar and essential oils are wiped on the inner surface of the cabinets.

Physical impact

Perhaps the most effective way to get rid of moth larvae is to expose them to heat or cold. Caterpillars are covered with a thin, almost transparent skin, therefore they are vulnerable to all types of physical impact, including temperature.

Heat over 40 ⁰C instantly kills both butterflies and their larvae. It is also particularly noteworthy that even insect eggs are destroyed, and this prevents the secondary appearance of moths in the apartment. Food can be fried in the oven and then sieved to get rid of dead larvae. Clothes and shoes are treated with hot steam or washed in a washing machine at high temperature.

Cold is also able to get rid of moths. Butterflies and larvae die at -2 ⁰C. Eggs laid are destroyed at -10 ⁰C. In order to “freeze” pests, bags of things are taken out in the winter in the cold, and bags of food are put in the freezer.

As a physical effect, solar color is also used. Larvae do not like ultraviolet radiation, since their transparent skins are not able to protect against its harmful effects. A day in the sun will kill all the caterpillars, and the butterflies will not be good for it.

In stores, you may find a moth trap. The principle of its action is as follows. The bait is applied to the adhesive surface. The attracted butterfly sits on it and sticks. Thus, the insect population is reduced.

Advice! In order to quickly and effectively get rid of moths, the simultaneous application of the whole complex of measures against butterflies and larvae is necessary.

Prevention

A reliable barrier to moles will be compliance with the following preventive measures:

• all groceries should be kept in glass jars, tightly closed with lids;
• do not create large stocks of provisions in the house, it is best to buy food at once;
• in cabinets there should always be repelling substances - bags with aromatic herbs, naphthalene balls, sachets and tablets;
• Do not buy products with obviously low prices;
• all cereals, flour and pasta should be inspected for larvae;
• the ventilation openings and windows of the house should be tightened with a fine mesh, in order to prevent moth butterflies.

How to get rid of moths, see in this video: