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:: April 17, 2006 Protect Your Stash From Moth Babies!
Clothes moth larvae feed on wool, feathers, fur, hair, leather, lint, dust, paper, and occasionally cotton, linen, silk, and synthetic fibers. They are especially damaging to fabric stained with beverages, urine, oil from hair, and sweat. [ed. note: eeewww.] Most damage is done to articles left undisturbed for a long time, such as old military uniforms and blankets, wool upholstery, feathered hats, antique dolls and toys, natural bristle brushes, weavings, wall hangings, piano felts, old furs, and especially wool carpets under heavy furniture and clothing in storage. Damaged fabrics have holes eaten through them by small, white larvae and often have silken cases, lines of silken threads, and fecal pellets over the surface of the materials. [ed note: double eeewww.] Moths are destructive during the larvae stage. Adult "millers" or moths are entirely harmless. Prevention? Good housekeeping is critical for preventing or controlling clothes moth damage. Never allow clothing, rugs, etc. to lie in a neglected pile. [ed. note: no problem there.] Regular use of a strong suction vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool to remove lint, hair, and dust from floor cracks, baseboards, air ducts, carpets, and upholstered furniture is necessary. Keep closets and dresser drawers clean. Regularly clean rugs where they fit close to the baseboards and under the quarter round. Inspect stored foods and eliminate bird nests and dead rodents. [ed. note: awww, do I have to?] Launder and dry clean or steam clean clothes and other items before storage. Egg-laying clothes moths are attracted to soiled articles. Ironing will also destroy all stages of clothes moths. Sun, brush, and expose clothing to the weather. Outdoors, bright, hot sunlight, and wind will reduce larvae and damage. Frequent use of woolens and other animal fiber clothing almost assures no damage from clothes moth larvae. ... So there you go. I have lost some wool yarn that I had stored for about 10 years to moths (or something else with shredding powers), but fortunately it didn't involve all the nasty evidence mentioned above. It seems that as long as you keep your craft area free of dead animal carcasses and move your piles around once in a while, the risks are pretty low. Thanks, Rose, for inspiring this research! p.s. more than once in this post while trying to type "quote" html tags I typed "quilt" instead, which I think is nice. An ex-co-worker in the politics department who also loved country music said he always typed "country" instead of "county." Do you have any habitual typing errors that reveal your true loves? posted by in Fabric , Miscellany
Comments And, if you don't wash your fabric, I can't imagine the sizing being a very tasty meal for the larvae. ;-) Posted by Anita on April 17, 2006 7:52 PM Oh, I am always typing yearn for yarn. Posted by larissa on April 18, 2006 8:39 AM Thanks for this info! Posted by stevie on April 18, 2006 9:03 AM very useful, thank you! And I always type "faulty" instead of "faculty". Talk about a Freudian slip! :o Posted by amanda on April 18, 2006 9:06 AM I sometimes do that while writing my name. I almost write satan(eek)It goes something like: s-a-t-a...oops. I'm not sure I'd want to call it a secret love. :P Posted by Sarah on April 18, 2006 12:01 PM I always type "quilt" when I mean "quit". Thanks for researching the moth info...something I hadn't thought of before! Posted by Sarah B. on April 18, 2006 12:10 PM Hi! I love your postings. And yes, my grandmother was queen of quilts and she has taught me how to keep fabrics from moth savages. We have small bags of peppercorn in muslin to keep these nasty insects away. It's kinda like a natural repellent. Thanks. Posted by Melanie on April 20, 2006 11:01 AM stash management is so important! I came home recently and foudn our pet rabbit (who is litter box trained and has the run of the house) had peed on a pile of fabric awaiting washing/storage. One of those neglected piles. ewwww...fortulately one of those enzymatic/diaper sprays and a trip thru the wash seemed to do the trick. I now do not keep piles of fabric on the floor and make sure her litter box is changed more often! Posted by mim on April 22, 2006 9:12 AM I put soap together with my fabrics, which I fold and put them into huge plastic bags...those they use to recycle plastics. By this way I think I can prevent both moths and dust. But I am not really sure if it works this way. Posted by Lucia on April 26, 2006 5:15 AM This is my first comment, but I have yarn in my freezer and I feel compelled to explain why. If you think your fiber has been exposed to moths, freezing kills the eggs. Then you can put it in airtight container to store. (Not ideal, but better than moth damage.) We have all sorts of wool stuff hanging around our house, and we're going through it one piece at time trying to get rid of moths. Posted by cherylc on April 26, 2006 6:23 PM I circulate everything through a deep freeze, and I put yarn in black plastic bags in the sun on hot days, as I have heard this helps. Posted by shannon on April 27, 2006 12:15 AM Today I go down my store room to take some fabric. Guess what, it smells funny there. I think I probably put too much Chinese pepper and Norwegian soap with my fabric. Posted by lucia on May 4, 2006 11:17 AM Oh yes, I am always mis-typing by writing a knitting-related word instead of the word I really meant. It happens much too regularly... Posted by Emily on May 9, 2006 5:23 PM |
In my last post I worried about the possibility of my fabric getting eaten by moths.