If a moth appears in the house, you need to urgently take measures to destroy it. It can ruin not only warm clothes made of fur and wool, but also leather clothes and shoes, carpets and upholstered furniture. One of the effective means of combating indoor moths is mothballs. They have a repellent effect.
Mothballs.
How dangerous are moths?
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There are many varieties of moths, the most common is clothes moth, it spoils woolen items. In addition to clothes moths, furniture moths, fur moths, carpet moths, and even food moths can appear in the house.
In a year, an insect can produce up to four generations of its own kind. An insect has four stages of life: egg, caterpillar, pupa and flying butterfly.
Only moth caterpillars cause damage to things; they have phenomenal gluttony. A flying moth (butterfly) does not cause such harm, but it lays eggs, from which pest caterpillars are formed.
Caterpillars are primarily attracted to stale clothing. By eating things, they begin to stain dirty spots and completely eat away any dirt along with the fabric. It is almost impossible to save a damaged item from moths; the fibers turn into dust.
Caterpillars can feed on any natural tissue. If the synthetic material contains even a small proportion of natural fiber, then the tracks can damage it too.
Moths, as a rule, do not grow in clothes that are constantly worn, dried in the sun and ventilated in the fresh air. Those things that suffer from moths are those that are put away for long-term storage during the warm season.
How to recognize a pest
A small moth with inconspicuous gray or gray-yellow wings - this is what a pest insect that lives in the house and spoils clothes or furniture looks like. Products made from natural wool or fur, furniture upholstered from natural materials, and shoes with fur are subject to attack.
But the main danger is not the butterfly itself, but the small, voracious caterpillars that can exist completely unnoticed next to a person. Her persistence may well deprive her of a new angora blouse in less than a month.
The moth and its larvae feel most comfortable in warmth and humidity, although caterpillars can easily adapt to changes in temperature or the absence of food for a long time. However, moths are almost impossible to find in well-ventilated areas, or in closets where clothes are often taken out.
It must be said that moth caterpillars do not feed on fabric and wool. Their food is particles of skin and keratin, so the larvae can get into the house even on new things from the store or pet fur.
To find a pest, it is not enough to notice a fluttering moth. The larvae hide in closets and chests of drawers, in crevices and cracks in furniture upholstery, and in the seams of outerwear. In their quest to get to food, caterpillars gnaw through plastic and canvas bags, so it is impossible to protect clothes from moths this way. But there are old proven ways to fight the pest. And one of them is naphthalene.
Remedies for moths
To protect wool and silk products from moths and to destroy them, there are anti-moth preparations. According to the nature of the action, they are divided into fumigation and contact action.
Fumigation preparations
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Fumigation preparations are used to treat places where clothes are stored in a confined space (wardrobes, suitcases, closets). By evaporating, they create a concentration of pesticide that kills the insect and its larvae.
Such preparations are made on the basis of aromatic and organophosphorus compounds. Available in the form of powder, tablets, aromatic plates.
Naphthalene
Items that will be stored for a long time can be protected from moths using mothballs.
The tableted naphthalene must be freed from the film and placed in a wardrobe, a drawer with clothes or in a suitcase. It is recommended to wrap each tablet in gauze.
For a wardrobe you will need from 3 to 5 tablets; for a suitcase or drawer, 1-2 tablets are enough. It is also recommended to place the tablets in the pockets of clothing before storing it for long-term storage.
Naphthalene does not kill moths, it only scares away the flying butterfly and prevents it from laying eggs. Keep your closet and suitcase closed while the product is in effect.
Antimol
The fumigation drug Antimol in tablets is effective against moths, their eggs and caterpillars. Each tablet should be wrapped in gauze and placed in different places in the cabinet.
You will need 3 to 4 tablets of the product per cabinet. After 2 months, the tablets should be replaced with new ones. The effectiveness of the drug against moths will only be if things are stored in a closed closet, drawer, or suitcase.
Moth plates
Modern anti-moth plates are unique. They have different sizes, shapes, and can be used suspended.
Almost all moth plates have an insecticidal effect. That is, they can destroy moth larvae, pupae and adults.
Plates are one of the effective means of combating voracious insects. The validity period of the product varies and depends on the manufacturer of the product.
All types of insecticide-based preparations are toxic to one degree or another. When using, you must follow the instructions for using the product.
Moth traps
There are traps for killing food moths and there are traps for clothes moths. Traps may have an adhesive backing. Most often they are used to combat food moths.
The trap is attached to the kitchen cabinet door. Winged individuals flock to an adhesive substance impregnated with special pheromones. After gluing they die.
Traps can also be a special structure into which the insect gets trapped and cannot get out. Such traps are suitable for fighting clothes moths; they should be placed in closets and pantries.
The disadvantage of any traps is that they only destroy flying individuals. Moth larvae, which pose the main danger, cannot get into the traps. Traps reduce the population, but cannot completely get rid of moths.
Contact preparations for moths
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These moth repellents are used to treat carpets, upholstered furniture, paths, and clothes stored open. The preparations ensure the death of caterpillars and moths caught on the treated surface.
Plant extracts, synthetic pyretoids and organophosphorus compounds are used as anti-moth contact action drugs. Available in the form of solutions and aerosols.
To protect against moths, it is recommended to treat carpet products and furniture upholstery with contact-acting preparations. Most often these are professional products; they destroy moths, their caterpillars and eggs.
Among these contact agents are popular: Molly, Molly-spray. Preparation is required when using these products. You should read the instructions for use. Precautions must be taken.
Aerosols
Moth spray can also be considered one of the most effective means of destroying an entire moth colony. They can be used regardless of the time of year.
These moth repellents also contain insecticides, but aerosols have low toxicity. When sprayed, the smell disappears, but the composition is firmly attached to the fabric and protects against the reappearance of insects.
Aerosols are suitable for treating not only clothing, carpets and furniture upholstery. This product can be used to treat cabinets, mezzanines, closets, suitcases and clothing boxes.
The most popular aerosols are: Raptor, Dr. Klaus, Armol, Clean House.
After using the product, the room must be ventilated.
Precautionary measures
It's not just moths that mothballs can be dangerous for. The substances they contain include carcinogens, which in high concentrations cause allergies, suffocation and even cancer. Therefore, it cannot be used on clothes that are frequently used. Naphthalene is also poisonous, so care must be taken that it does not fall into the hands of children or be eaten by pets.
And under no circumstances should mothballs be used outdoors, because naphthalene particles, once in the air, quickly scatter and cause harm. Therefore, the product is best used in closed non-residential premises or sealed boxes.
Folk remedies for moths
People also have enough anti-moth remedies. Most of them have a repellent effect and do not contain any toxic substances. All folk remedies are effective only against flying moths: they have no effect on eggs, larvae and pupae.
- The powder of dried and crushed plants of the pyrethrum family (Caucasian and Dalmatian chamomile flowers) helps against flying moths. The powder can be sprayed indoors using a rubber bulb. Per 1 m³, 3 to 4 grams of powder are required.
- For moths, you can use camphor, pieces of cedar wood, tobacco, shag, hop and walnut leaves, and tansy. Everything fresh and fragrant perfectly repels moths. You can sew canvas bags and fill them with aromatic raw materials - you will get a homemade sachet.
- To repel moths, natural plant bookmarks must be regularly updated. Odors evaporate quickly and do not have a long-lasting repellent effect.
Dried lavender, oregano, mint, cloves, and fresh citrus peels also help against moths. Moths do not like the smell of geraniums and fresh printing ink.
Using indoor flowers
Houseplants from moths
One of the effective ways to prevent the appearance of a pest is to use indoor flowers against moths, which will delight the owners not only with their blooming appearance, but also save the house from invasion.
Popular decorative flowers that repel moths:
- Geranium - this flower repels moths, feels great at home in a pot, preferring well-lit places in the house: window sills, etc. Plucked leaves, which emit a pungent odor when pressed, are recommended to be placed among clothes in the wardrobe, but after drying the aroma decreases, and they will have to be replaced with fresh ones. Stores also sell geranium oil, which is recommended to add to water and wipe the shelves and walls inside chests of drawers, cabinets and other furniture.
- Decorative lily is an indoor flower against moths, which many lovers grow on the windowsill in an apartment, emitting a pungent aroma that is intolerable to pests. No wonder, even in Ancient Greece, these flowers were considered a symbol of tenderness and purity.
- Plectranthus is an exotic shrub brought by flower growers from South America. In our climate, it grows only indoors, is unpretentious in care, and its green parts emit a smell similar to a mixture of lemon, mint, lemon balm and camphor, thanks to which it cleans the air well and repels flying creatures. pests.
- A small myrtle tree that emits a pleasant lemon scent that contains the aldehyde citral and citronellal repels moths. You can soak cotton balls with myrtle essential oil and place them between your clothes on the shelves.
Twigs of fragrant flowers must often be replaced with fresh ones or put away from other plants, because the moth gradually gets used to them.
food moth
In addition to regular moths that eat things, there are also food moths. It settles in cereals, dried fruits, that is, in food products.
A warm environment without ventilation is an excellent place for the development of food moths. This type of moth eats any food, but does not damage clothing, since it cannot digest fabric fibers.
Only a complete and thorough audit of food supplies in jars will help you get rid of food moths. If there is the slightest suspicion of food moths, you need to get rid of the food.
Wash the jars thoroughly with vinegar and dry in the sun. General cleaning should be done in cabinets, kitchen cupboards, and food storage containers.
You cannot use aerosols, plates and tablets against food moths. All drugs are low toxic. For preventive purposes, you can use sticky moth traps.
Disadvantages of sleeping on your side
- This can cause shoulder and hip pain if you have a very old mattress or if you have muscle or joint injuries.
- Wrinkles may appear and the result may be a swollen face upon waking. If a person presses their face into a pillow, fluid accumulates in the area, causing swelling and thus wrinkles in the skin, making it more susceptible to wrinkles.
- This can accelerate breast sagging as the ligaments stretch without support over time.
Prevention
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The most reliable remedies against moths and their voracious larvae are sunlight, fresh air and low temperatures. At temperatures below 5 °C the entire moth colony dies.
On warm and sunny days, you need to wash and dry your clothes. Only store thoroughly cleaned, sun-dried or ironed items.
- Before storing woolen items, you need to bake them in the sun for several hours and knock out the dust from them. When exposed to sunlight, moth eggs die.
- After the end of the wearing season, it is advisable to take large items to dry cleaning. It is better to store clean sweaters, cardigans, pullovers and knitwear in plastic bags.
- Fur products cannot be placed in polyethylene. Without air access, fur loses its quality. In any case, adding anti-moth tablets and tablets will help.
- If there is any hope of saving a moth-infested item, then it should either be hung out in the sun or sent to the freezer for a day.
One last piece of advice: don't keep extra clothes in the house that you think will be useful later. Nobody needs old things, but they become the refuge of an entire colony of insects.
Contact specialists
Specialized companies provide services for the destruction of moths in houses, apartments, retail, office and warehouse premises.
Treatment is carried out using the cold or hot fog method. Treatment of the room with cold fog.
It stays in the air for no more than 4 hours and is suitable for treating rooms where animals or plants are located.
Hot fog is a spray of a product with a temperature of about 60°C. Its hovering in the air lasts about 10 hours; this option is used to kill moths in greenhouses or non-residential premises.
Sources
- https://klop911.ru/mol/kak-izbavitsya-ot-moli/sredstvo-ot-moli-v-kvartire.html
- https://oxko.ru/luchshie-sredstva-ot-moli/
- https://dezplan.ru/vopros/mol-zhret-odezhdu-klali-lavandu-bryzgali-raptorom-ey-vse-po-figu-chto-delat
- https://markakachestva.ru/rating-of/4045-luchshie-sredstva-ot-moli.html
- https://lifeinsect.ru/sredstva-ot-moli-v-kvartire.html
- https://eco-obrabotka.ru/sredstva-ot-moli/
- https://parazitdoma.ru/mol/sredstva-ot-moli
- https://KlopVred.ru/mol/sredstvo-ot-moli/
Additional measures: enhancing the effect of the balls
Caring for things needs to be done frequently and carefully. Winter and woolen items should be looked through and kept clean and dry in paper or plastic bags sealed with tape.
You can bring food moth larvae or adult butterflies in grocery bags with cereals from the store. The consequences of their work can be seen when opening the package: a kind of cobweb with glued fragments will be visible on the cereal. The package must be urgently removed from the locker and removed from the apartment.
If an adult insect is found, treat the cabinet shelves on all sides, spraying anti-moth aerosol. Close the closet for an hour. Then do a wet cleaning and dry the removable shelves outside: in the cold in winter, in the bright sun in summer. Wet cleaning can be done using a small amount of vinegar. Then dry the shelves well. After processing, place the balls on the cabinet shelves.
Features of application
People often encounter the vital activity of various types of moths. What varieties of it can appear indoors? These are clothes, destroying woolen things, grain (food), which loves cereals, furniture poses a threat to wood, mushroom or fruit, fur coat.
In addition to the pests that visit our homes, there are also those that harm gardens and vegetable plots. Wax moths love to live in hives. Cabbage is an enemy of cruciferous plants. The potato moth is rightfully considered one of the most dangerous representatives of the species. It is the potato moth that can destroy a large amount of the crop of everyone’s favorite root vegetable. The body of the potato moth is colored greenish, pink, gray or yellow. Potato moth caterpillars happily eat not only potatoes, but also tomatoes, eggplants, and nightshade crops. Vegetables placed in winter storage suffer the most from potato moths. Rowan and apple moths are also known.
Popular methods should be used depending on what type of pest you have encountered. Such methods are aimed at repelling, rather than physically eliminating, the indoor parasite. Their disadvantage is their delayed duration of action. This must be taken into account without expecting instant results when using these methods. They are suitable for those who do not fear for their health and do not want to use “chemicals” in pest control.
Advantages and disadvantages
During the evaporation of the product used, the smell of lavender is released, as well as substances that have a detrimental effect on the reproduction of butterflies (butterflies lose the ability to lay eggs). Moth larvae and previously laid eggs are also destroyed. The period of action of the balls is up to six months; when completely evaporated, replace them with new ones. Positive qualities include convenient use.
A negative characteristic may be the evaporation and smell of lavender. The fumes from the drug are harmful to humans and can cause allergies. Individual intolerance to lavender may also be a contraindication for use. These contraindications include the smell of mothballs.
Important! Moth balls should be used strictly according to the instructions and work with gloves. After carrying out work, wash your hands with soap.
Verification method
You can look at the composition: what the active ingredient is, and check it in the pesticidy.ru directory for toxicity (or ask experts on the toxicological chemistry forum).
For example, about the same zeta-cypermethrin, some textbooks write that it is almost harmless when used correctly, while others write that it is very toxic to humans and warm-blooded animals (Zinchenko V.A. Chemical plant protection: means, technology and environmental safety. - M.: Kolos S, 2005. – 232 p.)
As for moth balls, they are definitely toxic, because... contain naphthalene (a carcinogen that leads to cancer) or harmful paradichlorobenzene.
