Killing a moth will not help save things

The owner bought beautiful woolen things, but after a while holes formed on them. Beautiful, expensive carpets can have the same fate. What is causing the trouble?

Why killing a moth is not enough

Moths that feed on wool are the main cause of damage to good things. It includes a number of small, lepidopteran insects. This is a Lepidoptera, a nocturnal butterfly. They inhabit homes and damage furniture upholstery and fabrics.

How to kill a moth? Insects fly into artificial light. It could be a light bulb, a flashlight, a street lamp, a table lamp. You can kill the butterfly as soon as it gets close. But this won't solve the problem.

Fabrics, even cereals and food are eaten not by an adult pest, but by caterpillars that grow. Therefore, getting rid of the butterfly is not enough. It is necessary to find a place, clothing, fabric where the butterfly laid its eggs.

Danger of moth larvae

Flying moths are usually male. Females run from place to place and lay eggs in damp places. Laying takes from 14 to 21 days.The ripening time depends on the temperature. At +13⁰Ripening occurs within 37 days, and at +33⁰C within a week.

Caterpillars can molt from 5 to 45 times during the entire period. The insect stays in this form from 35 days to 2.5 years. The caterpillar prepares a cocoon for itself in which it will pupate. During hot weather, the pupa develops within a week, and in cool weather, development will take from 21 to 28 days.

Moth larvae are classified as pests. They feed on:

• toothbrush bristles;
• carpet pile;
• woolen fabrics;
• silk;
• furniture upholstery;
• drag in the piano body;
• feathers;
• animal fur;
• scales of dead insects.

The larvae must feed for 2 months. They are in dark places. They don't like light. Finding and killing them is difficult.

Is it as easy to get rid of larvae as they say?

To completely rid a room of larvae, constant efforts are required. There are ways to help fight pests:

1. Constant cleaning (This method helps if you vacuum frequently).
2. Wash and dry (also helps get rid of pests).
3. Dry cleaning.
4. Cleaning in the sun with a brush, followed by drying (the item is taken outside, where it is cleaned at the seams. Then left in the sun).
5. Ventilation in the cold (low temperatures kill all insects).
6. Storing things in plastic or plastic bags.
7. Cedar (cedar essential oils kill pests very quickly).
8. Naphthalene (an old, proven remedy. Tablets are placed in closets where clothes are stored).
9. Lavender (rather, it is a repeller. Moths do not like the smell of lavender, so they do not linger and do not lay eggs).

It is easier to carry out prevention than to fight emerging larvae.But if they already exist, then it is necessary to vacuum the contaminated fabrics, things, objects. They are then placed in plastic bags. You need to make sure that there is no air left inside. They are placed in the freezer for several days. After this, the items are washed and dried well. Special cleaning products have been produced for carpets. When cleaning the carpet, you must follow the instructions. They are also knocked out of dust on the street, cleaned with powder, and dried in the sun.