# Moth Season is here!!!!!



## IowaLez (Mar 6, 2006)

:grump:

People, check your fibers NOW! Moths are here and they want your wool, mohair, and silk. 

Know this: lavender and herbs do NOT PREVENT moths. They are only a DETERRENT, and I wouldn't trust them at all to keep my fibers safe. Maybe in my basket beside my chair of stuff I'm currently working with, but not my stored goods. 

How do you kill the moths? There are a few ways. 

Freezing does not kill the eggs of wool moths at all. Only the live moths and larvae. The eggs can hatch later and re-infest your fiber when you least expect it. 

The moth balls KILL the MOTHS, EGGS, and LARVAE. ALL of the boogers. You have to keep the container or closet sealed airtight for 7 days with plenty of moth balls in the space, scattered about through all the layers of boxes and bags and stacks of goods. That's what the box of moth balls says. 

You can bake the fibers in the oven on low and kill the boogers. You can microwave the wool just enough to kill them, too. Don't overdo it with a powerful oven, tho, like the one we used to have. 

You can also put the fiber into plastic bags and bake them for 3 days in a hot car, or out in hot sunshine. 

You can kill them by washing the wool in very hot water with detergent.

The other day I found 2 moths in a loose bag of processed wool. Yesterday I found a few more were getting into some boxes of wool in the hallway. Nothing horrible, I found them just in time. I had checked the bags 4 days before and not found any moths at all.

I freaked. I had Honey go buy lots of moth balls. I had had some in the wool closet, but they evaporated and were gone. I put the bags inside a thick contractor clean up bag with moth balls and I shake it now and then to mix up the air inside it. It's tied shut and air tight. The large shipping boxes of wool I stacked inside my dedicated wool closet. The closet is pretty darn full. I think I have about 50 pounds of wool in it. I put lots of balls in it and taped the cracks around the door sealed shut with duct tape. I am determined to kill these moths and their nasty spawn!

I also checked my cedar chest and topped off the moth balls in it, and crammed more yarn into it. Don't trust old cedar wood to repel. You have to re-oil the wood with fresh cedar oil every few years, and the oil is very expensive.

I have bags of yarns and washed fleeces in a storage room that was unheated all winter, so they were safe until now. Now I have to put moth balls in them and seal them inside more bags.

I have way too much money and effort and time invested in my extensive wool collection to lose it to moths thru carelessness. I urge YOU to go check YOUR fiber stashes and make sure they are safe!!!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Freezing works if you freeze then put them out for a few weeks and freeze again. Like two weeks off then freeze again and repeat if neessary.

Personally I hate mothballs, they are toxic and I won't have them. I have used lavender oil, patchuli, penny royal oil (essential oil) for years and never had a problem. I also live much further north than most of you. JMHO!


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## Caren (Aug 4, 2005)

Boogers? ROTFLMAO!


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## jersey girl (Nov 21, 2005)

Ok, never even thought of moths in my yarn and such. Oh the things to learn as a newbie. I am already thinking stash (the quilter in me) but I think I better work on storage and moth repellents also. Thanks for the heads up


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I've not seen evidence of this catastrophe brewing in my stash.
I've only seen one incidence here, and that was an Irish wool sweater of Wendy's that had a spot appear in the shoulder. 
I do wonder when...not if, it will hit.
I have grain moths occasionally and foolishly making their presence known during the winter, due to the seed and produce processing and dehydrating going on in here.
Every one of those gets run down and smushed by yours truly. 

I've seen Cyndi's stash, and it looks as vulnerable as any.
Perhaps she might share her thoughts/methods with us ?


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Here, I lined a walk in closet with cedar sheets, comes real thin like chipped plywood. Lined the shelves and all. Still keep the roving in plastic and spray occasionally Cedar oil around the entrance to the closet door. The rest (anything edible) in plastic totes. The entire upstairs(2 rooms) is closed to the rest of the house, that's where all the fiber equipment is kept.Lavender is also up there, so far it's been safe.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

7thswan I should have added Cedar oil to my list, it also works very well.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Yoikes! You saved me from thinking freezing would kill eggs. I was doing this for newly acquired vintage coats, now I see the error of my ways and why I keep finding moth holes.

I was moved to go to my first source in pest management, UCDavis. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7435.html

Here's some of what they had to say about moth balls:
If placed in contact with plastic buttons, hangers, or garment bags, they may cause the plastic to soften and melt into the fabric. As these chemicals evaporate, they produce vapors that, in sufficient concentration, will slowly kill insects. The vapors build up to the required concentration only in an airtight container. If the container is not airtight, the chemicals only weakly repel adults and any larvae already on clothes continue to feed.

Doesn't sound very effective, I think your heating process and then sealing in airtight containers is the best solution. (My guilt is a heavy burden, but I don't know how I survived before zip-lock bags) I've used the traps & never found a moth, just more holes. A friend sez never wear silk or wool to the theater. The battle is on!


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