Fighting moths by clapping your hands is an exciting experience, but not always effective enough. And even if you manage to slam a butterfly flying out of the closet, this does not mean that your favorite fur coat or coat hanging in the closet will survive until the next winter.
Depending on the diet chosen by the moth, fur moth, carpet moth, and furniture moth may live in the house. In the kitchen, larvae are populated, which feed on cereals, legumes, flour, dried fruits. There are types of moths that can digest synthetic materials. There is even a wax moth that feeds on honeycombs in the hives.
Fur moth, or rather its gluttonous larvae, is most dangerous for things from natural woolen fabrics . Usually they feed on woolen or fur things, but in the "hungry" time they do not disdain feathers, velvet, a cloth, silk and even skin. That is, they eat everything that has a natural taste.
Moreover, the fur moth is very tenacious and prolific. Larvae withstand zero temperature and can go without food for up to a month. They are not stopped by plastic bags in which things are wrapped. And the ability to reproduce year-round will require that the fight against moths be conducted continuously until its complete disappearance.
To know how to destroy the moth that lives in the closet, you need to understand what comfortable conditions she prefers and what causes her inconvenience:
- Like any other living creature, the moth does not like heat. Before you send things to the closet, you need to iron them with a hot iron. An expensive fur coat or coat should be taken to dry cleaning, where they will be treated with hot steam.
- This insect does not like the cold. An old folk remedy for fighting moths is to take all the things out for an hour in the cold, and at this time thoroughly wash the cabinet or chest.
- Moth loves peace. If you thoroughly shake the thing, then the larvae and eggs are likely to fall out of it and sprawl. Therefore, sorting out things in the closet, you should be careful and put in a separate sealed container “infected” or damaged clothes.
- The larvae and eggs of this insect do not withstand the effects of dichlorvos. But the fight against moths should not affect the health of other domestic inhabitants, so you should not abuse chemistry.
- Moth begins to populate where dirt and dust. Before putting things in a closet, wash and ventilate in the open air. Carpets must be periodically vacuumed and thoroughly knocked out on the street. Upholstered furniture should also be kept clean, vacuumed and washed with all possible means.
- Moth does not tolerate sunlight and ultraviolet radiation. The things turned inside out can be hung out in the yard in the open sun.
Another type of domestic moth is a kitchen moth, a favorite habitat of which is food lockers. The butterfly of the kitchen moth itself does not harm, its larvae bear the main damage.
If moths are noticed in the kitchen, you should examine all food packages for caterpillars. Affected products can be safely thrown away, as they are spoiled. Flour, cereals, dried fruits, legumes should be heated in the oven. At a temperature of 60-70 degrees, the larvae and eggs of the moth die. Cabinets should be thoroughly washed, wiped with vinegar and aired for some time. Here is the whole simple and short, but quite effective fight against moths in the kitchen.
One of the varieties of this insect is a wax moth. Beekeepers can tell a lot of bad things about it, since the larvae of this pest can destroy the entire supply of honeycombs in the hive.
If a wax moth has appeared in the hive, the fight against it should be conducted as follows:
- When laying honeycombs for storage, they should be sprinkled with a strong saline solution, and then dried.
- If the honeycombs are stored in an uninhabited hive, then it should be well caulked and put inside a jar of vinegar, the fumes of which scare away the moth.
- A layer of immortelle inflorescences will well protect the honeycomb from the pest.
- Moth does not like drafts. Therefore, the honeycomb can be hung in a well-ventilated place.
- Wax moth starts in the combs where the brood was. If the honeycombs are soaked for 24 hours, and then dried using a honey extractor and a draft, then the pest will not start in them.
- The fight against moths can be carried out with the help of the good old formalin or ectobacterin, which is harmless to humans and domestic inhabitants.