Preventing Moth Infestations

Have you ever had a moth infestation before? One minute there is nothing there, and the next it seems like your carpets, rugs, and even clothes are crawling with them. While there is very little that you can do when there is already an infestation of these nasty critters, preventing them is something else. Preventing moth infestations is mostly a simple matter of preparing yourself, and your home, for any possible incursion of these bugs. Here are a few simple steps that you can do to become better prepared at preventing moth infestations of your carpet, home, and clothes.

• Education. One of the very first things that you should do in order to prevent a moth infestation is to educate yourself as to what one actually looks like. By becoming familiar with the appearance of moth larvae, and the signs that you may have larvae, you will be able to take action early enough to prevent these insects from getting a foothold in your home. Signs that you may have moth larvae in your home include unexplained holes in your carpeting and clothes, as well as silky webs that appear in darker areas such as closets. Moth larvae themselves actually look like a large wriggly grains of rice, kind of like inch worms.
• Cleanliness. Cleaning plays a large role in not only getting rid of an early moth infestation, but in also preventing a moth infestation from even happening in the first place. When you first see an indication of a potential infestation, clean the area with warm soapy water when and where you can. For any carpet infestations, about the only thing that you can really do is to vacuum your carpet on a regular monthly basis. After each vacuuming dispose of the used bags right away.
• Properly store materials. If you are going to be storing cloth materials, be sure that you protect them by storing them right. This means that you should thoroughly clean any cloth before you store it away to ensure they are free of any eggs or larvae. When storing the cloth items, be sure that you also store a few cedar chips as well since the smell of cedar is naturally repellant to moths. If you aren't storing cloth items in long term storage, then spread a few cedar chips around your closets, and in the darker areas of your home, to help prevent any infestations from occurring.