As you know, it’s that time of year again to bring out your winter clothes and pack away your summer clothes. Of course, one of the most dreaded things to see in your closet this time of year are small flying bugs. You know for sure that you have moths. Before wave your hands in the air and scream, know that these can be taken care of pretty easily.
One of the best things to start off with is really simple: vacuuming and cleaning. Maintenance is perhaps the best deterrent in having any sort of bugs in you closet whether they are beatles, moths or your neighbors kids 🙂
Generally, I like to vacuum my clothes and brushing them is helpful as well since both of these methods remove not only existing bugs but also that unhatched eggs and larvae. Keep in mind, all unwanted visitors prefer dark spaces such as corners, baseboards, under carpets and furniture. Wherever they can hide in the darkness, that’s the place to look and clean out. Another part of maintenance is to make sure the clothes placed in the closet are clean. Soiled fabrics ie sweat stains or food stains attract these unwanted visitors. If you do a regular cleaning of stored clothing perhaps at the end of season, this is the best time to make a clean sweep. Dry-cleaning is a great way for some of your more delicate fabrics and something to consider as well, is simply ironing them. If you suspect that you have an infestation, extreme temperatures are the best way of dealing with them either with dry-cleaning, ironing or on the other end of the spectrum, freezing your clothes.
Now that we have your closet clean, or at least hopefully and your clothes are clean that you’re putting back in, now we have to deal with the fact of repelling the little pests.
There are a number of ways that you can deal with repelling insects.
First of all, consider placing your clothes in sealed, air-tight containers with no holes. If there is no access for the small pests, your clothes are safe. If you see cracks in your walls or elsewhere, consider sealing them with acoustic sealant.
Another consideration is various types of chemical repellents. For the longest time, people have used moth balls and other such chemicals. First of all, these are highly carcinogenic and most people are highly allergic to them and for myself, I found the scent repellent. Cedar planks, balls or sachets all seem to work quite well. I’ve also heard that various other essential oils work great as well such as lavender (my favourite), rosemary, eucalyptus, mint, thyme, ginseng, peppercorns, lemon, and cloves. Consider putting sachets of these into clothing but be careful since most essential oils will stain, after all these are oils.
Enjoy your clothes and with those simple preventative activities, you should be bug-free. If you’re still having issues, sometimes you might even have to go to the extreme of using an insecticide or call your local professional. Hopefully nothing extreme is needed.
When you’re ready to have your closet renovated, don’t call a kitchen manufacturer, call the people with over 30 years of experience, Space Age Closets and Custom Cabinetry.~
