Folk remedies for moths in an apartment: essential oils, lavender, etc.

The hot days have come, and you are increasingly ventilating the apartment, opening the window open. But along with another gust of cool wind, an unwanted guest - a moth - can fly into you. And if it is not difficult to cope with one individual, catch it, and the end is the matter, then with a few who have laid eggs, you will have to tinker. You can eliminate moth in the apartment folk remedies.

What is a home moth, how do butterflies and larvae look

Among all types of moths, house wreckers usually turn out to be clothes (it is also indoor) and food. Both of these species feel comfortable next to a person. But in some ways they differ.

The main difference between clothes and food moths is their diet. The first eats wardrobe items, the second - all edible that they find in the kitchen. However, she gives preference to grains, cereals, even pasta and other groceries.

Scribble

An adult clothes moth is an insect that looks like a butterfly, but has a pale beige color. On closer inspection, you can also notice the “fluffy” body between the wings. The adult is about 5–8 mm long, and its wingspan is 9–16 mm. A clothes moth usually just flies into an apartment through an open window.

Food

Food moth has the same size, but a slightly different color. It can be from grayish-straw to the color of butter. Some individuals are even distinctly yellow. Moreover, her body is not "fluffy". Food moth practically does not fly - its wings are poorly developed. How does she get into the house? Usually moth eggs enter the apartment along with dried fruits or cereals.

The moth eggs of both species are light beige, almost white cylinders from 0.4 to 0.5 mm long. On the one hand, they are slightly more pointed than on the other.

Caterpillars (larvae) of both food and body moths are light “worms” with a noticeable thickening in the center of the body. A newly hatched caterpillar has a body length of 1 mm. But over time, she, eating, increases in size. The caterpillar, ready for transformation, is about 12 mm long.

Few people know, but in fact, damage to your things is caused not by an adult flying individual (usually this, incidentally, is a male), but by caterpillars. Therefore, in the fight against the pest, it is not enough to eliminate those insects that fly through the rooms - you need to destroy the eggs and hatching larvae.

How to recognize the presence of moths in the house

A clothes moth betrays itself by the appearance of small through holes in textiles. She tastes good - she prefers natural fabrics like wool, cashmere, silk. The signs of the appearance of food moths are even less pleasant - you will find tiny moth eggs or even hatched larvae in flour, grains, cereals and other products that are not stored in the refrigerator.

Secondary signs of the appearance of moths in the apartment are various cobwebs, white short pile, lumps of unknown origin. They remain after turning the pupa into a mole. But still, the main sign that we will focus on is moth eggs.

Adult moth does not lay eggs anywhere; it creates specific nests. Their walls usually consist, like in birds, of any “improvised materials”: ​​villi, scales, dust, even the feces of the insects themselves. It is not difficult to identify the nest - it is a light “clot”, as if molded from soft oatmeal. In size, it usually does not exceed 2-3 cm in diameter.

Where do you need to look for such nests? Wardrobe moth usually creates a masonry in the folds of some outfit made of natural fabric. She does not disdain the upholstery of furniture. Small nests can be found even in the seams of textiles. Food moth chooses other places - namely packages with flour, cereals, dried fruits. The nest may also be in a hermetically sealed jar - it is possible that the purchased products were already infected with eggs.

If you find a moth’s nest, you must dispose of it immediately. Wearing gloves, put the thing that the moth has chosen in a plastic bag and wrap it tightly. Throw it into the yard tank without delay - no need to put the nest in your bin.

If the moth chose a very expensive wardrobe item as a nesting place, then you can save it. Rake the nest from the clothes in the bag. Carefully ensure that no eggs are left on it. Then hand over the affected item to a dry cleaner.

Pros and cons of folk remedies for fighting moths

To begin with, we need to determine whether folk remedies for moth control are right for you.

The methods at hand have a number of advantages over special drugs:

• cheapness;
• natural composition;
• reduced risk of an allergic reaction;
• tools and materials are most likely already at your fingertips.

The main disadvantage of this approach is low efficiency. Folk remedies are mostly repellents. This means that they scare away, not kill a mole. If your house has one or two masonry (whose location you know) and several adults, then a folk remedy will cope with the task. Chemicals can destroy both adults and caterpillars with eggs. Therefore, in difficult cases, it is better to resort to the help of store preparations.

How to remove clothes moth - recipes

A clothes moth usually lives in a closet. But sometimes adults prefer to lay eggs on furniture. Identify a favorite place for moths by villi, pupae, nests - and get to work.

Essential oils of geranium, lavender and other herbs and flowers that repel the pest

A clothes moth doesn’t really like the neighborhood with fragrant objects. So prepare sachets soaked in essential oil:

• lavender;
• peppermint;
• any conifers;
• cloves;
• an orange.

If you do not have sachets, it does not matter. Ordinary cotton pads moistened with a couple of drops of essential oil are quite suitable. Put fragrant pads in the habitat of the moth. Renew impregnation every three days.

You can make an improvised flavor. It will have to be updated less frequently - about once a week or two. To do this, you will need a small bottle with a cork, a string, essential oil and refined vegetable oil:

1. Mix in a bottle of essential and vegetable oil in a ratio of 3: 1.
2. Punch a hole in the cork with an awl.
3. Insert a string through the hole in the cork.
4. Fill the bottle with a stopper. One end of the string will be outside the bottle, the other will be immersed in the oil mixture.

How to use garlic and why you should not put it in a closet with things

This method is not as good as the previous one, because the clothes also smell like garlic... But then it is no less effective. So if you don’t have essential oils at hand, just chop one clove of garlic into small discs. Pack the cut into a “bag” of gauze or bandages so that the smell seeps properly, and put in a moth chosen by the moth. Change the bag as soon as the smell is barely noticeable - it usually takes about two days.

Sprigs of lavender - a beautiful, but short-lived apartment protection

Real sprigs of lavender work better than essential oil - this is due to the smell of fresh herbs in addition to the aroma of flowers. But getting fresh branches is not always possible, and not everyone has such an opportunity. If you are lucky, tie at the base of 5-6 freshly cut branches of about 10 cm long. Put a fragrant bouquet of moths - she is unlikely to appreciate your gift and will soon leave your home. You need to update such a bouquet every day - the smell of fresh herbs quickly disappears.

Conifer needles

Similarly, fresh needles of conifers will better cope with the pest than aromatic oils. If you have the opportunity to collect a couple of dozen fresh and odorous needles, then fold them into a thin gauze bag. They need to be put, like other folk repellents, in the habitat of the moth. Change the filler as soon as the smell of needles disappears - after about three days.

Laundry soap solution

This method is not as effective as the previous ones, so it is better to use it as a supplement and prevention. Dilute a little laundry soap in a basin of warm water to make a foamy soapy solution. Rub the foam with a sponge on the walls of the cabinet or upholstery that has been damaged by moths. Process and adjacent surfaces - floor, tables, bedside tables. Using household soap, you not only create an odor unpleasant for a moth, but also destroy potential food for it. It is best to do such a wet cleaning every other day until you are sure that the moth has left the house.

Grandma's way - naphthalene

Naphthalene is one of the most powerful folk remedies against indoor moths. However, it is not recommended to be used - it has carcinogenic properties and is harmful to the health of households, not to mention its specific corrosive smell. If the situation requires desperate measures, it is better to use a professional purchasing tool.

For the general development of the reader, we describe the features of the fight against moths using naphthalene:

• naphthalene balls are laid out in all habitats of the moth;
• to protect still intact wardrobe items naphthalene is put into pockets, hoods;
• update the balls once a week.

Caucasian daisy - we fight professionally

The powder of Caucasian chamomile (it is called feverfew) is actively used in the manufacture of professional repellents for moths, bugs and some other pests. You can use feverfew in its pure form.

To repel moths, the powder is sprinkled around the room perimeter in small handfuls. The distance between the handfuls is about 1.5 m. No more than 10 g of feverfew should be spent on one room. So it is recommended to handle not only the room with the damaged cabinet, but also other rooms. This will make the whole apartment unattractive to the moth.

Destroy moles in the kitchen

Kitchen moth is a more unpleasant look, so you need to approach it comprehensively. If you find insect eggs or their larvae in food, first take an inventory of all food products. Moth masonry is most likely in one of the recently purchased products. Carefully sort through all the cereals, fruits, vegetables, dried fruits, cereals. If you find that the product is infected, it is better to get rid of it completely - do not leave those parts of it that seem “clean” to you. Perhaps they still have small eggs that can not be seen.

After you have found and disposed of the nest, you can begin to scare away already formed individuals.

Vinegar

Food moth does not like table vinegar - we will use this weakness:

1. Put on gloves and open the window in the kitchen.
2. Dampen an unnecessary rag with 9% table vinegar.
3. Wipe all surfaces in the kitchen. Be sure to clean the kitchen cabinets from the inside.

For a while, the kitchen will have a very unpleasant odor. We'll have to tolerate it - the benefit of the moth transfers it even worse. Such surface treatment is the basic and most effective operation in the fight against moths.

Garlic

Garlic can also help in the fight against food moths. But this time we will use it more radically - it's not so bad if the kitchen smells like garlic:

1. Pour half a glass of warm water into a bowl.
2. Squeeze the garlic through the garlic squeezer. If you don’t have it, chop the garlic as small as possible and put it in water.
3. The resulting mixture needs to be wiped off all kitchen surfaces.

The method is no less effective than wiping with vinegar.

Indoor plants also help

If your home grows geraniums or fragrant tobacco, move these green favorites to the kitchen. Food moth does not like their smell, and therefore hastens to leave the room as soon as possible.

The method works most effectively during the flowering of these plants. But even if there are no flowers on them now, do not be discouraged - they also smell pretty strongly on the leaves.

Essential oils of geranium and fragrant tobacco

Even if you do not have geranium or fragrant tobacco at home, you can buy their essential oils at the pharmacy. As in the case of clothes moths, moisten cotton swabs with a couple of drops of oil and place them in kitchen cabinets.

Keep in mind that many cereals and grains absorb odor well. Therefore, you should not use this method in lockers with such groceries.

Orange and other citrus peels

Orange, lemon, mandarin have a rather odorous peel. It will also help to stop moles from your kitchen:

1. Peel the citrus.
2. Spread fragrant crusts in all cabinets (a piece of 5x5 cm is enough for one middle kitchen cabinet).
3. Lay out the rest in the kitchen itself - on the table, cutting surface, on the windowsill.

The advantage of this method in its durability is that citrus peels can retain a rather strong aroma that repels moths for a week.

Hostess reviews

I also looked, looked for moths, and then somehow looked at the ceiling in the corridor and saw the larvae. I want to advise you that it is better to kill the larvae, they are the most gluttonous. And make good airing, moths hate the fresh air and the rays of the sun

Lavender and geranium essential oils. We moisten the cotton pads, put them in the cabinets, and update them every few months. Yes, a spicy aroma will come from the closet, but it will disappear in a week.

put chestnuts in the places where moths spread, and more. Verified helps.

If there are several moths in the house, you can remove them with folk remedies. In our arsenal there are quite a lot of tools that scare away this pest.