How to kill clothing moths | Non-toxic

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Clothing moths are secretive. You are far more likely to find their damage than to catch the moths themselves: a few small holes in a sweater, a patch of silky webbing, gritty specks the color of the cloth. By the time it shows, larvae have been feeding quietly on the wool, cashmere and silk in your closet. Getting rid of them means finding what the larvae are feeding on, treating or discarding those items, cleaning out their hiding spots and breaking the breeding cycle. You can do all of it without mothballs or toxic sprays near your wardrobe. Why killing the moths you see is not enough Adult clothing moths are weak fliers that avoid light and movement. Disturb one and it scurries further into a fold of fabric or a dark corner rather than flying toward you. The adults do not eat at all. Their only job is to mate and lay eggs on natural fibers. The eggs then hatch into larvae, which do the damage, feeding on keratin—the protein in wool, cashmere, silk and fur, spinning silky webbing and leaving gritty specks behind. When a larva is ready to pupate, it crawls into a seam, a fold or a corner. So you can spray or swat the odd adult you spot, but the eggs and larvae in your clothes carry on and a new generation emerges within weeks. The real fix is to treat or discard the infested items and trap the males to break the breeding cycle. (More on the how and why: How to get rid of clothing moths and Do clothing moths actually eat clothes .) The non-toxic way to kill clothing moths Start where you have found damage and work outward. Pull all wool, cashmere and silk from that part of the closet and check the seams, cuffs and folds for holes, webbing or sandy grit. Treat or discard whatever is infested: wash it in hot water at 120°F or above, run it through a hot dryer for at least 30 minutes, have delicates dry-cleaned or seal it in a bag and freeze it at 0°F for about two weeks. Any of these methods kills the eggs and larvae. Next, vacuum the closet floor, shelves and carpet