Clothing moths in vestibule
jane, thank you for acknowledging me on here. I did not mind spending a little time exploring at no charge and sometimes contractor’s have to do that anyway (no expectation of getting a job). if you really narrow this down and wish me to come open anything up or remove any trim, especially around the doors as door work is my forte, i can return.
if i had the time, i would do other handyman like stuff, but restoring doors and running a “handyman” service for doors (fixing pocket doors, installing mortise locks, resetting hinges, and weather sealing old wood doors with period looking weather strip) keeps me more than busy.
stevecym and doorsby are the same.
andriywww1990
in General Discussion 3 years and 6 months ago
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citizenjane | 3 years and 7 months ago
Dear neighbors, Even after extermination, we have clothing moths in our vestibule. A couple per day. We are stumped – could they be up in the woodwork, in crevices, or coming in from outside via gaps in the door? We also sprayed/fumigated the vestibule with 91% alcohol last night, and today still found moths We have been fighting moths for a while – so are ready to be done with this. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
RobertGMarvin
in General Discussion 3 years and 7 months ago
Pheromone moth traps should greatly reduce the number of moths although that may not completely eliminate them.
citizenjane | 3 years and 7 months ago
Thanks. We are using them, but it is not eliminating them unfortunately.
arewedoneyet | 3 years and 7 months ago
Just some general recommendations.. make sure you vacuum regularly, keep the humidity down, use more traps than you think you might need. They can definitely be in crevices and such and the vacuuming can help.
andriywww1990 | 3 years and 7 months ago
we had these in a pantry when i was a teen and i must have been more grossed out by them than anyone else in the house because after trying to poison them with all sorts of things that are probably illegal now, i ripped the place apart and found the nest, and it was gross, and i got rid of it and them for good.
see if you can find where they are emanating from and get something, anything, perhaps some kind of spray with one of those long tubes like on lubricants and get it into the nest area and let them have it. if this was me and i found the nest and it was behind molding or someplace i could not access, that is what i would do. maybe even put blue painter’s tape over all the suspected crevices they emerge from and see if you catch some to learn where they are and then spray something, anything in there. i would use anything that will be toxic to them that will not run down your walls and damage the paint and plaster and will not leave a long standing odor.
citizenjane | 3 years and 7 months ago
Thanks arewedoneyet – we are definitely doing all that. @doorsbythetinkerwagon, I think the nest is somewhere amidst the cracks around the vestibule or somehow between the vestibule and under the stoop below it. It is the one part of the house we haven’t renovated yet. I am going after them with a vengeance – also using approaches like you have mentioned. Tonight I use a 6 foot ladder to inspect above the door frames and close any spot. All crevices have been sealed (I believe) except there is some space around the most external door. I can’t imagine why they would be coming in from outside, but that is our last resort – sealing the outer door to see if they stop. Fingers crossed! (we are using 91% alcohol spray to kill the eggs and moths we find.)
stevecym | 3 years and 7 months ago
Does this happen in the winter? If it happens all year, I suspect they are closer to the heated inside. I only know these things from that one experience and I do not think they thrive in the cold. If summer only, maybe toward the front. Is it possible a camera could catch them coming out? I think alcohol is good. I was thinking ether but I didn’t want to tell you to do that.
stevecym | 3 years and 7 months ago
So, I just read about these things. The moths are not the problem, the larva are and until you find the nest, they will keep appearing. Same way it was for us years ago. And if you have any old insulation around, I am thinking the ground up newspaper type, they will eat that sort of stuff.
RobertGMarvin
in General Discussion 3 years and 7 months ago
They EAT ground up newspaper type insulation? We had cellulose fiber insulation blown in 45 years ago—maybe THAT’S why we’ve never been able to entirely eliminate the critters, although the traps do control them pretty well.
citizenjane | 3 years and 7 months ago
@ Bob Marvin, I believe they prefer to eat organic material, paper as a secondary substitute. Maybe cellulose too? I hope not for you! @ Stevecym – yes, the larvae are the problem. If they can be sprayed, the problem goes away. The moths have come and go, but are definitely more in the warm weather. I put a moth trap outside of the door under our stoop and gathered TONS of moths. I just can’t see exactly where they are coming from. I wish there were experts somewhere in finding nests! I will research and let you know if I come up with anything.
RobertGMarvin
in General Discussion 3 years and 7 months ago
@citizenjane, Unfortunately blown-in cellulose insulation IS ground up newspaper.
stevecym | 3 years and 7 months ago
I used to write training manuals for paper mills and from what I saw going into the debarkers and chippers, paper is organic. Bob, you should try some, it’s high in fiber.
citizenjane | 3 years and 7 months ago
@stevecym, @bob marvin, @doorsbythetinkerswagon, @arewedoneyet – I think I have isolated our moth source. even though I doused all cracks and similar parts of our vestibule in 91% alcohol, twice, 2 moths are still appearing each day. I now have sealed both doors, and we are still seeing 2 moths in the vestibule. I finally took photos of the space behind the decorative door frame, and there are major cracks and 100+ years worth of dust. this must be it, I am praying. Now…. how do we go about filling up these holes? It is extremely hard to reach. any recommendations? Photos of the suspicious spots are attached. I will also make a general posting/request. Thanks again! [C8B1440E-CFF5-40FC-8877-67F2F26B805B](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:u0M3:c8b1440ecff540fc887767f2f26b805b.jpeg.jpg) [C0E092F4-6000-4D6A-87EB-9844614B5DC2](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:C6AV:c0e092f460004d6a87eb9844614b5dc2.jpeg.jpg) [45A51468-1EC5-42AA-A87A-D518C8173776](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:qZzB:45a514681ec542aaa87ad518c8173776.jpeg.jpg) [1DC28CFF-14A2-4FF8-B428-63DE4CF549D7](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:VMTi:1dc28cff14a24ff8b42863de4cf549d7.jpeg.jpg) [97E84D52-283C-4ADC-BB89-4E6B432F6E05](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:RQnb:97e84d52283c4adcbb894e6b432f6e05.jpeg.jpg)
JoeBrikman | 3 years and 7 months ago
We have been through a very long battle with clothing moths and I think we finally solved it. Vacuuming and cleaning, traps, sprays, nothing worked. It’s tricky because their life cycle can be 30 months (!!!). The only thing that worked was Nuvan strips. It’s a miracle. Use as directed.
RobertGMarvin
in General Discussion 3 years and 7 months ago
That seems a bit extreme. This is from the top review on Amazon–I personally think I’d rather live with moths:
“You MUST take precautions:
– Nuvan can injure or kill you or your pets just as effectively as insects. Symptoms of exposure start with a feeling of tightness in your chest, then watery eyes and dry mouth.
– You MUST wear an organic vapor-rated respirator and nitrile gloves any time you’re handling the strips. I used 3M model 6001PB1 cartridges for my respirator.
– Use 3 MIL OR THICKER plastic or garbage bags. Nuvan gas PASSES RIGHT THROUGH regular and even heavy-duty garbage bags that are less than 3 mil thick. This info isn’t easy to find, and I got “nipped” by the gas because I was only using heavy-duty garbage bags. Fortunately, I recognized the sudden feeling of tightness in my chest and immediately put on my respirator and opened the garage door for ventilation.
– Seal bags with box tape or duck tape. Cinching the bags closed isn’t sufficient.
– Ve ntilate the area with a fan that sends air outdoors.
– Be certain the foil package is completely resealed after any time you open it”.
citizenjane | 3 years and 7 months ago
@livingthedreamgreenpoint-thanks very much for this suggestion. how did you use these? 2-3 strips per room? and how long did you leave your home so they would work? did you have a large home? we have 2 floors and I fear that there is an infestation in the walls. I’d highly value learning more about your experience to see if it could parallel ours. How long have you been moth-free? @Bob Marvin, I hear you about the risks – thank you very much for pointing them out. Thanks again community – you’re the best!
JoeBrikman | 3 years and 7 months ago
We have a 4 story home and we live on the upper triplex. At its worst point it seemed they were everywhere. First step was to eliminate any obvious infestation, in our case, a wool rug and a bag of handmade wool children’s clothes. Then clean, vacuum, traps etc, but this did not fix it. Finally we found the Nuvan strips and we put them in areas where moths breed. For us that was all closets with clothes in them (one strip per closet, and seal for 2 weeks). Then we wrapped rugs with 2 mil plastic and put 1-2 strips in for at least 1 week. Then finally we bought Sawyer Permethrin spray. This is a safe product and meant for clothing. We sprayed this on the inside of dressers, all curtains, and floors. At this point it seemed they were gone. We placed traps so we could monitor if there was any activity. After 2 weeks there were 3 moths on the trap in my closet, so I repeated the Nuvan strip. It’s been several months now and I have not seen any moths. I will keep vigilant and keep the traps out, so at first sight I can repeat if necessary. This really worked, and I hope it does for you too!
cate | 3 years and 7 months ago
We’ve dealt with every insect but clothes moths (including bedbugs and carpet beetles), and I would caution against using poison yourself in the manner described above. If you want to use poison, consult with a bedbug/moth expert. For one thing, they have lots of other options that are much safer to use and also more effective. Also, something contained like this will not be very costly. At one point, I went to the hospital for breathing in a pest strip that had been sealed in a bag.
JoeBrikman | 3 years and 7 months ago
It’s true you must be very careful when using a product like this. We used this while our kids went to visit the grandparents, and were careful to follow the instructions closely (seal closets air tight, use the correct plastic, etc.). In my original post I left out the years of trying every other product on the market (safer and greener products, escalating to Onslaught and Nyguard with an growth inhibitor), consulting professional pest control experts, which cost thousands, trying heat treatments and more. In our case, there was no safer or more effective option. Everyone has to decide for themselves their tolerance. Personally, I was unwilling to live with these pests and I’m grateful a product like this exists.