We are all moth and no trousers says ALAN TITCHMARSH
INSECT pests aren’t just a garden problem. Anyone who has ever experienced the havoc wreaked on clothes by moths will know exactly what I mean.
Their larvae will munch holes in anything woollen, silk or cashmere. But moths are difficult to catch “in the act”.
The adults are tiny, dull, cream insects that scuttle into crevices so you’re unlikely to see them.
The larvae are small and by the time you’ve found those in clothing it’s too late.
A hundred years or so ago careful housewives packed the family wardrobes with mothballs or camphor as deterrents and today’s hardware shops sell moth-killing chemicals.
The larvae are small and by the time you’ve found those in clothing it’s too late
But for organic-minded folk it goes against the grain to use pesticides to protect clothes, especially in bedrooms where you or your children can’t avoid breathing them in all night long.
Luckily, there are several natural remedies which rely on aroma to fend off moths. The ones you usually see for sale are cedar wood spheres or sticks. Old-fashioned lavender bags do the job too.
If you grow lavender, harvest some heads in midsummer, dry them and sew into small sachets made from remnants of pretty cotton fabric.
Slip a few into drawers or hang them inside cupboards. Besides repelling moths the scent of lavender is said to help you sleep and it makes your clothes smell nice.
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Two species of Artemisia, wormwood and southernwood, can also be used, either as fresh sprigs that you suspend from a ribbon, or dried and made into sachets mixed with dried lavender which improves the rather pungent smell.
A far more exotic natural moth repellent is patchouli oil, a member of the mint family, originally from Indonesia and Malaysia but widely grown in Asia.
The great thing about natural moth remedies is they smell nice but I’m not sure I’d rely on them alone. You really need a multi-pronged attack.
As well as a herbal repellent the usual recommendation is to keep natural fibres regularly washed or dry-cleaned and pack them in sealed plastic bags when they aren’t in use.
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Putting a jumper in the freezer for a week is also said to kill moth eggs.
Now, however, there’s an indoor version of a tried-and-tested organic garden pest control technique: pheromone traps that target clothes moths.
These work on the same principle as the pheromone traps that protect apples and plums from maggots by using a sex lure to trap male moths so the females can’t lay eggs.
The clothes moth version comes with a risk-alert device so you know when to start using them.
Of course, you could stick to naturally moth-proof Crimplene and Bri-Nylon clothes… they could be the next big fashion trend.