Grandmother’s Methods to Get Rid of Indian-Meal Moths and Clothes Moths. You Can Kill the Moths and Their Larva at Once!
Moths (clothes and Indian-meal) might be a real nuisance. They appear out of the blue and rapidly reproduce which makes it really difficult to get rid of them. I can remember myself having some guests at home when suddenly one of these hideous creatures flew out of the wardrobe. And that did not happen only once. Fortunately, there are ways to exterminate them.
Once you know what the insects are sensitive to, the battle is almost won
The best way to get rid of Indian-meal moths is to check all kitchen cabinets and clean them up
Carefully search all kitchen cabinets. Try to find out where the insects are flying from. If you are not able to do it, check all containers with rice, flour, pasta, etc.
It might be the case, though, that you have brought some larva inside your shopping bag. If there is an infected product, throw it away immediately. It can’t be used even if you get read of the moths.
Once you empty the cabinets, clean them well with some cleaning agent or simply water with washing-up liquid. Look into containers near the one with insects. Even if you have killed off the moths’ larva, still they might have moved to a nearby box with food or ingredients. That is why you need to keep all bags containers sealed well. Never keep pasta or flour in original packaging as moths might get in.
After you clean the cabinets and before you put the products away, put a dish with warm vinegar inside the cabinets. In a closed confined space the vinegar will evaporate. That will effectively keep the insects away from any ingredients inside the cabinets.
#1 Tobacco
Put some tobacco into a breathable bag and leave it wherever the unwelcome guests appear. The problem will soon be solved. Moths hate this scent!
#2 Cedarwood
Most pests can’t stand this smell. So if you don’t want them to visit your cabinets, leave a few pieces of cedar wood inside. Moths are not really likely to come back.
#3 Citrus fruit
Dry lemon, orange or mandarin peels. Leave them in the cabinets or drawers where you spotted moths. You won’t see then anymore there.
#4 Apple cider vinegar
This is something the moths could die for. Literally. That is why all you need to do is to pour some cider vinegar into a small bowl and you can be sure to have them drown there. You might use dry wine just as well.
How to get rid of moths - prevention
If you want to protect your food against Indian-meal moths, there are some ways to do it, too. The first one is to keep all products inside tightly closed containers. You also need to remember that any products in which you find the insects must be immediately thrown away. Not into the bin, but away from your house!
Clothes moths may appear even in a place of impeccable order
The pests might have escaped from your neighbour’s house and found shelter in your place. If you use some preventive flypaper, you might do more harm than good. The insects are attracted from other places right to your house and stay in your wardrobe not necessarily dying on the flypaper.
Put a bag of dried lavender (it might be a cloth bag or paper one with dried flowers) inside your wardrobe. The smell of lavender is a natural deterrent. Others include lemon grass or lemon peel – they both will keep the moths away.
To fight moths you can also resort to some spices, e.g. bay leaf, mint, cloves or pimento (allspice). The strong smell will make insects fly a mile from your house. Put a mixture of spices into a small cloth bag and leave it inside the wardrobe. Chestnuts might do as well as they scare away moths and spiders.
If you have found the eggs of insects, and the weather is freezing, just put the clothes out for a couple of hours. Both high and low temperature kill the pests off.
