Common Clothes Moth Control

The Common clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella) is by far the most common species of pest moth within the UK; if left uncontrolled the larvae of the moth can cause significant damage to textiles such as clothing within a wardrobe. All reasonable steps should be undertaken to control this moth before establishing within a property, which often leads to a hard-to-control situation.

This moth species is often found within domestic properties lurking within dark areas often away from human habitation; whilst the most popular place that this moth can be found in the wardrobe they are often found in other places, often out of site. For this reason, any treatment should be both local to the activity area but also within the entire room concentrating on areas such as under and behind furniture; they can be found in and under carpets so some preparation before application may have to be undertaken.

Common clothes moth can be a tricky moth to control, and we recommend that the user understands the biology and behaviour before undertaking control; Wikipedia has a page with information on their lifecycle. this can be found here. For detailed treatment advice, we recommend looking at the BPCA website (The leading pest control association in the UK) on the subject which can be found here.

At ProPest we have several products available for the treatment of common clothes moth. Most products are not suitable for clothing, so any treatment undertaken will be part of a larger treatment plan that would include washing affected clothing (or freezing as an alternative solution); we have a range of sprays that are extremely helpful for direct treatment of moths as well as associated areas where moths are landing such as on wardrobes. Using void treatments such as aerosol sprays or smoke bombs should be considered vital in removing adult moths that may not be present within the treatment area.

One of the most popular products for moth control is the pheromone pads that release a sex lure to attract the male moth towards a sticky adhesive; this helps breaks the lifecycle by competing with other females local to the area. Pheromone pads are a very useful way to monitor activity and find localised activity; they can control emerging infestations but are unlikely to impact larger or established issues.

Please find below our most common and popular products associated with common clothes moth control: