The destruction of the moth





Each of us more than once faced with such an unpleasant phenomenon as a mole. Of all the species known to science, the following “butterflies” live in residential buildings: in the kitchens, there are grain moths, while carpet, furniture, felt, clothes and fur moths feel great in living quarters. The destruction of moths is not an easy process, for this it is necessary to get to know her better and to know that she loves, which she fears and avoids panic.

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Moth and its types

An ordinary moth is a small butterfly whose larvae feed on keratin (a horn substance). It is obtained from wool, pile of carpet and hairs of fur coats. Eating keratin, the larvae leave behind their vital products, and thereby spoil the product.

Important! The larva is not able to eat the whole fur coat or carpet, but it is not a problem for her to ruin the appearance of the product, because a single larva can easily make a through hole in an ordinary woolen or half-woolen sweater in 1 day.

In addition to keratin, the caterpillars feed on technical felt, which is used in sound and heat insulation, as well as bristles, fur, leather, feathers, dried fish and meat, museum collections, book bindings, etc. To search for food, the larvae can gnaw a path into materials such as cotton, silk, synthetic fabrics, although they cannot develop in them. Therefore, the destruction of moths must be comprehensive and thorough.

In its development, the moth goes through several stages:

1. Egg laying.
2. Caterpillar.
3. Dolly.
4. Butterfly Moth.

It is the white-yellow butterflies fluttering around the apartment that we often see. The life of the pest is 1-2 months. The massive appearance of moths is observed in early May. Butterflies flutter until mid-summer, and under favorable circumstances and conditions can occur in winter. Flying around the room, the butterfly searches for a suitable place for laying eggs. Very often, a moth's hotbed is any old woolen thing abandoned in a closet or on a shelf in a corner. Therefore, if during a mass flight of a moth look into secluded places, then on woolen things you will find moth eggs that openly lie on the surface. When you are faced with just such a situation, urgently choose a method and begin the destruction of moths.

Important! At one time, a female moth lays up to 100 eggs.

You need to fight not so much with the butterflies as with the eggs that they lay, because it is the caterpillars that emerged from the eggs that cause irreparable damage to the products.

To date, according to various sources, there are about 40 species of moths, the most common of which we will consider in the article. Household pests include fur moth, furniture moth, clothes moth, and grain moth.

Fur moth

Insect of brilliant clay yellow color. Fore wings have two small dark points in front of the middle of the wing and one large point behind the middle of the wing. The lower wings of the insect are light gray with a yellowish sheen. In the range of “butterflies” reach 15 mm.

Such insects feed mainly on clothing made from natural material. Caterpillars are worm-shaped, almost naked, have 8 short abdominal legs with transparent skin. The head is brown. The caterpillar feeds mainly on fur, lives in a portable case and gnaws all hair in its path, regardless of whether it eats them or not.

Clothes moth

This butterfly is larger in comparison with a fur moth. In a range reaches 20-22 mm. The front wings at the base are purple-brown, and from the middle - light yellow, on the top of the wings are purple-brown spots. The head fluff is white.

The larva of the body moth is similar in appearance to the larva of a fur moth. Lives in folds or inside draped, woolen cloth. It eats up vast spaces that are invisible from the outside, since it mostly leaves the upper layer of matter untouched. The larva is in a stationary state.

Furniture Moth

Represents a butterfly of brilliant light yellow color. Fore wings brownish at base, head rusty yellow. Furniture moth is highlighted due to the lack of tentacles. The type of furniture moth was described by St. Petersburg entomologist Gummel, and was later investigated by Radoshnovsky.

The larvae of furniture moths first feed on the hair stuffing of the furniture, and before the pupation process they go outside and eat various paths in the furniture cover. Caterpillars follow in the direction of the patterns of matter. Often the “dolls” of the moth can be found on the underside of chairs, sofas and other furniture. Entire nests consisting of white silky cocoons gradually accumulate there. In winter, caterpillars develop about 5 months, in summer - 2 months.

The pupation process begins in February. A massive flight of butterflies is observed in March, April and May. The secondary appearance of moths is observed in July and August.

Important! Representatives of the above families of domestic pests are extremely tenacious and resistant to temperature extremes. Propagate all 12 months of the year. They can do without food for more than a month, but if they find something edible for themselves, they can gnaw through a plastic film or synthetic fabric to get to the treat. Therefore, the destruction of moths must be directed and effective.

Cereal moth

In the presence of comfortable conditions: lack of ventilation, high humidity, grain moth will become a full hostess in the kitchen. A female grain moth, having access to cereals, lays a large number of eggs in them, and small larvae that appear after a while will destroy everything edible around them: rice cereals, wheat, rye, buckwheat, pasta, dried fruits, etc.

Representatives of the grain moth have a silver-white color with a brown pattern on the front wings and a gray abdomen. In the range of butterflies reach 15 mm. A massive flight of butterflies is observed twice: in spring and late summer.

Each female lays up to 100 eggs on grains, gluing 1-2 eggs per grain. The larva connects several grains into a bunch with the help of a cobweb and dragging the whole bunch behind it, feeds on grains. The caterpillar itself is in a spider web cover. At the end of the development phase, the larva pupates in secluded places: slots of cabinets, floors, walls or behind skirting boards. Grain moth can also develop in rotten wood and in tinder fungi.

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How to destroy a mole?

Means and methods of pest control are many. You can use direct physical effects, chemicals or alternative means that contribute to the destruction of moths. Determine what exactly to give preference to based on what you have at hand, how much the mass population has divorced in your home, how quickly you would like to get a result. Also consider how much personal time you can devote to the destruction of moths. Further - get acquainted with the most effective methods offered by us and start the fight.

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Physical methods of struggle

Physical methods involve the creation of extremely unfavorable conditions for the survival of butterflies and their offspring. Options may be as follows.

Method No. 1

To get rid of moths, use ultraviolet radiation in direct sunlight or use a quartz lamp. Under the influence of direct rays of the sun, moth eggs will die within an hour, and in very hot summer weather within 30 minutes.

Method No. 2

Heat treatment is also fatal to moths. Wash the infected thing at high temperature, boil it or treat it with steam.

Method 3

If the products are severely affected by the grain moth, then they will have to be thrown away. Sort the remaining, less infected cereals, and dry in the oven at a temperature of 60-70 C with the door ajar for 15-20 minutes. For the same purpose, you can use the microwave.

Important! Wash the cabinet where the mole lived, be sure to wash it inside with warm soapy water, rinse with clean water, and coat the cracks and grooves with table vinegar using a brush. Open the cabinet to ventilate until it dries. If this is not done, the destruction of the moth will be ineffective and soon you will notice new inhabitants of your edible reserves.

Method 4

Freezing will also lead to the death of the pest, and at all stages of development. Eggs and larvae will die within 24 hours at low temperature. Put things with pests in the freezer and leave them there for a while.

Important! Clothes and furniture moths die in the cold of -10 C in 1 day.

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Chemical methods

A more radical caterpillar killing agent than Diclofos-based does not exist. In addition, Diclofos is the only effective remedy against a skin eater. We recommend that you treat affected items with similar drugs.

Consider how to use chemicals in everyday life:

1. Place the tablets and briquettes, which are an alloy of camphor and naphthalene, in the upper parts of the cabinets. Couples of naphthalene and camphor will go down and scare away the “butterflies” of the moth. The drugs are available for six months.

Important! This tool is unsafe for human health, especially in high concentrations.

2. Suspend “Antimol” in tablets in a cabinet (3-4 tablets per cabinet). After 2 weeks, discard the drug.
3. Desmol is used in the same way as Antimol.
4. The preparations “Aeroantimol”, “Suprosol”, “Neofos”, “Diclofos”, “Supromit”, “Raid antimol” - are presented on the market in the form of solutions and aerosols. Products treat clothes, carpets and upholstered furniture. These contact agents destroy both butterflies, and larvae, and insect eggs. The drugs are valid for 3 months.
5. Section from the moth. This is the most civilized form of antimole drugs. Even special sections are issued to protect children's things. The drug is used in this way:
   • Remove the protective tape.
   • Place the section at the top of the cabinet.
   • The action of one section extends to 0.5 m3. Change the drug after 4-6 months.

Important! Chemicals sometimes have not very pleasant smells, so do not purchase funds in natural markets or from the hands. Do not buy products whose packaging and name you have doubts about, especially if the inscriptions are not in Russian. This is necessary in order to protect yourself and your household, since otherwise the destruction of the moth will turn into more serious problems.

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Folk methods

Our grandmothers did not know a more effective remedy for moths than naphthalene. But as it turned out, the drug repels only butterflies, and does not destroy eggs and larvae. In addition, volatile naphthalene is unsafe for human health.

Natural and safe moth fighters can serve:

• Lavender and fir essential oils. Oil-soaked tampons will protect items stored in the cabinet from pests. You can also use bunches of dry lavender.
• Camphor.
• Pieces of cedar wood.
• Peretrum powder (Caucasian chamomile). Sprinkle 3-4 g of powder on 1 m of area. The powder can be sprayed from a rubber bulb, and then leave the room tightly closed for several hours. After treatment, ventilate the room.
• Put the dried peels of the orange into the cupboards.
• Vinegar. Pour a few tablespoons of vinegar into a hot pan and close the pan in the cupboard.If you find moth in a wardrobe, pour vinegar over a hot iron or piece of brick. Place the processed item in the cabinet. In the vapor, the mole will die.
• Geranium. The smell of the plant repels the pest.
• Snuff or tobacco leaves can also be used to control moths.
• The smell of pepper does not like “butterflies”.
• Lay pieces of strawberry soap in a closet and suitcases, where wool and fur are stored.
• The smell of newspapers does not like moths. Wrap fur hats in newspapers and seal them so that not a single click is left. Woolen items can also be stored in the same way.

Important! All herbal remedies serve only to scare away moth butterflies. If the pest occupied the cupboard, then use a bunch of lavender is useless. In this case, the destruction of moths cannot be done without chemicals.

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Prevention

Flying butterflies are harmless male insects. While you are chasing after them with “applause”, female moths in the crevices and in the folds of clothes are busy laying eggs from which the omnivorous, gluttonous offspring will hatch. Therefore, in order to prevent moth from entering the apartment, regularly and in advance carry out preventive measures:

• Dry and ventilate all items at least 4 times a year. Bright sunlight and frosty air are fatal to a wool moth.
• Pillows, blankets, winter clothes before storage, clean and wash. Do not forget that dirt, grease and sweat are the favorite delicacy of the larvae of the wool moth.
• Clean your apartment regularly. Vacuum your carpets, soft and hard furniture. We recommend using a disinfectant during cleaning, for example, monochloramine.
• The eggs of the larvae are not tightly attached to the fibers of carpets and clothes, therefore, shaking and vacuuming objects, you can easily get rid of egg clutches.
• Take out carpets in the winter on clean snow in order to shake them well and freeze them.
• To prevent the appearance of moths, before storage, be sure to clean all clothes, wash, and then:
  • Spray the product with Antimole Contact liquid.
  • Let things dry.
  • Fur and wool items should be put in plastic bags.
  • Fur coats put in covers made of thick paper with anti-grind preparation.

Important! Before packing, be sure to shake all things to prevent the eggs and the chance to stay on your favorite clothes.

• Fur coats and other fur products hang on hangers made of cedar wood. This smell repels moles.
• Store all groceries in tightly closed jars.
• Chemical washing also prevents the appearance of moths.
• Place a geranium flower on the windowsill so that moth butterflies do not fly out the window.
• Lay out the pockets of woolen clothing to choose from:
  • Walnut or tobacco leaves.
  • Dry orange peels.
  • Snuff.
  • Ground Chestnuts.
  • Leaves of wormwood, mint, St. John's wort, mantis.

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Stock footage

The destruction of moths at home is a competent combination of all means, including preventive ones. First, the moth must be destroyed, and then prevent its repeated penetration into the apartment. Use for such a comprehensive fight all the tools listed in the article. Good luck in the fight against the pest!