Natural Solutions to Things That Bug You (63 page)

During periods of heavy moth flights, seal any openings, reduce evening lighting (which attracts them), and watch the door as you enter the house at night to prevent moth entrance.

The few that enter can be controlled with fly swatters or vacuum cleaners, or you can wait for the insects to die on their own in a few days.

The problem will decline as the continued migration moves the moths through the area to the mountains.

LIGHT ‘EM UP!

Moths can be trapped by keeping a light suspended over a bucket of water during the night.

HIT THEM WITH A CHILI POD

    To prepare a potent spray for moths, just follow the recipe. Grind up 2-3 handfuls of ripe hot peppers then allow them to soak in 1½ quart of water for 24 hours. Mix well, strain and add 3 quarts of water and 3-4 drops of Ivory liquid soap. Strain again and place in sprayer. This is meant for the outside, do not use in the home. Before you spray all the plants check and be sure that the mixture is not too strong and will damage the plants.

THE VINEGAR TRAP

If you are curious as to what kind and how many moths you have, just place a shallow dish or bowl with white vinegar in it on the shelf to trap them.

WAX THOSE MOTHS

To make moth repellant paper, just mix together 4 parts of naphthalene and 8 parts of paraffin wax. Melt both together and paint it on a piece of thin white cardboard while the solution is still warm.

HERBS TO REPEL MOTHS

The following herbs can be placed in your closet to repel moths. Try using pennyroyal, wormwood, sage, santolina, lavender and mint.

CLOTHES DRYER WILL HELP

Just run your clothes through a warm cycle in the dryer to kill off any moths and eggs.

CEDAR CHEST NO HELP

Since cedar loses its oils and effectiveness after 2-3 years don’t expect much protection from cedar for any extended length of time.

KILLING THE EGGS

If you are worried that you may have moth eggs in your woolens, just place the garment in a plastic bag and place it into the freezer for 24 hours. This will kill the eggs permanently.

WHOOOOSH

If you vacuum your clothes it will eliminate the problem, however, you should do the carpet as well while you are at it.

SKIP THE MOTHBALLS

You will never have a moth problem if you place one hedgeapple in every closet and change them about every 2 months. They work better than mothballs without the offensive odor.

GIVE THEM THE COLD SHOULDER

If you have a problem with moths it would be best to place the suspect garment into a plastic bag and freeze it at –4
F for 7 days to kill off all eggs and larvae.

TURN UP THE HEAT

Heat can disinfect your clothing and kill all stages of moths. If the clothes are exposed to 122
F for about 12 minutes or 140
F for 1 minute that should do the trick and the clothes will be free of moth problems. Woolens, however, may not take the heat well and would be better in the cold.

MOTH REPELLER

The following ingredients will be needed:

              All herbs may be purchased at a health food store

             
4              Teaspoons of orris root powder

             
1              Cup of wormwood

             
½              Cup of lavender

              1 ½              Cup of yarrow
             

1              Cup of mint

10              Drops of oil of cloves

1              Cup cedar chips

10              Bay leaves

1              Tablespoon whole cloves

3              Clothespins or bag clip

Stainless steel fork

Place the orris root powder in a small bowl and add the oil of cloves, then mix well (crush any lumps) with the stainless steel fork. Place all the other herbs in a brown paper bag and shake to mix. Add the oil and orris root to the bag and shake well to mix. Seal the bag with the clothespins or a bag clip and place the bag in a dry, cool location for 2 weeks.

After the herb mixture has mellowed, place a portion in a number of old socks and hang them up in the closets. You will never see another moth they will be fighting to get in next door.

A LITTLE HERE, A LITTLE THERE

Diatomaceous earth (DE) powder sprinkled in the corners of shelves. To make the DE more effective mix half pyrethrum and half DE.

HANG UP A SACHET OR TWO

Make a sachet to hang in the closets using dried mint, peppercorns, rosemary, lavender, bay leaves, whole cloves and cedar chips.

    
KILLING CLOTHES MOTHS

These moths are rarely seen since they only come out at night to feast on your clothing. They prefer protein-based fibers such as woolens, carpets and furs, which are a delicacy, pet hair and even your hairbrush hair.

SEND THE MOTHS TO THE CLEANERS

Dry cleaning will kill the moths as well as their larvae but will not stop other moths from attacking the clothes after you wear them and the chemicals wear off. After you dry clean them, place them into a plastic bag and place them into cold storage for safe keeping if you are not going to wear them for a while.

NATURAL ELIMINATION, TOGA PROTECTION

Place cedar chips in a porous cloth bag; then hang it in the closet. Moths do not like the aroma of cedar.

You can also place cedar oil on a piece of absorbent cloth and hang that in the closet. Cedar oil tends to work better since cedar chips will lose their effectiveness after several months and the oil dries out.

The Romans used oil of cedarwood placed on backs of parchment to get rid of the moths that were eating their togas.           

PUT A SUNLAMP IN THE CLOSET

Moths hate the sunlight! If you bring your clothes outside when it’s sunny for 30 minutes you will eliminate the problem. Best to give them a little beating to be sure they all fall off, including the larvae and eggs.

HERBS VS MOTHS

Make a sachet using a combination of rosemary, lavender and rose petals and hang in the closet. Dried lemon peels also do very well to deter moths just placed in the closet.

HOW TO PREVENT THEM

Meal moths are a problem when food is stored in moist areas or the humidity is high. They normally reside in grains or grain products such as cereals.

Exposed grains attract them.

They love cookie crumbs and especially dry dog food. Toasters are their favorite place to hangout especially when they are not used for a while. They will come for a visit in loose grains that are purchased in markets or health food stores.

They will chew their way into cardboard boxes without any trouble. Best to inspect boxes every once in a while for holes.

If you have rodents that steal pet food the moths will find it. Be sure and vacuum all cracks and crevices in food areas regularly.

TRAPS WORK GREAT

Pheromone traps are available through garden or agricultural supply stores and work great. However, don’t expect immediate results since it will take about 2 years to get rid of the pests.

DON’T CODDLE THEM

About mid-summer, scrape off an area on your apple trees and wrap the area with a piece of burlap (tie it down good). When the caterpillars climb up the tree to pupate they will hide in the burlap. The burlap can then be removed and discarded.

TRICHING CODDLING MOTHS

If the trichogramma wasp is released at the beginning of spring it will eliminate or at least, greatly reduce the infestation. Also, spraying with an Nc nematode solution in late winter will make a big difference.

WRAP THE TREES

In early summer you can wrap the tree trunks with a sticky paper or use Tanglefoot™ and trap the caterpillars as they go down the tree. Best to keep them wrapped all summer if you have this problem.

DIAMOND BACK MOTHS