The Moth You See Isn’t the One Eating Your Sweater

Clothes moths are one of the great home misunderstandings, and University of California pest experts clear up several at once.

The adult isn’t the problem. According to UC’s Integrated Pest Management program, the larva is the stage that damages fabric. The adult moth you swat at isn’t the one chewing the holes.

They’re picky eaters. The larvae go after wool and other animal materials: sweaters, rugs, upholstery, furs, even the natural bristles in brushes. Cotton or synthetic blends are at risk mainly when they also contain wool.

Dirty beats clean. Fabrics with food or sweat stains are more likely to be damaged. The sweater you wore once and tossed back on the shelf is a better target than the one you washed.

They hide from light. The larvae dislike bright light, and UC notes that damage generally turns up in hidden spots: under collars and cuffs, in the crevices of upholstered furniture, in carpet beneath furniture.

Cedar is weaker than its reputation. UC notes that aromatic cedar oil can kill small larvae but not large ones, and cedar loses that quality after several years.

And one more closet myth while we’re in here. You may have heard that old American houses had no closets because colonists were taxed on them as extra rooms. The Colonial Williamsburg Journal, drawing on curators at the DAR Museum in Washington, reports that no closet tax has turned up in any of the 13 colonies. Period inventories and floor plans show many houses did have closets, usually flanking the fireplace and used for general storage. Clothes mostly lived in chests, chests of drawers and clothespresses.