Moth Control: How To Get Rid of Moths

This page is a general Moth control guide. Using the products and methods suggested you will get control of Moths. Follow this guide and use the recommended products and we guarantee 100% control of Moths.

As adults, Moths flying around your property or into your home are harmless, but moth larvae can be destructive to both clothing and pantries indoors. When Moths are found in large numbers in your home, it can be very frustrating to remove due to their feeding behaviors and their knack for contaminating foods in storage areas.

While there are many different types of moth species that can be encountered, they can be divided into two categories: pantry moths and clothes moths. As the classification suggests, the type of moth can be identified based on whether they are infesting stored food products in pantries or clothing items hung in closets or clothes storage areas.

If you are seeing moths flying around in your home, the following DIY guide will show you how to get rid of moths with the help of our expert advice and professional product recommendations.

Identification

Before you can carry on with a treatment program, you need to be certain you are dealing with Moths. Moths are most recognizable in their adult forms. An adult pantry moth, such as the Indian Meal Moth, will be about half an inch long and have wings that by gray and bronze looking. A clothes moth, like the Casekmaking Clothes Moth, looks more whitish-gold colored when they are in their adult stage.

The Moth phase that causes the most concern whether they are clothes moths or pantry moths is the larval stage. During this stage of their life cycle, moths look like little caterpillars and will have a ferocious appetite. A pantry moth larvae will usually be found in dried food goods like cereals, crackers, rice, and even chocolate. Clothing moth larvae will be found tearing their way into 

Inspection

After you have properly identified the type of moth you have, you need to inspect the area where you suspect Moth activity. During the inspection, you will search in the areas where food is stored (if you are dealing with a pantry moth) or where clothing is kept (if you are dealing with a clothes moth) in order to find the source of the infestation and to check the severity of the infestation.

Where To Inspect

For pantry moths, begin your inspection in the areas where food goods are stored. Check the cabinets, shelves, and pantries of your home in the kitchen and garage. Inspect every food good in your home including nuts, almonds, grains, cereals, spices, herbs, pasta, starches, flour, and even pet food.

For clothes moths, inspect storage areas such as closets, basements, attics, and wherever there may be clothes and fabrics. You should also search in undisturbed areas of the home where there is little light, since these moths enjoy darkness and seclusion.

What To Look For

You're looking for adult moths, their larvae and signs of their presence. For pantry moths, this means looking in your pantry for any food product where you can find adults and larvae crawling inside. A sign of their presence can be webbing found in food or clothing areas that look like patches of silk scattered about. Once you have identified the source of the infestation, you can move forward with treatment.

Treatment

After inspecting the areas where you have discovered Moths, you can move forward with treatment. Remember to read all product labels and follow the application instructions on these labels and stay safe by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).

The best method for controlling moths starts with a thorough cleanup where you emptying out your pantry entirely if you have clothes moths or discarding all your damaged clothing. You need to be very detailed with sanitation to make sure that all traces of Moths, their eggs and larvae, are removed.

We then recommend applying Novacide Aerosol to kill any remaining Moths and to prevent the development of eggs and larvae. A final measure would be to place Pro-Pest Pantry Moth and Beetle Traps (for Pantry Mosts) or Pro-Est Clothes Moth Traps to capture any surviving Moths in the areas they were active.

Step 1 - Preliminary Cleanup and Vacuuming

Begin by prepping the areas for treatment. For pantry moth treatment, you will get rid of all the food goods in the areas where the infested item was found, and you will also vacuum the pantry. To be on the safe side, it is recommended to discard EVERYTHING in your pantry and start fresh. As expensive and excessive as this sounds, it's your best bet in eliminating the infestation entirely.

For clothes moth treatment, you should vacuum your home and closets where they were active and run all the clothing where the moths were found through a laundry cycle to ensure all moths, eggs and larvae are killed or cleared away.

Thoroughness is a must in this step to achieve the best possible level of control.

Step 2 - Apply Novacide Aerosol

Novacide is an insecticide that comes with an IGR (or Insect Growth Regulator) that will target the early stages of Moths (like eggs, larvae, and pupae) which will affect them and prevent them from developing into adults. Novacide also has a residual (or long-term effect) that will last for up to 7 months. 

Apply a light mist of Novacide in short bursts in the crevices of your emptied pantry shelves where the shelving meets the wall or your closet area or wherever your infest clothing was kept. Next, spray along the baseboards and flooring of your pantry, kitchen or closet as well as the carpeting and the baseboards of your areas adjacent to your kitchen or closet in a downward sweeping motion. Do not let people or pets enter areas treated until 2 to 4 hours have gone by. 

Step 3: Apply Pro-Pest Moth Traps

Pro-Pest Moth Traps are glue traps that attract Moths (particularly male moths) with mating pheromones. There are Pro-Pest Traps that are specially made for pantry moths and there is a varient for clothes moths. 

Simply place the pheromones pad in the middle of the glue board and place the trap in the areas where the infestation took place. You can fold these traps into a tent or leave them flat the choice is yours. These traps can stay effective for up to 3 months. 

Prevention

Once you have successfully eliminated the infestation of Moths, you need to take measures to ensure they don't infest again. To prevent pantry moths, start by routinely checking food packages before you buy them and bring them into the home. Many times packages that have holes or are ripped means that the package is already infested. Also, after buying food goods it's extremely important that you take them out of their original packaging and place them in plastic containers.

For clothes moth prevention, properly store fabrics and clothes in tight-fitting containers and make sure to have your furniture and rugs cleaned regularly to pick up pet hair, dust and debris. Declutter as much as possible to reduce space being taken up, as moth infestations happen when there is excessive clutter.

Finally, you can use Pro-Pest Moth Traps regularly throughout the year to maintain protection and monitor infestations since they can stay effective for up to 3 months at a time.

Key Takeaways

• Moths are pests that are harmless as adults but have a destructive larval stage capable of contaminating foods and being destructive to clothing and fabrics depending on the species (clothing moths or pantry moths).
• To get rid of moths, you will need to do a thorough clean up of the infested pantry or closet and then apply Novacide Aerosol. You should also apply Pro-Pest Moth Traps.
• Prevent potential future Moth infestations by decluttering, regular vacuuming of your home, keeping foods and fabrics in tight-fitting containers and monitoring activity with Pro-Pest Moth Traps.