Moths!!!!

So, after I fixed up my closet, I was pretty happy with it. It was smallish but functional, so I had no real complaints. That is, until I started noticing things like this:

 Arrrrggg!!!

 

 

From the top right going clockwise- this is my grey pencil skirt, my best navy pinstripe skirt, my grey jacket sleeve and my black skirt (aka, one piece of each of my good suits).

 

 

[Sidenote- I never noticed anything in the morning. It was only after I got to work, often during a meeting, that I would notice a hole. The best one was when I noticed a string of holes down the front of my skirt while I was in an interview. It looked like I had spilled food all over myself. In your face, moths-- I got the job anyway!]

 

 

Ok, so after some googling, I determined that I definitely have a moth problem, and found a couple good articles for "taking care of them" here and here. Immediately, I moved into full swing Operation Kill the Dirty Little Moths and Save My Clothes!! [Another sidenote, I'm usually not a big insect killer. I generally like to catch and release bugs, or just let them be. But these little demons just destroyed about $1500 worth of suits, which is like 80% of my wardrobe- so the gloves are freaking off.]

 

 

Step 1 - Assess the Damage & Empty the Closet.

I pulled everything out of the closet and inspected it. I found two chewed up work dresses, one chewed sweater, and one pair of pants (basically everything I owned that was made of wool). From what I understand, they eat animal fibers (ie, wool and silk) and they prefer spots that are extra tasty, with food crumbs and whatnot. So I guess it's not surprising that the more I liked a suit, the more I wore it, and the more they chewed. Everything with holes went into a garbage bag. I moved all the rest of my wool to the office, which is well ventilated, bright and sunny, just in case (apparently moths prefer to hide in dark, closed up areas). Everything else got piled up on the bed.

Step 2 - Vacuum and Scrub the Closet.
Once the closet was empty, I vacuumed, and left it open all day with the light on. I washed all the walls and shelves with warm soapy water and let them dry overnight. Then I put in a moth trap and left the closet empty all weekend.
 

Step 3 - Wash everything.

Everything that can be, got thrown in the wash machine. The remaining pieces of my suits went to the drycleaners. Thankfully, I don't really have that many pieces left, so it wasn't super expensive. Yay, silver cloud.

 

 

Step 4 - Partially move back in.

Once everything was out of the closet and clean, it seemed like a good opportunity to do some editing and paring down. I tried on everything, and anything that didn't fit or doesn't get worn is going to  Goodwill. I ran to Target to get a few bins and rehung the sweater thing, so that everything that is staying is well organized and easy to get to. This way, it should be easier to keep an eye on everything. 

 

My empty, well organized closet. Triangle on top shelf is the new moth trap.

 



 



Step 5 - Go shopping.

Seriously. I have nothing to wear.  

 

 

So I'm left wondering- why did this happen? Is it because I recently removed the cedar partition? The walls are still all cedar, but nothing really smells cedary, so I don't think it was working anyway.  I didn't have any moth problems at the old house. Were the moths just waiting quietly for me in the new closet, or did I bring in something infested? Does the fact that all of the closets in this house are lined in cedar imply that this house had a previous problem?


I have never had a moth problem before, but I always kind of assumed it was like having any other pest-- annoying, but not really problematic. Oh no. This was an extraordinarily expensive, poorly timed disaster. I will be ever vigilant from here on out. Fingers crossed they don't come back.

 

 

Total time = 4 days

Total cost = $1500 of ruined clothes, $50 for dry cleaning, $10 for moth traps.