Moth problems

pragmatist

pragmatist

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Hi all

Didn't know where to post this so decided on the place where most of us congregate from time to time !

Honestly this is not a wind-up but this year we have a moth problem ! Heard all my granny's tales of moths and moth balls but never had an issue till this year. We have had the misfortune to be virtually unable to visit our wonderful boat last season and this - till now.

The boat was left "as is" with stores in the lockers including things like unopened packets of dry goods - pasta, biscuits etc. When we opened the lockers we found quantities of small moths and vast quantities of what I assume to be moth eggs. Plainly we need to get rid of this lot but not quite sure how to ensure total annihilation - also don't want to find moth holes in our upholstery.

The pasta packs had holes - presumably moths. BUT I opened a screwtopped glass jar of flour and found a dead moth in that. How ?!!!

Have read about other insect invasion (e.g. cockroaches in vurrin parts) but not heard of this one.

HELP !

Penny
 
I suspect that you have an infestation of 'silver-fish'(google for the complete Wiki detail) also known as 'fishmoths'.
From other sources I understand that they are difficult to eradicate,except by removing the affected materials and drying the damp areas, which they love, by heat. I would suggest that if you could get some of the crystals that are used to keep mould from cameras and keep things bone dry,these might work. Alternatively a dehumidifier,battery powered, may help.
There are some adverts on the web for a solution costing $19.99 for a booklet an offer which expires today!! Price increases to $37 tomorrow.........sounds a scam to me!

ianat182
 
I had an infestation of moths a few years ago. A certain crew member was forced to get out his wallet.

Let me tell you about him and our experiences of the 3 weeks he was on board.

We told him we would provide his food as he was helping us with the delivery but that meals ashore would be 'dutch'. Whenever we said we were eating ashore his face fell. He didn't like the scotch we had for the evening tipple so he went and bought some gin (attack of the moths). At the end of the trip, he decanted the remaining 1/4 bottle of gin into a small container and popped it in his backpack. I had a small revenge when I announced it was 'happy hour'. He thought he was getting free drinks but instead it was 'clean ship'.

Fred Rift
 
ianat182 said:
I suspect that you have an infestation of 'silver-fish'(google for the complete Wiki detail) also known as 'fishmoths'.
From other sources I understand that they are difficult to eradicate,except by removing the affected materials and drying the damp areas, which they love, by heat. I would suggest that if you could get some of the crystals that are used to keep mould from cameras and keep things bone dry,these might work. Alternatively a dehumidifier,battery powered, may help.
There are some adverts on the web for a solution costing $19.99 for a booklet an offer which expires today!! Price increases to $37 tomorrow.........sounds a scam to me!

ianat182
Click to expand...

Hi Ian

Nope - checked but these are not the silverfish we used to have around the hearth in my childhood. These most definitely have wings - they are small, silver-grey with a total length of about half an inch and a wingspan of not much more. Just found more amongst the plates so I am spraying with a bleach-based kitchen cleaner and just hope we can eradicate them.

Does anyone know which types of moths go for upholstery/clothing ? I have Googled and discovered that one of the things used as a mothball substitute (don't fancy chemicals near food) is bay leaves and since we have a large bay tree which desperately needs a trim I intend to bring large branches to the boat next time !

Any more comments welcome !

Penny
 
Im not an expert but if they look like this
tineola%20bisselliella.jpg
then they may be the Clothes Moth.

A bit of Googling indicates they could be quite difficult to eradicate. The site here http://www.uknetguide.co.uk/Homes_and_Gardens/Article/How_to_Get_Rid_of_Moths-100224.html is quite useful. I suppose if you could have your boat ashore in a very cold spell and open it up you might be able to freeze them to death but this may not be practicable.
 
Hi

You probably have an infestation of Meal Moths. Since we moved into our current house we have had sporadic outbreaks (2+ years worth). They love anything in cardboard or polythene packaging - flour, cereal, biscuits even crisp breads, bird food & suet! They chomp through the packaging to lay their eggs then the larvae eat the plentiful food stuffs and wriggle their way to a quiet corner of the container to pupate. A few days or weeks later you find lots of little moths flying round the room.

Not surprisingly we managed to transport some to the boat but as I store virtually everything in plastic boxes in our dry food locker they didn't get established. The only way to eradicate them is to be ruthless, every cardboard box has to go plus most of the contents - we are in the process of eradicating the infestation in our kitchen by replacing the kitchen!
 
these are almost definitely a type of food moth so won't go for the clothes or fabric. we had an infestation starting from a packet of dried beans last year. i took out everything from the cupboards, wiped around with white vinegar and bicarb and this got rid of the problem. however, returning from holiday this year we seem to have some back again.

http://www.pan-uk.org/Projects/Local/alt~dir/foodmoths.htm
 
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