Moths

When you think about pests in your home or business, you might think of cockroaches, flies, spiders, or rodents, but you may not think about moths. However, moths can be destructive pests and a moth infestation in your home can end up costing you a lot of money in ruined clothing, fabric, furniture and other damages.

If you are looking for an exterminator for moths, contact your local Western Exterminator office. We have specialists ready to deal with moths and provide a solution to get rid of them and then provide methods for you to prevent them from coming back.

Moth life cycle

Moths have a relatively short life cycle. This is why getting a couple of moths inside your home can quickly lead to serious damage to fabric and clothes. A lot depends on the species of moth, but a large number of moths live for maybe a month.

Moths will lay eggs in dark places, which can be the back of closets, and they look for items their larvae can eat as soon as they hatch. This is why they like clothing or furniture in places like attics, basements or rooms where not a lot of people are present. Many species of moth use webbing, which looks and feels very similar to spider webbing, to hold the eggs in place.

Moth eggs then hatch and the larvae, or caterpillar, emerge and start eating. They devour fabrics like cloth, cotton, leather and even synthetic fabrics like carpet and furniture upholstery. The caterpillars eventually form cocoons and evolve into moths. They then seek out other moths to breed with and the cycle starts over. They can spend their entire life cycle living, breeding, eating and growing inside your home.

Signs of moths

One of the first signs of a moth infestation is likely to be holes in fabric or clothing. That's because moths like to lay their eggs in places where the larva will hatch and then devour fabric such as clothing, upholstery, carpeting and other fabrics. The adult moths do not eat fabric and clothing, but they will reproduce and create more larvae that will.

Moths eggs eventually evolve into caterpillars. It's the caterpillars that eat the fabric the most. They can devour woven fabric, cotton and even leather and the damage can be severe. This costs you money, and if you own a business specializing in furniture, upholstering or clothing, it can cost you a lot. Moth eggs just look like tiny white spots, almost like little balls of plastic or BBs. They are very easy to miss.

Most of the time,the moth caterpillars go for the clothes at the back of the closet first. The darkness and moisture levels back there are perfect for breeding and growing moths.

Getting rid of moths

Spraying your clothes with chemicals is probably not the best way to get rid of moths in your home. The best way to get rid of moths is to prevent them from breeding. It is also ideal to prevent adult moths from getting into your home, where they will breed.

Moths fly around lights, such as porch lights, so they can get inside at night when you open and close doors to your home. Keep lights off until you need them. Make sure the doors have screens and the screens are without holes. Ensure window have screens and that they are in good order, too.

Some species of moths can get into homes as eggs through food and goods that are put into the pantry. They also might end up inside through used clothing. Inspect all goods brought in for moths and eggs or egg casings covered in webbing.

Keep your home clean. Vacuum regularly to make sure eggs and larvae are sucked up and disposed of. Make sure to get into the dark corners of the home, and regularly check closets and clothing in drawers and dark areas. Get rid of old clothes, too.

Western Exterminator moth specialists

Western Exterminator specialists are ready to help you get rid of moths and prevent moths from coming back. We can figure out how moths got into the home and will get into the dark corners of closets, attics or basements to find their food source. We will also schedule and provide the right moth treatment for your home. We offer moth extermination that will remove moths and we can help prevent them from coming back.

To start the process, contact the moth exterminators ready to help you with an infestation at your local Western Exterminator office.