Clothes Moth Control: Find the Source and Save Your Wool

You pull out a wool coat or a cashmere sweater and find small holes, or a few tiny moths flutter out of the closet when you open the door. Clothes moths are a slow, hidden problem. The larvae feed in dark corners for weeks before anyone sees them. This guide helps you confirm you have clothes moths and not a look-alike, track down where they are breeding, and clean up so they do not come back.

How to identify clothes moths

Two species cause most of the damage in US homes. Both are small, about 1/4 inch long at rest with a wingspan of roughly 1/2 inch, and both are weak fliers that avoid light.

Adults do not eat. All the damage comes from the larvae.

Clothes moths vs pantry moths and carpet beetles

Two other household pests get mixed up with clothes moths all the time.

If the moths are in the kitchen, see our guide to weevils and pantry moths. If you find bristly shed skins and no webbing, read carpet beetle control. Carpet beetles eat many of the same fabrics, and their damage is easy to blame on moths. Carpet beetles also tend to chew a large area in one spot, while moths leave scattered holes.

Signs of clothes moths

• Holes or thin, grazed patches in wool, cashmere, felt or silk, often hidden under collars, cuffs and folds.
• Silk tunnels or mats with fibers and droppings worked in (webbing clothes moth).
• Small cigar-shaped cases stuck to fabric or walls (casemaking clothes moth).
• Tiny droppings on or under the fabric.
• Fur that sheds in clumps or hairs clipped at the base on fur coats, rugs or taxidermy.
• Small moths that flutter out of a closet or rug and do not fly toward lights.

What clothes moths eat and why they show up

The larvae feed on animal fibers: wool, fur, silk, feathers, felt and leather. They also attack wool in blends with cotton or synthetics, along with wool rugs, upholstered furniture, piano felts and natural-bristle brushes. Plain cotton and synthetics are rarely damaged unless they are blended with wool or heavily soiled. Stained fabric is more likely to be eaten.

The risk goes up when woolens sit undisturbed for months, especially if they went into storage dirty. Pet hair and lint that collect under furniture and in vents can feed a small population too.

How to get rid of clothes moths, step by step

Clothes moth control is mostly a cleaning job, and a missed step lets the moths come back.

1. Find the source. Adults rarely stray far from where they grew up, so start where you saw them. Check every wool, silk, fur and feather item in that closet or room. Look under collars and cuffs, in seams, pockets and folds, along rug edges under furniture, inside upholstered furniture, and in vents and ducts with lint or pet hair. Old bird or other animal nests in the attic, chimney or walls can also start an infestation.
2. Sort what you find. Bag badly damaged items that are not worth saving, seal the bag and put it in the outside trash. Keep everything else bagged until it is treated so larvae do not spread.
3. Wash, dry clean or heat-dry. Washing for 20 to 30 minutes in water at 120°F or hotter kills all stages. Many woolens cannot take hot water, so dry cleaning is the usual choice for those.
4. Freeze what you cannot clean. See the next section.
5. Brush and air the rest. Hang woolens in sunlight and brush them well, paying attention to seams, folds and pockets. This knocks off eggs and larvae.
6. Empty and vacuum the closet. Take everything out. Vacuum the floor, shelves, corners and cracks, then wash the inside of the closet. Vacuum under heavy furniture, along baseboards, and inside and behind heaters and vents too.
7. Empty the vacuum right away, outside, since the bag or canister can hold live eggs and larvae.
8. Put only clean items back into clean storage (see prevention below).

Freezing and heating

Freezing is a good choice for items that cannot be washed or dry cleaned, like some sweaters, hats and small heirlooms.

• Seal the item in a plastic bag first and press out the air. This keeps condensation off the fabric.
• Hold it at 0°F for at least a week. A freezer thermometer tells you whether yours gets that cold. At -20°F, all stages die within about 72 hours.
• Let it warm up inside the bag for about a day before you open it.

Heat also works, but it is easier to damage fabric. UC IPM notes that holding an item above 120°F for at least 30 minutes kills clothes moths. Check whether the fabric can handle heat or cold before you treat anything delicate. For antiques and heirlooms, ask a textile conservator first.

Do not spray insecticide on clothing or bedding. Cleaning and freezing do the work. If you use a product on rug edges or cracks as a supplement, choose one that lists clothes moths on the label, keep oil-based sprays off silk, rayon and other fabrics that stain easily, test any spray on a hidden spot first, and read and follow the label. Our guide to using pesticides safely explains how to read a label.

Pheromone traps: for monitoring, not control

Clothes moth pheromone traps are small glue traps with a lure that attracts males of one species. They help you find and track an infestation, but they will not end one on their own.

• Use them to find the source. Set several traps in a grid across closets and storage areas. The ones that catch the most moths point you toward the infested items.
• Use them to check your cleanup. If catches drop off after cleaning, you are on track. New catches mean something was missed.
• Match the lure to the species. Each species responds to its own pheromone, so identify your moth before you buy. A pantry moth trap will not catch clothes moths.

Trapped males cannot mate, so traps can reduce numbers a little. You still need to find and clean the infested items.

How to keep clothes moths from coming back

• Clean before you store. Wash or dry clean woolens before putting them away for the season.
• Store in airtight containers. Tight-fitting plastic bins or sealed plastic bags keep moths out. A tight seal matters more than the material.
• Go easy on cedar. Cedar closets and chests are seldom effective because they do not seal well enough to hold a repellent level of vapor, and the effect fades as the wood ages.
• Use mothballs only with care, if at all. Naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene products are toxic, smell strong, and only work in a sealed container at the label rate. Keep them away from children and pets. Herbal repellents have unknown effectiveness.
• Vacuum the hidden spots under furniture, along rug edges and in closets on a regular schedule.
• Consider cold storage for furs. Some furriers and department stores offer it.

When to call a professional

Most clothes moth problems in a single closet are a DIY cleanup. Get help if:

• Moths keep showing up in traps after a thorough cleaning and you cannot find the source.
• Wall-to-wall wool carpet, wool upholstery or a large collection of rugs is involved.
• You suspect the source is an old bird or animal nest in the attic, chimney or walls.
• You run a business with stored textiles, such as a clothing store, museum or theater.

A pest control visit for clothes moths usually involves an inspection to find the source, advice on cleaning, and sometimes a crack-and-crevice treatment of rug edges and closets. For fine rugs and heirlooms, a professional rug cleaner, dry cleaner or textile conservator may be the better call. Ask any pest company where they found the infestation, which product they will use and where, and whether it is safe on your fabrics. Our guides to choosing a pest control company and pest control costs cover how to compare quotes. For other indoor insects, start with our household insect guide.

Clothes moth questions

Why are there moths in my closet but no holes yet? Adults do not feed, so the damage starts when their larvae hatch. Check your woolens now and use pheromone traps to see whether you have a breeding population.

Will clothes moths eat my cotton and polyester? Rarely. They may damage it if it is blended with wool or heavily soiled.

Do moth-killing sprays work? Pyrethrin sprays knock down moths quickly but leave no lasting residue, and a surface spray will not reach larvae deep inside stuffed furniture or pillows. Cleaning and freezing are what end the problem.