One of the most common mistakes individuals make when dealing with clothes moths is that they eat your clothing and put holes in fabric. In reality, the only stage in the moths life cycle where they feed on these fabrics is the larval stage, the adult moths only threat comes in the form of it’s ability to lay up to 300 eggs. The adult clothes moth lays these soft, milky-colored eggs in the fabrics and clothing in which it dwells. So whilst the moths themselves do not eat the clothing, without adequate moth protection (which generally comes in the form of moth repellents such as mothballs), one moth will lay enough eggs to cause significant damage in as little as three weeks.

When these hatch, they become the fabric-eating larvae that causes the damage and it is often those items that are stained by foods, sweat, urine or other substances that will attract the the most attention from them and as such need the most comprehensive moth protection. So one key tip for avoiding infestation is ensuring that the clothing kept in places that may attract clothes moths is kept clean because whilst this will not provide protection from the moths itself, it makes them a lot less likely a target.

Each female moth can lay an average of fifty eggs over 2 to 3 weeks but some types of moths, the less common case bearing moths, can lay as many as 300 before they then die. With 300 eggs, if left for just a couple of weeks you can end up having a serious infestation on your hands which left even further can result in a major problem - so prevention and protection before it takes hold is a much better way of doing it then having to use moth repellent to kill them.

The clothes moth feed on items such as wool, carpets, rugs, furniture which has fabric on it (such as sofas, upholstered chairs etc), animal bristles in brushes, the wool felts in pianos and various other items containing fabrics. Other fabrics and synthetics are becoming more and more common which has led to a decrease in the number of clothes moths however they do often still feed on these materials but usually only when they are blended with wool. Often, the larvae will use these cotton fibers as part of their pupal cases.

In an unintentionally (we assume!) considerate way, the damage that is caused by clothes moths is usually in hidden parts of the fabric, in the case of clothes it would be under the collars or cuffs or in the case of carpets, the damage will often be done under furniture where it can not be seen. However, moth protection and prevention is essential as having to employ moth repellents is a much more difficult (and smelly!) way of dealing with it.