Horrors! Moths!
What you are about to read is a true story…….it comes to you directly from Jenny’s yarn stash……
A few days ago I was happily rearranging my yarn into weights rather than colors. I needed some fingering weight yarn and wanted to see all of my options. I was separating it all out when I noticed something that my eyes could not quite believe…..damage to some of the yarn that was nearest the floor. Upon further investigation I realized it had to be moths. Up until that very moment I had been quite disdainful of worrying about moths here in Colorado. Sure, we get great big huge Miller moths every spring but I’d been assured that we don’t get the kind that eat wool. Wrong!! We don’t often have problems here but, as I found out, it can happen.
These moths ate their merry way through yarn that came from out of state and was purchased at a nearby yarn festival. I don’t know if it carried the larvae in it from that other state but it’s possible.
After recovering from my horror at what happened, I contacted my amazing resources...Deb Robson, author of The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook; Tammy White, owner of Wing and a Prayer Farm; and Kate Salomon and Maureen Clark from Green Mountain Spinnery. Those knowledgeable fiber people, plus some internet research, educated me about moths.
The first thing I did was to get all of my yarn out of the house. The damaged yarn went into zip lock bags and into the trash. I put as much as I could into the freezer and the rest went outside. ( As I write this there’s a moth flying around my computer!)
I then ordered an aerosol Hot Shot Fogger and some traps. I have it on good authority that the fogger will kill anything that’s in my knitting room. Before I use it I will gather all of my yarn and put it in the room. Only then will I rest easy!
Here are the basics of what I learned:
Adult moths don’t eat wool, it’s the larvae
The traps are to catch the adult male moths so they can’t procreate
They like dark places, dirt, and sweat
Freezing items for 72 hours will kill the larvae. After being in the freezer, the items need heat; such as in a car on a sunny day. Although, depending on which article I read, it seems that just the freezer time might be enough.
Another freezer suggestion was in for 24 hours, out for 24 hours, and back in for 24 hours
Besides finding where they have eaten, you will also probably find white ‘cocoons’ and a dark powdery substance
They can get almost anywhere that isn’t completely sealed
Lavender is supposed to be a deterrent but they ate through my lavender sachets
Cedar is also a deterrent but cedar needs to be refreshed with a spray such as this every so often
Pennyroyal can be used as a deterrent
I’m in the process of washing every single hand knit item that I own because they don’t like dirt! The idea of hand washing everything was daunting, to say the least, so I tried something I’ve wondered about. I put some of my items into the washing machine on the ‘hand wash’ cycle. Some of these were made with superwash yarn and some weren’t. Although I don’t dare put my more delicate or precious knits in the machine, everything I put in turned out just fine!
The end result of this is much education about moths and the realization that they can come from anywhere and most likely live anywhere. I will no longer leave my yarn out, looking pretty. I will put it in an airtight container of some sort even though I really, really like looking at it.
I highly encourage you to take precautions as the risk is too great. I didn’t lose much, thank goodness but the damage was extensive and not limited to yarn. I lost some scarves and hats that were stored in a tub on the floor in a closet.
Yes, moths can happen to you, too!