r/InvisibleMending • u/MirabelleSWalker • 5d ago
Moth fest in my closet
I fixed the small hole with darning wool and the larger one with embroidery thread. I wish I had wool that matched but even with 96 colors you can come up short! My first time trying a Swiss darn on something this fine. I’ll probably wear it around the house and out for errands.
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u/nixiepixie12 7h ago
Amazing! Side note, do you know the brand of the sweater? I’m curious, I love the colors.
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u/allaspiaggia 5d ago
This looks amazing! With more wear the stitching will soften and blend more naturally. Well done!
Now, go back to your closet and clean it out. Vacuum insanely well, spray and wipe everything. Those moths are just getting started, and you need to kill them all. They have likely burrowed into other things, laying dormant, little jerks. Vacuuming helps remove the eggs, any little sandy bits you see are their eggs and poop - both are so tiny it’s hard to tell the difference. Wash EVERYTHING, which removes a lot of eggs, but not all. Wipe down all hard surfaces.
Then, order pheromone clothing moth traps. I get mine on Amazon, but they’re all the same. Brand/etc doesn’t matter as long as they’re sticky pheromone clothing moth traps. Put one (and only one) per room, as too many traps overwhelms the moths and they don’t work as well. They work by attracting the male moths, who then get stuck and can’t fertilize female eggs, so the colony dies off in a generation or two. I would never use sticky traps on any creature except clothing moths - they can die a slow painful death for all I care. Remember to change them every 6 months, or when they get full.
Sorry for the long rant, I thrift a lot of wool, and am in a constant battle against these little demons. Sticky pheromone traps are the ONLY thing that works. And I’ve tried it all. Get some sticky pheromone traps today, or else you’ll be getting a lot of practice at darning sweaters!