Everything Fulshear Residents Need To Know About Clothes Moths

When you find moths fluttering around in your attic or closet, there is a good chance they're clothes moths. Pantry moths don't tend to invade dark attics, storage rooms, or closets unless there is food. If the moths you find are clothes moths, your belongings are at risk because the offspring of clothes moths feed on fabrics, furs, wool, feathers, and other materials that contain keratin.

Join us today as we look at two types of clothes moths you may find in your Fulshear home. We'll discuss their feeding habits, their appearance, and how to detect moth larvae activity. We'll also share tips to help you protect your stuff.

If you prefer a professional solution to your clothes moth problem, Modern Pest Control can help. We can send over a technician to inspect your home and establish an effective plan to rid your home of moths. We are your source for industry-leading pest control in Fulshear.

What Are Clothes Moths?

The simple answer is that clothes moths are moths that can damage your clothes. But there is much more you should know about these insects. If you have a clothes moth infestation, the behavior patterns of the moths can outsmart you. You may think you've fixed the problem, only to have moths appear again and again—and again because the moths aren't the root of the problem. If you take a vacuum and suck all of the moths up and put the bag outside, your infestation will remain. You've only removed the warning sign. You need to address the eggs and larvae to eradicate an infection. Let's break down the facts by looking at the different stages of clothes moths.

A clothes moth can make an average of 40 to 50 eggs in the span of two to three weeks. The egg deposited by the females hatch in roughly 4 to 10 days during the summer, when it is warm, but can take more than three weeks during the winter months. In both cases, eggs hatch rather quickly when considering the long lifespan of the larvae. How long do the larvae live? We're glad you asked.

When the 40 to 50 eggs laid by each female moth hatch in your home, the larvae emerge and survive for 35 days to 2 1/2 years, depending on the habitat. Needless to say, you don't want them to find an ideal habitat inside your house. Larvae will eat the fibers in many of your belongings, from shirts to sheets.

What do clothes moth larvae look like?

We have two common clothes moth species in Fulshear—casemaking clothes moths and webbing clothes moths. The larvae of both are white grubs with dark heads, but they have slightly different feeding patterns. The case making clothes moths create a case and carry it with them as they feed. When they sense danger, they retreat into the case. As the feed, the case grows larger. You can look for these cases to help you find the larvae. The webbing clothes moths provide a sign of their own. As they feed, they create feeding tubes out of fibers and fecal matter. You can find these tubes running along the materials they're eating.

When the larvae of clothes moths are ready to become adult moths, the casemaking clothes moths find a crevice to cocoon in, and the webbing clothes moths create a cocoon on the fabric they're feeding on. The pupation period varies from one to four weeks, depending on the time of year—a little over one week in the summer and as much as four weeks in the winter. Once again, this happens quickly compared to the potentially long lifespan of the larvae.

What do clothes moth pupae look like?

Pupae stay hidden inside the cocoon material, just like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. To find the pupae, you need only look for the silk-like material of the cocoon.

When clothing moths emerge from their cocoons, they are officially adult moths. As adults, they no longer feed on fabrics. Their job is to mate and create more eggs. Removing them is critical to stopping your problem, as they will continue to lay eggs in your home if you don't.

In their adult stage, they don't live long. After laying the eggs, the female moths die off in 3 to 16 days. The males outlive the females, but not by much. A male webbing clothes moth will live about a month. It is important to understand this because you can have the larvae in your home for months and not see any moths flying around. So, when you see a moth, you must do a detailed inspection or contact a licensed professional.

What do adult clothes moths look like?

Casemaking clothes moths are tan with dark spots on their wings. Webbing clothes moths are more of a golden color and do not have spots on the wings. Both of these moths are much thinner in appearance than a pantry moth. Another way to help you tell them apart from pantry moths is that clothes moths flutter around in erratic patterns rather than directly toward their destination.

Of these two moths, the webbing clothes moth is the species most commonly encountered here in Fulshear and across the United States. Not only is this species more common, but it is also of greater economic importance. These moths can hit you in your wallet or pocketbook. Hopefully, you'll find the damage and do something about them before they go too far.

What Does Clothes Moth Damage Look Like?

The simple answer to this question is that moth damage looks like chewed holes. If you pull a sweater out of storage and see holes eaten out of it, close moths might be the culprits. But there are other pests that put holes in your clothing, too, such as silverfish, firebrats, carpet beetles, cockroaches, crickets, and more. The damage these pests do is similar, so you'll likely have trouble telling which pests are eating your fabrics just by inspecting the damage.

You'll have to look for other indicators:

Look for the larvae attached to the item.
Look for the silken cases of case making clothes moths.
Look for the feeding tubes created by webbing clothes moths.
Check for adult moths in the area.

Along with sweaters, these moths can eat away at hat brims, shirts, pants, sheets, blankets, rugs, carpets, bristles on certain brushes, felt pads, upholstered furniture, and more. When they damage these items, they'll eat away at materials hidden from the light, such as along seams, inside pockets, and around the stitching. In a dark closet or a storage box in your attic, they can eat any spot on these items. It is easier to check for damage to items in these areas. As you look, keep in mind that clothes moths are particularly attracted to soiled items, such as a shirt with perspiration stains or food stains.

Whether you find evidence of clothes moths in your home or not, the methods used to arrest an infestation are the same as those used to prevent one. It is time to turn our attention to clothes moth control. We'll give you some effective tips to help you guard your stuff and stop those pests.

Tips To Prevent Clothes Moths In Fulshear

There are many ways to directly and indirectly deal with clothing moths before and after they get into your home. While these are prevention tips, we'll address the problem as though you already have clothing moths in your house:

When you see moths, it is time to pull out the vacuum. Suck those moths up and dispose of the bag outside. If you only remove one moth, you may not have an infestation; it is possible for these pests to flutter into your house by accident.
Check all of your window and door screens. If you have any holes, get the holes patched or have the frames rescreened.
Inspect the seals around your exterior doors. If you can see gaps, consider replacing your weatherstripping.
Check your exterior for any gaps or holes the moths can use to enter your house. Apply caulk or expanding foam to patch these holes.
Consider the humidity levels inside your house. Clothing moths prefer homes that are humid. You can control humidity by installing fans, ventilation, and dehumidifiers and making sure to use them often. Turn your bathroom fan on when taking a shower or bath so that towels stored in your bathroom don't attract the attention of clothing moths.
Gather stored clothing and put the items in sealed plastic containers to keep moths from getting at your clothes. Before doing this, make sure to launder the items. The heat of a dryer is hot enough to eliminate clothing moth larvae and eggs.
Clean all of the clothes in your closets so that they are more resistant. Clothes moths gravitate to laundry items.
If you have items that require dry cleaning, get them dry cleaned before putting them in storage.
If you see evidence of larvae activity on curtains, use your dryer to address them.
Vacuum your rugs and carpets to dislodge and remove eggs. Keep in mind that larvae are likely to be on the bottom side of your rugs. If you want to get them, you'll have to turn the rugs over.

Along with these preventative measures, make sure to do routine inspections of the items in your home that are susceptible to damage. Ongoing monitoring can help you catch continued signs of a moth problem and take further steps to arrest the activity. Now that you know how to deal with clothes moths on your own, let's look at professional methods.

Why To Call Modern Pest Control If You Think You Have Clothes Moths

It is hard work trying to track down clothes moths. But you are never alone when it comes to dealing with pest issues in your Fulshear home. Your Modern Pest Control team is here to help. Your technician will track down the moth activity, locate the moth larvae, and apply appropriate control materials to address your moth infestation.

At Modern Pest Control, the methods we use are comprehensive and provide the best results possible. We also use field-tested methods to evaluate the success of your treatment. It pays to get a professional touch when it comes to dealing with clothes moths because they're not only destructive pests, they're super frustrating to control. It can feel like you're putting out a brush fire.

For professional pest control for your clothes moth problem, you can trust the Modern Pest Control experts for local moth control in Fulshear; this is why:

We use advanced technologies to address the pest problems in and around your home. Our technicians are always on the cutting edge.
We have served the Fulshear area since 1952. That means we have a lot of experience dealing with the specific pests you're struggling with in your home, like webbing clothes moths.
We offer prompt, personal, and customized service to meet your specific needs.
We listen to you and gear your pest control to address your pest problems while also addressing any concerns you have about the materials used.
We work hard to give you the best service possible, but you don't have to take our word for it; you can ask Google. We are a highly rated company because our team actively works to provide excellent service and is quick to resolve any problems that arise.

Are you in Fulshear? Are you having trouble with case making or webbing clothes moths? Contact Modern Pest Control today; we're the right choice when it comes to eliminating these pests. We make it easy to get a price quote and other relevant information regarding service options for clothes moths in Fulshear. Navigate to our Contact Us page and connect with us there. It is hassle-free, and you don't have to wait on the phone. Just plug your questions in, and we send you the answer; we look forward to helping you resolve your pest problems today!

Reach out today to get started and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Fulshear.