‘You’re using the traps wrong!’: How I finally banished clothes moths from my home with one simple solution

I’m no stranger to clothes moths. In the height of summer, I’d spot several a night on my walls – and they were everywhere. I’d find them hiding behind the wicker basket in the hallway, surrounding my cat’s litter box in the spare room and even crawling out from under my bed. My proverbial moth bingo card was full.

I brought in some moth deterrents and told myself things could only improve, but they didn’t. If anything, the moths seemed to breed more prolifically, harassing and taunting me each night. I decided I needed a new tactic with my traps, something that would finally break the cycle – here’s what happened.

What did I try to get rid of my clothes moths?

I tried all the usual deterrents around my home to get rid of moths: lavender sachets in the wardrobe, garment bags to protect my cashmere, as well as a fragranced detergent to put them off my clothes.

I soon realised the issue: I couldn’t protect every natural fibre in the home. My partner’s side of the wardrobe is stuffed to the brim with them – natural and synthetic blends alike. Then there’s the rest of the house to consider: blankets, carpets, wool rugs, even my bed has a velvet exterior. Anything with a natural blend was at risk.

In short, no matter how many deterrents I had in place, there was a constant buffet of fibres on offer for clothes moths, both in and out of the wardrobe.

Adobe Stock/Ingo Bartussek

How do moth pheromone traps work?

So, I gave moth pheromone traps a try. I had been uneasy about using these, simply because I worried they might attract more moths into my home. They work by emitting a female moth’s pheromones, which attracts any local male moths. They’re then caught and killed by the sticky surface, which disrupts the breeding cycle because there’s fewer males for the female to breed with. This gradually reduces the number of moths around the home.

I was worried that using one of these could end up luring more moths in, and theoretically, there’s a chance it could, albeit a small one. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend using a pheromone trap unless you know you have a moth problem. Mine had become so bad that I had to take action and these traps were one of the few solutions.

Theo's Home Care London Moth Killer 10x Sticky Pheromone Moth Traps

£18 at Amazon

Credit: Theo's Home Care

Where did I place my moth pheromone traps?

I purchased a moth trap that folds out into a triangle and comes with a hanger built-in, so you can hang in directly on the clothes rail. You’re advised the place them wherever moths frequent, which is preferably dark, humid and undisturbed. Hidden beneath or on top of furniture is a go-to spot, ideally away from any repellents.

Some brands do not recommend placing the trap directly in the wardrobe simply because you don’t want to risk inviting moths in, or clothes touching the sticky surface. But my situation was so bad that I was willing to take the risk.

So, one trap sat folded at the very top of my wardrobe, another was slid under a low-profile chest of drawers and a third went on the top shelf of the bookcase in my front room. I was having difficulty with the placement, as I didn’t want my cat touching any of them. While I’d purchased a moth trap that was pesticide-free, non-toxic and safe around pets, I didn’t want her paws getting stuck to the surface.

A few days went by and the traps started to work – I found several moths glued to the trap under the chest of drawers and only one in the wardrobe trap. So, at least I knew the source wasn’t likely coming from the wardrobe. But still, there were moths galore on the walls every night. I even found myself ushering them towards the traps, to little avail.

Then I realised the moths were usually positioned at the same height on the walls, say about six feet. So, they weren’t near enough to be lured by my ground traps. In light of this, I tried something a little bizarre: I began taping fresh traps to the walls where I noticed high moth activity. If the moths wouldn’t go to my trap, I’d bring it to them – and the cat couldn’t reach them at this height, too, which was a bonus.

One went up in the corner of the room, a few feet above the litter box. And another was taped between the artwork on the adjacent side. I will be honest, they’re not the nicest to look at, but in as little as a few weeks the effect was immense. I’d say the trap above the litter box has 30-40 moths caught in it so far. They’ve performed as well as the ones hidden at floor level, if not better, despite not being in a dark, secluded place.

Between all the traps scattered around the house (six in total), the moth numbers gradually reduced. Within a few weeks, there was an average of 10 moths per trap, but it’s taken a couple of months to whittle down the numbers and break the breeding cycle.

Verdict

I still spot the occasional clothes moth, although they’re so few and far between, I think they’re coming in through the windows, rather than breeding in my home. For peace of mind, I searched every nook and cranny to find evidence of moth activity – I found white, silky webbing under my bed, and I believe they were breeding in the wicker basket in my hallway, too. Everything has since been cleaned, vacuumed and decluttered to hopefully prevent such issues in the future.

The moth pheromone traps were crucial in breaking the breeding cycle, and by placing them directly on walls in a higher spot, they were ideally positioned to pick up any stragglers those traps lower down couldn’t reach.

Sticking moth traps to the walls won’t be for everyone, but it goes to show that placing one in your wardrobe isn’t always the best solution. Moths will find natural fibres all over the home, so placing them higher up in undisturbed areas, such as shelves or on top of the wardrobe, can be just as effective.