Buying beautiful clothes is one of life’s great pleasures, but for beauty to last it needs appreciation and care. Neglect is the nemesis of the wardrobe, leading to decay and destruction. Without invigilation the agent of ruination can creep into your clothing. As you may know this winged harbinger of doom goes under the name of Tineola bisselliella; aka the clothes moth.

Without doubt clothes moths are one of the few animals, along with kittens (a long story) that strike fear into my very heart. Left to their own devices the larvae of these tiny fluttering devils not only cause very expensive damage, they can also leave you perilously exposed, like many below the belt aggressors they tend to aim for the crotch.

As stealthy as moths are, they can be kept at bay if you know their modus operandi. You can then act accordingly with various forms of warfare from chemical and biological to brush in hand combat. The lifecycle of the clothes moth is a fairly standard one of the Lepidoptera order, which includes butterflies great and small.

The female lays eggs, these hatch into hungry caterpillars and munch through anything they can get her mandibles into. Eventually they form themselves a cocoon and emerge a month or so later as a moth keen on finding a mate. The males tend to fly towards the less mobile females, using smell to locate them in your darkened wardrobe. You can buy pheromone traps, which male moths mistake for lusty females, fly towards and come to a sticky end on. The pheromone boxes are great as a monitor too. A couple of moths trapped a month is OK but if it fills up after a couple of weeks you have an infestation and then pheromone devices need to be removed, whilst the room/ area is sprayed and then a day later replace the pheromone traps. You do not want the traps to be contaminated with the spray.

Another recommendation we have been told is to not put the pheromone boxes in wardrobes as this will attract the moths in. Placing them on top of a wardrobe is better, away from windows and doors. One every 5m will suffice, alternating them with moth decoy products will also confuses the mating!

These traps however only solve half the problem. Since scent is so important for moths, strong perfumes such as lavender or even Yardley’s sandalwood soap bars, which my stepmother swears by, bamboozles the blighters. You can get sprays ranging from very toxic concoctions by Rentokil to more natural ones such as Chrysanthemum Moth Killer Spray, which is our spray of choice as it is natural and does not include any harmful chemicals.

I find the most effective method is to get everything out of my cupboards, visually inspect for moth eggs and the little white web cocoons and then give all your cloths a steam from a handheld contraption followed by a good stiff brush with a proper bristle clothes brush,

Whenever I undertake this mission I inevitably end up with a pile of clothes that need mending. Depending on the severity of the attack there are various options available. Invisible mending is incredible, but seriously expensive and you have to weigh up the overall wearability of the garment. There is no point spending a lot on a small patch if the rest is a bit tatty. For larger holes on loved garments that you just want to continue wearing then I suggest a jolly patch over the offending hole. This can either be a piece of the same material cunningly obtained from somewhere like the trouser inside turn ups, or another piece of contrasting cloth used in an arty way.

Watch one of my tiktok videos on moth care.

Watch another of my tiktoks for the repair results to my suit.

In these circumstances I sometimes find my mind wandering to Nanki-Poo’s song and the minstrel of shreds and patches; both the mending and the Gilbert and Sullivan reminding me of my Grandmother. The final option for mutilated garments may be something more radical like amputation. My daughter manages to make cutoff trousers look wonderful as trendy shorts.

After a thorough wardrobe clean you may decide that some of your outfits are destined only for the local farmer’s scare crow, but on the positive side you will have room for some new threads yourself. Visiting your tailor to bespeak a new look brings us full circle in this life cycle story starting again at the beginning: buying beautiful clothes is one of life’s great pleasures.

We stock a range of Total Wardrobe Care products which are all natural and a great deterrent to moths, they smell lovely for the home as well. Check out their website, or visit us in store to see what we have available:

www.totalwardrobecare.co.uk

SUMMER SALE:

10% off – Made to measure tailoring

20% off – Accessories, ready to wear and throws

30% off – Fabric

Available until 31st July 2024

Special sample sale also available exclusively in store.

We hope to see you in store soon!

All the best,

The Dashing Team