How to deal with cabbage moths - what to do every year?

It is for this reason that farmers’ struggle with pests continues every year, and, moreover, over time the confrontation only becomes more fierce. There are a huge number of measures to combat cabbage moths, and they should only be used in combination.

• After harvesting, you must carefully get rid of any remaining vegetation., since many pupae remain overwintering on it.
• Control weeds, particularly near areas. They often act as a breeding ground for pests.
• If more than four caterpillars are detected on one bush, or if more than 10% of the plants are affected, the bushes must be treated with insecticides.
• Observe crop rotation carefully from year to year.

By the way, the cabbage moth has many natural enemies, for example, toads, lizards and certain species of birds. By attracting birds with feeders in winter, you will teach them to fly to your site in summer. Also, many wasps lay their eggs in the body of a butterfly caterpillar. Their larvae kill the caterpillar itself, thereby preventing it from completely pupating.

Cabbage moth - control and prevention measures

Basically, in the process of growing cruciferous crops, as well as other plants that moths feed on, on large plots of land it is advisable to use chemical insecticides. When systematically combating this pest, one should take into account the fact that this is the first insect that has resistance to the BT toxin. However, universally stable populations of moths are rare.

However, from time to time it is necessary to use Lepidocid, Bitoxibacillin and Entobacterin. You can also use various types of products based on pyrethrins and pyrethroids against pests.

After harvesting, the soil on the site should be dug up, and all remaining vegetation should be carefully removed. Also, if you water the plants once every twenty days with a solution of superphosphate and potassium chloride, their resistance to various pests significantly increases. The most effective method of controlling insects is considered to be spraying plants with karbofos. To prepare the composition, you need to take 10 liters of water and dilute 60 grams of insecticide in it.

House moths can be food moths, furniture moths, and clothing moths. Its menu includes a variety of products - not only textiles or wool, but also bread, flour, cereals, fruits, vegetables, etc. To get rid of moths, you can use several methods or seek the help of specialists.

Destruction of moths in an apartment using chemicals

Such chemical agents against moths in the apartment as plates, tablets, traps, aerosols, and sprays have shown themselves to work well. Please note that some formulations require the use of gloves and, at a minimum, gauze dressings. Glue traps are placed in different corners of the apartment - they are released with special baits. Simple but popular remedies:

• Aeroxon food moth trap. The luring effect is achieved by applying a special bait to the tape. The bait is odorless and has no harmful substances. After 6 weeks or less, the trap should be replaced.
• Spray Mr. Volt "Dichlorvos". A universal remedy against many crawling and flying insects. Includes tetramethrin, cypermethrin, piperonyl butoxide and other substances.
• Help "Antimol". A spray that effectively protects fur and wool products. Spray directly onto clothing or closet shelves. Settles on surfaces and provides long-lasting protection.
• Lavender pillows. A simple product with a natural, light lavender scent. Reliable protection against pests for 3 months. Suitable for delicate fabrics: silk, cashmere.
• Armol Expert. Aerosol for moth control, odorless. Sprayed on things made of fur or those containing wool. Capable of providing reliable protection for up to 12 months.
• Aerosol "Raptor". Insect control methods using this product are effective due to its dual action - it destroys both adult moths and caterpillars. Does not leave stains, so it is suitable for processing fur and wool products. Efficiency lasts for 12 months.
• Morimol. A liquid insect repellent that is used to treat all surfaces at risk. The protection time can reach 4 months.

Folk repellents

3 simple methods of fighting moths also include a variety of folk remedies. Their difference from chemical compounds is that they do not kill insects, but only repel them. More information about popular folk methods:

• Fragrant orange, tangerine or lemon peels. In each section of the cabinet where citrus peels are laid out, moths do not dare to lay eggs. To be effective, the peels must be fresh—dry ones should be replaced immediately.
• Essential oils. Eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary, clove and fir. Add a few drops to a container of water and wipe the floor, kitchen surfaces, and furniture. You can spray upholstered furniture with this solution. To enhance the effect, place cotton swabs soaked in essential oil throughout the rooms.
• Place mint leaves in small bags and place in areas where moths are most concentrated. An alternative to mint would be chamomile, wormwood, tansy, etc.
• Kitchen and clothes moths do not like the persistent, pungent smell of geranium. It is advisable to have this plant in every room.
• To fight insects, try cedar - insects cannot stand its smell. Place branches of this wood in the closet. Cedar oil can be used for the same purpose.

Professional help

If various anti-moth remedies turn out to be ineffective, then you should use the services of specialists. A one-time treatment of moths, depending on the rooms and total area, will cost on average from 1800 to 2700 rubles. Many companies provide a warranty of 0.5 or 1 year, but the cost of the service will increase in this case. How specialists work - main stages:

1. First, pest control service specialists inspect the premises and furniture. This is how moth habitats and their clutches are discovered.
2. Next, the drug is calculated and the working solution is prepared. In parallel, work is underway to prepare the equipment for processing.
3. Next comes the processing stage. Its duration depends on the area of ​​the apartment - on average about 40 minutes. The exposure of the applied fog should remain in the living space for 1-3 hours. Owners receive advice on this issue.
4. After the allotted time has passed, the apartment is ventilated, and tables, furniture and other items are wiped down.
5. The first results will be visible immediately, but the apartment will be completely cleared of pests in 1-2 weeks. If the infection is very strong, then specialists carry out repeated disinsection after 21 days.

Due to the use of special equipment and chemicals, pests die in the first hours of the procedure. For work, a cold or hot fog generator is often used, which affects moths in the most inaccessible places. The operating principle of the equipment is simple:

1. Using the supplied pump, a powerful air jet is generated.
2. Before release, working fluid begins to flow into it, resulting in the formation of an aqueous suspension with a toxic substance.
3. The particles dissolved in seven have a low molecular weight, so steam begins to spread across the treated area, similar to fog.

29.10.2015

Moths are a very unpleasant pest that prefers to live inside the house or in the garden. An inconspicuous-looking butterfly causes significant damage to garden crops, woolen items and fur coats stored in closets, and food. Today, more than 30 species of moths are known. All of them harm household property, and therefore, for owners who discover such unpleasant guests, the question of how to deal with moths at home becomes urgent. Actually, our article is devoted to this topic.

Varieties of moths by habitat

There are many ways to combat moths, and the reason for this is the diversity of the insects themselves and their habitat. To select truly effective preparations for removing pest butterflies, you need to know where it can live and what damage it causes in its area.

House moth

A distinctive feature of the domestic moth is that it eats practically nothing inside the home. When this insect enters a house, its main goal is to lay eggs. The moth caterpillars that subsequently emerge from the larvae become the very pests that cause damage to furniture, dresses, fur coats and food products. Moth larvae are quite voracious. And therefore, when these unwanted guests appear, the first thing you should do is get rid of the egg-laying eggs and caterpillars.

It should be noted that moths, which differ in their food preferences, often settle inside a house or apartment. This:

1. Fur moth. It is a yellowish butterfly of small size, with a slight shine on the wings. Its larvae are worm-shaped, white in color and have translucent skin. Their main source of food is fur from a fur coat, collar or hat. The insect reproduces quickly, and after it a large number of ovipositions remain on fur products. After a few days, larvae emerge from them, undermining the fur product and making it unsuitable for further wearing.
2. The furniture moth butterfly is light yellow in color and reaches 10 mm in size. A distinctive feature of the insect is its wings, which are brown at the base. Furniture moths lay eggs on the bottom of pieces of furniture, in small crevices in wood, at the bottom of upholstery or under it. Furniture moth larvae eat furniture upholstery and padding material, and then move on to the wood, making passages in it parallel to the pattern.
3. Clothes moths are slightly larger in size than other types of indoor pests. Its wingspan can reach 22 mm. The wings of this butterfly themselves have a purple tint at the base, and light yellow in the center. Clothes moth larvae are similar to coat moth caterpillars, but they can more often be seen on fabric materials (drama, cloth, wool). The clothes butterfly lays eggs on the inside of clothing made from the above materials. The larvae emerging from the eggs gradually gnaw through the tissue, leaving only a thin layer on top intact.
4. Carpet moths are among the most resistant varieties of these insects. The larvae of this butterfly can eat not only carpets in the house, but also fur coats and leather items (jackets, shoes, bags, etc.). Carpet moths lay their eggs in the depths of the fleecy part of the covering, preferring inaccessible areas (for example, located under furniture, covered with the backs of chairs and sofas).
5. Food moth. This pest can most often be found in bags with bulk food products (dried fruits, cereals). Most often, the source of food moths is cereals brought from the market. Improper storage conditions there ensure the appearance of food moth larvae. Even if cereals and bulk products are placed in an airtight jar with a tight-fitting lid, this will not help protect against the appearance of harmful insects. Moreover, the lack of ventilation also contributes to the spread of moths.

Moth living in the garden

The moth that lives in the garden causes a lot of damage to agricultural crops. Its appearance entails a noticeable reduction in fruit yield, damage to potato tubers and cabbage heads. This butterfly can live on:

• fruit and berry trees and shrubs;
• in potato tubers;
• On heads of cabbage;
• On fruit;
• In cereals;
• In wax;
• In domestic mushrooms.

Ways to fight

Having discovered a moth in his home, the owner is often confused and bewildered, not knowing how to properly, and most importantly, effectively fight such an insect. Getting rid of an unwanted butterfly should begin only after identifying its species. Each type of moth has its own methods of treatment and preparations.

With fur moth

Advice! If suddenly moths are flying around your home, try looking into the nooks and crannies of your closet. Perhaps there you will find an old woolen thing that has become a breeding ground for the pest and a place where eggs and larvae accumulate.

The oviposition of a moth butterfly is immediately noticeable, despite its small size. It is white in color and is often located on the surface of things.

Having discovered a pest butterfly in the house, every housewife will probably think about how to save a fur coat from moths. The best way in this case would be to carry out preventive measures, which include the following actions:

• With the onset of spring, it is necessary to carry out general cleaning in the house, throwing away unnecessary and old things that can become a wonderful treat for a butterfly.
• Before putting them into storage, winter items are thoroughly ventilated, cleaned, dried, and then treated with a special aerosol moth repellent. Now such drugs are presented in a wide range and help fight not only the butterflies themselves, but also their larvae and eggs.

It should be understood that if moth eggs are not removed in a timely manner, then after 10 days white larvae will hatch from them. They cause serious damage to fur clothing.

If a fur moth does appear in your things, then it should be destroyed immediately. Fortunately, now there are many means and chemicals to combat such insects. And if you still don’t know how to get moths out of a fur coat, we suggest you familiarize yourself with the most effective means that currently exist:

With food moth

The appearance of food moths in the kitchen is not uncommon. Such a guest is unlikely to be interested in woolen items, but food will be her favorite delicacy. Getting rid of food moths forever is much more difficult, and often it is not possible at all.

The moth, which prefers to live in bulk food, has a large body size, and can be recognized by its wings with black spots. The appearance of this insect in the house is facilitated by low-quality products purchased at the market or in a store. Most often, an unwanted guest settles in cereals or flour. Butterfly larvae can live for several months completely independently, without receiving food at all. The main sign that your cereals have food moths is the presence of cobwebs and tiny worms (these are food moth larvae).

If such a scourge has been detected, we recommend that you immediately review all bulk food products. If there were medicinal herbs near the cereals, they should also be sorted out. If you find larvae in any product, immediately throw it in the trash. To completely get rid of the insect, you should treat the cabinet in which cereals, dried fruits and bulk products were stored with a vinegar solution. Its pungent smell will drive away the remaining pests and block their path to food for a long time.

Attention! To prevent the appearance of food moths, try to store cereals in glass containers with tight-fitting lids.

With wax moth

The large wax moth is becoming a real problem for beekeepers and beekeepers. The appearance of such an insect nullifies all the work. The moth simply eats all the honeycombs, leaving the beekeeper with nothing. Most bee lovers try to protect themselves and their pets in advance from the attacks of such a pest, looking for recommendations that will allow them to find out exactly how to deal with wax moths in hives. Every beekeeper should remember that honeycombs should be stored in a well-ventilated place where there is natural air circulation. The best option for storing honeycombs would be dense cases in which beekeeping tools are placed on top of each other.

Before storing honeycombs for long-term storage (after the end of the honey collection season), it is advisable to fumigate them with sulfur. Also, in order to prevent the appearance of wax moths, approximately 150 ml of carbon disulfide or 50 mg of formaldehyde should be added to the hives. In addition, professional beekeepers know well that butterflies and wax moth larvae are unlikely to appear if the honeycombs are well sprinkled with entobacterin.

Beneficial properties of wax moth

The wax moth, which is also popularly called the moth, has one amazing feature. Her body is the only one in the world capable of digesting beeswax. This butterfly, penetrating inside the beehive (where bees must live), lays eggs there, from which larvae then emerge. They feed on wax from bees' honeycombs. It is interesting that a long time ago beekeepers considered this insect a pest, but today the wax moth belongs to medicinal products. Many readers now probably have a question - what does wax moth treat and how, exactly, does such treatment occur? The fact is that Mechnikov discovered a special enzyme that is present in the body of this insect and has a detrimental effect on mycobacterium tuberculosis. Yes, yes, wax moth is a very useful remedy for tuberculosis. A special tincture is made from the larvae of this butterfly, which is then used for healing. The moth larvae contain the enzyme cerrase, which helps dissolve the walls of bacteria that cause irreparable harm to the human body. Doctors have noticed that it promotes the breakdown of not only Koch bacilli, but also a variety of viruses with cancer cells.

Wax moth larvae also contain polysaccharides and monosaccharides (including galactose and fructose), as well as fatty acids and amino acids that have a beneficial effect on the regeneration processes of old cells.

There are many indications for the use of tincture based on moth larvae:

• Asthma, bronchitis. The drug helps improve expectoration and drainage function of the lungs. Preparations based on wax moth larvae are allowed to be used in the treatment of chronic and acute bronchitis (not only in adults, but also in children).
• Tuberculosis. The enzyme cerrase, already noted above, produced by moth larvae, has a powerful effect on the walls of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causing their destruction and making them more vulnerable to the immune system and drugs. Treatment of people with tuberculosis using wax moth tincture does not entail the development of complications and the destruction of microorganisms beneficial to humans (as is the case in the case of treating tuberculosis only with pharmacological agents).
• Postoperative recovery. Serotonin proteases present in moth larvae prevent the formation of postoperative adhesions and scars. Wax moth tincture will be useful for postoperative patients whose sutures do not heal well or have extensive purulent inflammation.
• Infertility. Wax moth also has an excellent effect on disorders of the reproductive functions of men and women. A drug based on it helps to increase erection and sperm activity in males, and in females, tinctures from moth larvae make the vaginal microflora healthy and improve the functioning of the ovaries. Medicines based on wax moths also have a good effect during pregnancy. They supply a large amount of microelements and vitamins to the blood. The use of such drugs eliminates the risk of developing anemia in the expectant mother.
• Depressive states. Wax moth larvae contain serotonin components, which are responsible for improving mood and performance. A tincture of moth larvae can be used by people prone to depression and ordinary citizens during periods of autumn or spring blues. The composition of this product is so useful that it will help not only cope with a bad mood, but also protect your body from the effects of respiratory infections.

Separately, it is worth mentioning where to buy wax moth tincture? It is clear that it is unlikely that you will be able to prepare it at home (unless you are the owner of an apiary). Pharmacies and beekeepers themselves distribute this drug. When preparing such a tincture for sale, it is important to understand that only moth larvae that have not yet reached the pupation stage are suitable for it. Following this rule is extremely important because immediately before pupation (the intermediate period before the caterpillar becomes a butterfly), the larva stops consuming food and its body is not saturated with useful components. Naturally, such individuals do not carry any therapeutic effect. When purchasing a medicinal solution based on wax moth, pay attention to the presence of instructions with recommendations for use. If there are none, then it is better not to purchase the tincture, since, most likely, it is a fake.

With furniture moth

You can fight furniture moths using various methods. The measures taken will depend on whether the pests have already appeared or not. Preventive methods of control are aimed at preventing the appearance of furniture moths, and elimination methods are aimed at getting rid of existing insects.

Among the elimination measures to combat moths in furniture, the following can be identified:

1. Mechanical removal of moth larvae and eggs;
2. Warming up furniture and treating it with a quartz lamp;
3. Treatment with aerosol insecticidal preparations.

Preventive ways to combat furniture moths in rooms include regular ventilation of the premises, periodic cleaning and washing of furniture, and treating them with disinfectants.

Mothballs can be used to effectively remove adult moths. This remedy has long proven itself to be good, but still has a serious side effect in the form of the presence of carcinogens that are harmful to human health.

The fight against moths that have already appeared on furniture involves mechanical removal of moths, egg-laying eggs and larvae, as well as washing pieces of furniture. An additional effect is created by chemical agents, divided into fumigation and contact.

Contact preparations are represented by various aerosols and insecticidal solutions. They are applied directly to the moth-infested furniture surface. The larvae, crawling on the surface treated with such means, will eat toxic substances and will soon die from them.

Fumigation preparations for controlling butterflies and moth larvae are available in tablets and plates. They are placed in places where moths and their larvae are expected to be located. The destruction of insects occurs due to the aromatic fumes emanating from these drugs. Now manufacturers of insecticidal products against moths offer customers a wide range of their products. The category of aerosols includes Raptor “Moth Protection”, “Armol Expert”, “Moskitol”. The most effective plates against pest butterflies are “Dezmol” and “Antimol”. Morimol, Foxide, Mittox and Supromit solutions will also help protect upholstered furniture and carpeting in the room.

With potato moth

Potato moth is one of the most dangerous pests of potato tubers. It is worth taking measures to combat such a pest during the period of growing potatoes, as well as after harvesting, during its storage. The potato moth is a small gray-brown insect. Its larvae gnaw long tunnels inside potato tubers, causing gradual blackening of the fruit.

Faced with a similar problem, most gardeners do not know how to deal with potato moth. It is extremely difficult to remove this pest, so you should prepare in advance and properly for storing potato tubers. The procedure for exterminating these insects must be carried out systematically and comprehensively, in accordance with the following principles:

• Healthy potato tubers should be planted at the maximum possible depth, after warming them up.
• It is recommended to regularly hill up and loosen potato plantings.
• Potato tops must be mowed and destroyed in a timely manner.
• Immediately after harvesting potatoes, it is worth treating them with special anti-moth products. Such potato pests will not be able to resist Entobacterin, Dendrobacillin and Lepidocide. The potato treatment product Prestige has also proven itself to be effective in the fight against potato moth.
• It is recommended to store the potato harvest at a temperature of 3-5 ºC to avoid the appearance of butterflies and moth larvae.

Thus, the measures combine chemical and agrotechnical measures. It is necessary to take care in advance of preparing the place for storing potatoes, clearing it of any debris. The potato storage facility must not only be clean, but also thoroughly disinfected. Before storing the tubers, it is advisable to clean them from obvious dirt and dry them in the open air.

If there are still moths in the storage area where potatoes are stored, you can try using so-called sulfur bombs for greenhouses. When such a bomb burns, a gas called sulfur dioxide is released into the air. It has a detrimental effect on the body of the insect pest. Sulfur is burned in the basement where potato tubers are stored at the rate of 50 per 1 m 3. The scope of application of sulfur bombs is not limited to cellars. They are also used for disinfecting polycarbonate greenhouses, houses and warehouses. Fumigating the cellar with a sulfur bomb allows you to dry the cellar and prevent the development of mold, rot and fungal diseases in it. You can buy such a device in a specialized store or make it yourself by watching a video on how to make a smoke bomb.

With apple moth

– a very serious pest for garden trees. Such moths harm not only apple trees, but also other fruit trees (plums, apricots, cherries, pears).

A distinctive feature of the apple moth butterfly is the light gray or white color of its wings. The caterpillar of this pest has a greenish color and two rows of black dots. It is the moth caterpillars that cause cobwebs to appear on the leaves of trees, which subsequently destroys all the foliage on individual branches. If a small tree is severely affected, there is a risk that it will completely lose its vegetative parts.

Pests of fruit trees can cause irreparable damage to gardening and the fight against them should therefore begin as early as possible.

• Before flowering begins, it is advisable to treat trees with insecticidal agents.
• To control the presence and number of apple moths, it is recommended to hang pest traps on fruit trees throughout the garden.
• Moth-infested leaves of an apple tree or other trees must be promptly collected and destroyed.
• The natural enemies of apple moths are braconid wasps. They should be attracted to the garden when pests are detected.
• If necessary, additional chemicals can be used.

With chestnut moth

The main measures to combat the chestnut moth are feeding the trees and introducing special chemicals into the tree vessels, the basis of which is Imidacloprid. This component saturates chestnut leaves with substances poisonous to moths. A method in which the so-called Trichogramma ichneumon is attached to the larvae also has a good effect.

With ermine moth

The ermine moth is an insect from the Lepidoptera family, which includes more than 600 species. Most often, varieties of ermine moths are found in the tropics, but some of them have adapted to life in Russia. The main source of food for ermine moths is vegetation (mainly leaves, less often roots). Settling on the stems and leaves of vegetation, the caterpillars of this butterfly quickly entangle them in a web, stopping the supply of nutrients. Several hundred caterpillars can exist independently of each other on one tree. The ermine moth causes great harm to agriculture and forestry. In Russia, this species of harmful butterfly can be found on apple trees and bird cherry trees. By depriving the plant of leaves, this insect provokes a slowdown and complete cessation of its growth, lack of fruiting and flowering.

The main method of combating ermine moths will be timely prevention and treatment of wood with chemical insecticidal preparations or biological agents. If the area affected by the tree is small, then the nests of moths can be collected manually, and leaves damaged by the pest can also be collected. They are then burned along with the larvae outside the garden plot.

Among the most effective insecticidal preparations used to combat ermine moths are:

• Arsenic solution;
• Bordeaux mixture;
• Danadim;
• Lepidocide;
• Bitoxibacillin;
• Aktellik (for private gardening farms).

The first treatment is carried out in May, but care should be taken, since the above-mentioned agents are extremely toxic. You can treat the plant again in early July.

There is also a folk method of fighting ermine moths. A solution is prepared, the basis of which is a bucket of water, in which a pack of shag tobacco, a bag of red pepper, onion and garlic peels, and a bottle of potassium permanganate are diluted. The prepared mixture is infused for three days and then sprayed on the trees. This drug can be replaced with regular Coca-Cola.

With poplar moth

The poplar moth is a small white butterfly that is predominantly nocturnal. It harms agricultural products, but mainly settles on green plantations of poplars of various types. The color of the poplar moth is inconspicuous, but there is slight variegation on the front wings. The caterpillar of this pest does not exceed 5 mm in length.

As for the methods of combating poplar moths, it is worth considering that this pest does not cause any damage to humans. True, sometimes moths cause inconvenience by settling on the ceilings and windows of homes. The main means of combating poplar moths now is to spray the crowns of poplars and the soil around their plantings with strong pesticides.

Fighting whitefly

The whitefly is a harmful insect of small size and white color. These butterflies are localized on the inside of tree leaves and therefore are practically invisible.

To understand how to deal with whiteflies at home, a gardener needs to be familiar with the main signs of the presence of insects on a plant:

1. When you touch the stem and leaves, whitefly butterflies immediately fly up from underneath.
2. On the underside of the leaves, where butterflies accumulate, there is a sticky coating in which fungi multiply. Because of them, the leaf first acquires a white tint, and then gradually turns black.
3. Whiteflies carry viral diseases from plant to plant, causing deformation of stems, leaves and cessation of shoot growth.

If vegetable or other cultivated plants in the garden are affected by whiteflies, then the main measure to combat it will be to treat them with insecticidal agents. The drugs Actellik, Confidor, Fufanon, Pegasus, Fosbecid will be effective in this case. The number of sprays and recommendations for diluting the preparations can be found in the instructions for them.

The whitefly causes great damage to agricultural land and its control must be high-quality, effective and timely. Folk remedies against whiteflies have proven themselves well. It should be remembered that such pests react extremely poorly to cold, so a plant affected by this type of moth can be moved to a cooler room for preventive purposes. But at the same time, it is worth clarifying whether such a movement will have a negative impact on the vegetation itself.

So-called glue traps against whitefly moths have become very popular among gardeners. An ordinary plywood sheet is painted bright yellow, and spread on top with a layer of adhesive (honey, castor oil or rosin). The bright surface will attract butterflies, and the glue will prevent them from flying away. Regular sticky fly strips can also be used as moth traps.

There are also more neutral ways to deal with whiteflies. They are used if whiteflies have infested indoor flowers. It helps in this case:

• Infusion of yarrow. The leaves of this plant are taken in the amount of 80 g per 1 liter of water and infused for one day. Large plant leaves are wiped with a cotton swab, and flowers with small leaves are sprayed.
• Garlic infusion. Add a tablespoon of finely chopped garlic to a liter of water. The composition must be infused for one day.
• 1 part of crushed soap is dissolved in 6 parts of water, and then the leaves of moth-infested plants are wiped with the prepared solution.

Rules for storing fur coats

You can prevent the appearance of moths and their larvae in fur items if you properly store clothes in the off-season. Most often, moth larvae are found in outerwear made of natural fur, and therefore we will give a number of rules regarding how to store a mink coat in the summer.

1. The best option for storing a natural mink coat is a bag made of breathable material. It is desirable that it is not made of polyethylene. It’s better, of course, to buy a cover for your fur coat. Before placing it in it, the fur product should be hung on wide hangers. In general, it is recommended to store such clothes in a dry and slightly cool place, separate from other things. This will ensure normal air circulation in the storage area and prevent the appearance of pest butterflies.
2. Regular newspapers will help protect a coat of valuable fur from moths and other pests. Before placing in a bag, the product is rolled up and wrapped in newspapers. To increase the effectiveness of such preventive measures, you can wrap tangerine peels against moths, tobacco, lavender or hot peppers along with a fur coat. All these products have a pungent odor that the harmful butterfly does not like. For humans, the aroma of these natural remedies will be pleasant and unobtrusive. This option will help not only to establish an effective fight against moths, but also to freshen the air in the room.
3. When storing a fur coat for summer storage, pay special attention to choosing hangers for it. Wooden or plastic traps are most suitable for products made of natural fur. The length of the coat hanger should correspond to the length of its shoulder.
4. If your financial capabilities allow you, then during the summer you can store a mink coat in a special refrigerator, which is now available in many dry cleaners. Moths are very afraid of the cold and will never encroach on fur stored at sub-zero temperatures.
5. If a fur product is stored in a closet at home, it is advisable to regularly take it out for ventilation. In winter, the fur coat is ventilated naturally while wearing it, but in summer it must be forced to undergo this procedure. But at the same time, you should take care that the fur is not exposed to direct sunlight.
6. To ensure that your natural mink coat lasts as long as possible, do not wash it in water using a variety of detergents. This cleaning method is categorically unacceptable for any fur product, as it leads to a significant deterioration in its appearance. The fur fibers stick together under the influence of a humid environment, and as a result the entire fur coat looks unpresentable.
7. Do not dry a fur coat with a hairdryer or by placing it near a heating radiator.
8. If the fur becomes dirty, it can only be cleaned in a specialized institution called dry cleaning. You should not comb the fur against the hair growth, or try to knock dust out of it with a carpet beater. This type of exposure often causes the fragile fibers to break.

Irina Z.
How to get rid of moths in a house where there are a lot of moths from nowhere?

The appearance of moths in the house is a common occurrence, so it is important for housewives to be able to deal with them. These harmful insects are found in food, clothing, carpets, etc. As a result, the inhabitants of the house may lose a sweater or fur coat, a piece of furniture or a supply of flour. To avoid losses, you need to know how to get rid of moths as quickly and efficiently as possible.

How moths appear in the house

There are more than 30 species of moths, among which the most common are furniture moths, fur moths, clothes moths, carpet moths, fruit moths, cereal moths, etc. These insects, up to 1.5 cm in size, have an inconspicuous gray color. The greatest harm is caused not by adults, but by caterpillars and larvae, which eat huge amounts of food.

Moths often enter a home in several ways:

• flies through a door or window;
• enters the apartment along with purchased items or products;
• enters the house from neighbors through cracks, ventilation ducts or the entrance.

It is quite difficult to detect the eggs of these insects, but adults that begin to fly are easy to spot. If residents see a small gray butterfly, it means there is a pest in the house that needs to be removed without delay.

Moth habitats

If there are a lot of moths flying around the house, but no one knows where they came from, then you need to urgently start searching:

1. Inspect the closets where wool, fur and other wardrobe items are stored. The presence of pests will be indicated by oblong cocoons, holes and fur bald spots in the products.
2. Consider furniture upholstered with natural fabrics. If there are insects there, then their tunnels will be visible.
3. Examine all carpet products made from natural materials, where bald spots, ducts and cocoons may also be found.
4. Make an audit of the products stored in kitchen cabinets. You need to inspect flour, cereals, dried fruits and look for lumps, glued grains, small worms and cobwebs. After determining the insects' habitat, all contaminated products should be thrown away. Then you need to thoroughly wash and dry the kitchen set.

Pest Control Methods

Heat treatment. The moth feels comfortable at ambient temperatures from -5°C to +45°C. Therefore, with a small degree of infestation, the following methods will help to remove insects:

Moths cannot tolerate high temperatures

• Steam clothing or wash at maximum temperatures. To rid carpets and furniture of pests, you can use a steam generator or a special household hair dryer.
• Freezing the room for several hours.

Attention! Necessary precautions should be taken to avoid damaging the heating system.

• Placing fur products in the refrigerator.

Chemicals. Insecticidal preparations successfully fight clothes moths:

• Fumigators are not harmful to humans, but are destructive to insects. The most popular products include “Raid”, “DiK-3”, “Mosquitall”.
• Aerosols have a strong poisonous effect and can completely destroy pests. Usually such products as “Protection against moths” (“Mosquitall”), “Armol”, “Raptor” “Extramit”, etc. are used.
• Moth sections - often used only to prevent infection. The most popular are Mosquitall and Raptor.

Attention! If small children or people with allergic diseases live in the house, then it is better to fight pests using natural remedies.

Folk remedies for pest control

Natural products that have a strong odor will help get rid of moths:

• geranium,
• dried lavender with flowers,

• laundry soap,
• sagebrush,
• citrus peels,
• tobacco,
• walnut leaves.

The listed products should be laid out on shelves, which will repel insects and serve as good prevention for the future.

Thus, various methods will help get rid of moths, the effectiveness of which has already been proven by practice. But it is best not to fight the problem that has arisen, but to try to avoid it: regularly clean the apartment, ventilate cabinets, clean furniture and carpets, store cereals in carefully closed jars.

How to kill moths: video

How to fight moths? This question arises when an unpleasant-looking gray butterfly is found in kitchen supplies or traces of its activity on clothing.

Simply catching an insect and destroying it is an ineffective method, because the victim will be a completely harmless male.

Moth: a real disaster for things and products

The biggest problem is the voracious caterpillars, which actively destroy household products and mercilessly spoil things in closets. Just a day is enough for such a larva to gnaw a through hole in a woolen sweater. There are about 30 types of moths in everyday life, and all of them are harmful to humans. How to deal with moths in an apartment?

Moths that live in closets do not like fresh air and bright light, so they do not touch things that are worn often. But when it comes to winter clothes, she is not picky; she eats felt, wool, natural velvet, and fur. In an effort to get to food, it easily chews through plastic bags and synthetic fabrics encountered along the way. Caterpillars of the fur moth can withstand temperatures as low as 0°C and can go without food for a whole month.

How to fight moths at home

You can fight moths in different ways: both time-tested folk methods and modern drugs are effective. At one time, naphthalene was considered the most famous anti-moth agent. However, the large-scale use of such a product has led to the development of resistance to it in some moth populations. In addition, it was discovered that the drug causes enormous harm to human health because it is a carcinogen - a factor that causes the occurrence of malignant tumors. How to deal with moths in other ways that do not pose a threat to health?

Folk remedies against moths

How to fight moths with folk remedies? One of the most effective folk remedies is tobacco, the pungent odor of which is absolutely intolerable to insects. In a living flowering form, this plant should be kept on the windowsill, periodically placed in a closet with moths.

Or use dry leaves, which are placed in fabric bags and hung (or spread) in places where moths are present. An analogue of tobacco in the fight against moths is dried lavender. Additionally, in order to enhance the result, it is recommended to place pieces of laundry soap in your clothing pockets. Fresh orange peels are used to protect kitchen furniture and food.

Living geraniums growing indoors will also repel unpleasant butterflies with their smell. It is recommended to place fresh leaves of the plant on the shelves of cabinets.

However, such natural remedies are just repellents - deterrent substances. If there is a massive presence of moths, chemical preparations should be used, the range of which is presented in various forms on the consumer market.

Anti-moth aerosols

How to fight moths with chemicals? Aerosols and sprays (“Antimol”, “Clean House”, “Armol”, “Raptor”, “Extramit”) are solutions of powerful insecticides contained in a cylinder under high pressure. Sprayed in a room or wardrobe, they have a poisonous effect on larvae and adult moths. Easy to use, such drugs are characterized by rapid action and low cost. True, insecticides will have to be inhaled not only by moths, but also by humans during and after treatment. In this case, it is especially difficult for allergy sufferers.

The use of aerosols is perhaps the most labor-intensive compared to other anti-moth agents. When destroying moths, in addition to the surfaces of cabinets, it is necessary to treat all clothing, furniture upholstery, and carpets. Often one bottle of the drug is not enough for such a volume. After several hours, the room needs to be cleaned, and things need to be thoroughly washed and ventilated. Treatment carried out in full accordance with the instructions will completely get rid of clothes, furniture and fur moths.

In the kitchen, the use of aerosols is very limited. They can be used to treat cabinets and bedside tables that have been previously cleared of food. The very places where larvae are concentrated in food supplies cannot be treated with such insecticides.

Simple and durable fumigators

Fumigators (DiK-3, Raid, Mosquitall) are quite easy to use: you just need to plug the drug into the outlet and forget about it. You can run an extension cord into the closet. The action is somewhat extended over time: the effect occurs over a period of 3 days to 2 weeks. But the accumulation of insecticides in the air will be several times lower than when treated with aerosols. The principle of operation is to heat the aromatic insecticidal plate and evaporate the toxic substance when the fumigator is plugged into a power outlet. Sometimes the plates are replaced with special liquids that act similarly. The dimensions of the fumigators are relatively small, approximately 95*60*50 mm; coverage area up to 30 m2.

The advantage of this method is its low cost and long service life. In dining rooms and kitchens, the fumigator should be used carefully, avoiding the accumulation of chemical vapors in cabinets where food is stored.

Anti-moth sections

How to deal with moths in an apartment? In addition to aerosols and fumigators, there are special sections against moths (Mosquitall, "Raptor"). They are characterized by a preventive effect and are intended to repel adult insects rather than destroy their larvae. Therefore, the use of such devices is recommended before a winged pest appears in the house. They are produced in the form of suspended and attached plates with various scents that repel insects: chamomile, tangerine, lavender. The anti-moth effect of 2 sections extends to ½ m2 of cabinet area. Replacement with new ones is carried out after about 4 months. It is recommended to store the chemical product out of the reach of children, away from food products.

How to deal with house moths to get rid of them forever? In combination with natural and chemical methods, it is necessary to get rid of moths physically. Fly traps are used to catch butterflies. If insects are infested in the cereal, and their number is not terrifying, then the grains can be sorted and heated in the oven at 60 degrees for 40 minutes. A nest found in a closet should be eliminated, its location should be thoroughly vacuumed, all items from the closet should be shaken and placed in a cool place (for example, on a balcony) for a day.

Food moth: how to get rid of it

Food (grain) moths settle in cereals, flour, dried fruits; its larvae in the caterpillar stage are capable of spoiling almost all food supplies. Adults do not have a mouth, so they do not feed at all. Despite their short lifespan (no more than a week), butterflies manage to lay up to 100-150 eggs. Under favorable conditions (high humidity, warm temperature and lack of ventilation), insect reproduction occurs in a continuous cycle. How to deal with food moths in the kitchen?

You should get rid of food moths very carefully, in several stages. It is necessary to check all stocks of cereals, flour, sugar. If you find an insect with damaged food, you will have to say goodbye or bake it in a frying pan and sift it.

1. Treat food storage areas with fumigators and anti-moth aerosols, and place repellent preparations on the shelves: garlic, lavender, orange peels.
2. Hang sticky fly tapes and destroy flying moths manually.

Preventive measures

In order to prevent the appearance of moths in the household, it is recommended:

• Store all grocery products in tightly closed containers.
• Regularly ventilate and clean the room. Once a month and carpets using disinfectants.
• Before storage, winter clothes must be washed and cleaned. Moths prefer to live on things with sweaty and dirty stains. After cleaning, it is recommended to place wool and fur items in plastic bags, and fur coats in thick paper covers, having previously sprayed them with anti-moth preparations. Some things intended for storage can be wrapped in newspaper: moths cannot stand the smell of printing ink.

How to deal with cabbage moth

Outdoors, in summer cottages, it operates inconspicuous in appearance, causing significant damage to garden crops, in particular cabbage. After hatching from the egg, the caterpillars feed only inside heads of cabbage and other cruciferous crops. Gnawing through tangled tunnels, they infect the plant and are able to completely destroy it.

How to fight cabbage moth? It needs to be combated comprehensively, because the pest is characterized by the ability to develop resistance to drugs that were effective in the previous season. Chemical treatment is required. The best means are:

• "Aktellik". Available in 2 ml ampoules, it is toxic and has a hazard class of 2. Spraying is carried out with a solution of 30 ml of the product diluted in 10 liters of water.
• "Bitoxycilide" and "Lepidocide". The result is obvious within 2 days from the moment of processing the garden crop; the protective effect lasts about 2 weeks.

In parallel with the chemical treatment, the caterpillars must be collected manually. This method will protect against the mass appearance of adults laying eggs. It is imperative to remove weeds and dig up the soil well where the cabbage grows. This is necessary in order to prevent overwintered individuals from reaching the soil surface.

Fighting leafminer moths

There is also a type of moth called mining moth. The small insect got its name from the ancient word “mine,” which implies the creation of hidden passages. It is in this way that leaf miner caterpillars damage plant leaves from the inside. Moreover, it is very difficult to identify the pest externally: its presence is indicated only by the death of the plant.

Miner moth caterpillars feed on almost all types of fruit and berry plantings, flowers, weeds, ornamental and medicinal plants. If a leafminer moth is found on a site, how to deal with this pest? What techniques should be used?

In the fight against “miners”, the use of chemicals is effective, namely: “Bi-58”, “Karate”, “Dimilin”, “Confidor maxi”, “Aktara”, “Aktofit”. If there are several generations of leafminer moths, spraying should be carried out repeatedly.

How to deal with moths during the summer? To do this, in greenhouses and open ground, you need to hang plates, boards, and pieces of yellow plastic coated with glue, placing them at the level of the main leaf mass along the rows of plants. Before flying, attach adhesive belts to tree trunks. It is also important to remove the affected parts of the plants and then destroy them manually. In the fall, it is imperative to clean up under the tree and compost the fallen leaves, and carefully dig up the tree trunk circles.