Fur Coat
Help, we have been invaded by moths! What do I do?
I am in the midst of a large and intensive moth invasion. They are slowly but surely eating their way through my cashmere jumpers, my husband's suits and my beloved cashmere slippers. They have found their way into really wacky places, including my little surprise last weekend.
Last Saturday morning, I dug out a pair of old favourite shoes. I hadn't worn them in an age. They are a divine pair of Emma Hope pony skin tan loafers. They have seen me step out in style season after season for 5 years.
Unfortunately they are no more. I opened my shoe cupboard to find that the little blighters had eaten (yes, you are reading correctly) the pony skin on the shoes. They had had a good old go at the leather as well. They hadn't got very far with that enterprise, but nonetheless had made amazing head roads.
The moths, eggs and larvae had been there for quite some time. There were little white eggs everywhere. UUURRGGGGGHHHH! All over the shoes and the shoe box. I couldn't believe it. Aren't moths just meant to eat wool, I exclaimed to my husband. Nick answered in muffled tones that it seemed not. By that stage he was in the back of his wardrobe searching for eggs, larvae, moths or damaged cloths.
We then began a military operation to rid our bedroom of moths. I started by throwing out every last shoe box that we had in our possession. I now have to invest in some Perspex boxes from The Holding Company. I then set about dividing up all our clothes to either wash, freeze (more about that later) or dry clean. I could have cried at the amount of money that I spent at the drycleaners!
Back to the freezing. I put a lot of knitwear, including my damaged slippers, in the freezer. I have read somewhere that this kills any eggs or larvae that may be lurking in the fabric. This has been a somewhat limited exercise as my freezer cannot accommodate many items of clothing!
Next came the call to the pest control companies on Monday morning. One big name company quoted me £700 to de moth three rooms in the house! I laughed him out the door!
I eventually found a company, Beaver House Limited, that will do it for £161. This seems reasonable.
They haven't come yet as one or more of the family members keeps on falling ill. As I am so paranoid about the amount of chemicals that will be sprayed in my house, I am keen for everyone to be fit and healthy when the pest controller comes calling. I haven't mentioned that there are now three bedrooms that have to be de mothed.
I did employ the very useful advice on preventing moths provided by Barty Phillips in the book, Teach Yourself Thrifty Living
I am exhausted just thinking about it. I have to keep the panic at bay as I imagine the little blighters eating into yet another pair of shoes or jumper. I will keep you posted on the war, but I fear that it may be a long one! Does our eco system really need moths. Can't we just get rid of them once and for all? Signing off, Emma.
Addendum: Beaver House Pest Control visited us twice with successful results. We are now officially de mothed with limited damage and upheaval to the household! Long live the war!
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