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Most moths are harmless, and spend most of their time fluttering around at night and bumping into the porch light. But there are a few kinds of moths that find their way into human homes and make a real nuisance of themselves and can do a lot of damage to your clothes and to the food in your pantry. These pest moths are very common in Houston, and they're also very difficult to get rid of on your own.
If you have a problem with moths anywhere in Houston, give Bulls Eye Pest and Termite Control a call at 713-222-PEST.
The nuisance moths we deal with here in Texas come in two basic varieties, those that go after your food and those that go after your clothes.
The Pantry Moth, also called the Indian Meal Moth, North American High-Flyer, or Weevil Moth, is, by any name, one of the most unpleasant experiences you can have sitting down to breakfast. These small, grayish moths will nest in packages of cereal, flour, cookies, or most any other kind of food that's made from vegetables or grains. At some point in time, we've all had the extremely unpleasant experience of looking down into a half-finished bowl of cereal and seeing moths and larvae floating around in it.
Pantry moths can be extremely difficult to get rid of. They are extremely common in Houston, and pretty much every time you bring food home from the grocery store you're risking bringing these moths into your home. While the moths themselves are relatively fragile, and cold temperatures will easily kill them, cold temperatures aren't something we see a lot of in Houston.
You can try setting pheromone traps to get rid of them, which use chemicals that female moths produce during mating season to attract male moths. But the problem with these traps is pretty obvious, they only attract the male moths, and the males aren't the ones laying the eggs.
Getting rid of these moths means getting rid of the source of infestation. This means getting rid of any contaminated foods and eliminating their cocoons and nests. These moths can climb into incredibly tight spaces, and they can fly, so they have a wide range of motion and their eggs can be laid almost anywhere in the house. The first step in getting rid of Pantry Moths is to remove all infected food items from the home and throughly cleaning any pantries, cupboards, or cabinets where the moths had nested. Then the home should be professionally treated to protect against re-infestation.
In Houston, the most common type of clothes-eating moths are a species called the Casemaking Clothes Moth. One of the many great things about living in Houston is that we don't wear our winter clothes all that much. The downside of this is that because we keep those winter woolens in storage so much down here, it gives moths more of an opportunity to nest and for the larvae to gnaw through our clothes. It's really annoying to pull out your good winter coat and find it riddled with little holes.
While people have used mothballs to keep these pests out of clothes, the thinking now is that isn't such a great idea, seeing as how mothballs are essentially little bundles of cancer-causing chemicals. To rid a home of clothes-eating moths, any clothes where the moths have nested should be professionally dry cleaned and infested areas thoroughly cleaned. Professional treatment can then help prevent re-infestation.
If you have moths in your closets or cupboards, give Bulls Eye a call at 713-222-PEST and we'll keep your suits, sweaters, and cereal safe. Bulls Eye Pest and Termite Control provides effective moth control and extermination services anywhere in Houston.
