Dealing with moths in your stash or woollens
Luckily, I don't have moths in my stash. I rather suspect
that if I ever found them, I would be paranoid every time something airborne
was spotted in our house. My 'Stash Palace' is rather large and has been
lovingly curated, so the idea of finding moths or their carnage makes me
uneasy.
Moths are attracted to quiet, dark places like your yarn shelves or woollens
drawer. They like to feed on ceratin, a protein that occurs in natural
fibres and human hair/skin.
I have come across and engaged in quite a few chats about deterring and
killing moths and so here is my list of things that you can do whether you want
to deter them, or protect your stash like a ninja.
1 - Use lavender as a deterrent
Moths are scent sensitive and do not like the smell of lavender. I
have mini lavender pouches in my crochet and knitting project bags. In my
Stash Palace, I have little sachets dotted around in the skeins and little
crocheted containers with dried lavender flowers in to make sure that the
lavender scent is everywhere. I also have lavender sachets in my shawl
basket and in my woollens drawer. You would be amazed by how many people
protect their stashes, but not their finished objects.
I add these little sachets into my woollens drawer you can buy them from
Every now and then I fumble the sachets so that more of the essential
oils with the dried lavender flowers are released and the scent continues to be
present. I also do this with the lavender in my crochet containers.
I also have a lavender kitchen surface spray which I use to clean down
surfaces in my Stash Palace as an extra layer of lavender scent.
This English/French grown lavender is great for making your own handmade sachets - £3.50 for 100g from KNIT IT - HOOK IT - CRAFT IT
Lavender will not kill moths, but it is a very good deterrent!
2 - Move your stash around & wash your woollens
By rummaging through your stash every now and then and going through
your woollens drawer, you can disturb adult moths and discourage them from
settling and laying eggs. This is also a good opportunity to look for
signs of moths and you should be looking for:
- Small white fuzzy spots -
this means that you probably have larvae on your items and you need to
take action.
- Small holes in your items,
remember to check the items thoroughly including underarms and collars.
Again, if you see holes, you need to take action.
I tend to wet block all of my projects. I do this because every
time I do, I am amazed by how much dirt comes out and it allows me to wash the
project with lavender Eucalan which adds another layer of lavender scent into
my woollens. Lavender Eucalan has lavender essential oil in it but
doesn't have an overpowering lavender smell when you wear your garment.
Moving your stash/woollens around will not kill moths, but is a
deterrent.
3 - Freeze your stash
If you suspect that you have moths or have bought yarn and want to
ensure that you aren't bringing moths or their larvae into your home, then you
can place your yarn into Ziploc bags and freeze them. Freezing the yarn
kills the moths and larvae and therefore protects your stash and items. I
have had conversations with people that freeze every skein/ball of yarn before
it goes to their stash. This may seem over the top to some but if you
have really beautiful yarns it would be awful to find it decimated by moths.
You will need to freeze the yarn to below -8 degrees C for a few days. Freezing your stash will kill moths and their larvae.
4 - Storing your yarn and woolens
Storing your yarn in bags or containers can be a great way of
creating a barrier between your yarn and moths. There is a question over
letting the yarn breath but breath in which case you will still want to store
it in something like a synthetic drawstring bag.
Keeping your stash in large sealed containers will create a barrier.
If you are lucky enough to have a cedar wood chest, this is ideal for
keeping your yarn and woollens in.
If you find moths or larvae, then you need to
Once you are sure that you have eradicated all sign of them, then you should
keep on doing the things that help to deter them see points 1 and 2) - use
lavender and move your stash/woollens around.
I hope this helps you to keep moths away from your precious woollens and stash.
Fay
Conkers are also good for keeping moths, so I'm told,away too.
ReplyDeleteConkers are also good for keeping moths, so I'm told,away too.
ReplyDelete