Friday, May 23, 2014

Repelling Moths without Chemicals

The other day I killed a moth inside that looked suspicious.  When my husband got some of his shirts out of a storage closet, there were tiny holes in one.  Drat it!

I took everything out of the closets and aired it.  I am pretty careful to wash everything before it goes into storage for the season, so I've been adding loads of winter clothes to my regular laundry here and there.  I probably ought to clean the closets, too, but I'm on to outside projects at the moment.





After a little research, I came across a way to repel moths with a herb/spice mixture.  I used a quarter of the original recipe.

Moth-Repelling Sachets
1/2 oz. dried rosemary (about 3/4 cup)
1/2 oz. dried mint (about 1 cup)
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
2 oz. whole cloves (about 1 cup)

Place mixture in tea sachets or fabric bags.  Hang in closets or tuck between layers of folded clothes.


I made some hanging sachets as well.  I put about 4 sachets in each closet that stores clothing and quilts.  I plan to air the contents of the closets in the sunshine at least once this summer, and I intend to thoroughly clean the closets at that point, too. Let's hope it works!


3 comments:

Sew Blessed Maw [Judy] said...

Great idea...
I am in the process of cleaning out all my closets, and washing them out. [No fun..]
I like the scent packs.. great idea.

jenny_o said...

A good idea. Moth balls are so strong, not to mention poisonous to children and animals.

We have a moth problem, but they seem to focus on areas where our cats sleep. I don't know if they would attack our clothing if we didn't have cats, or if there are different kinds of moths with differing appetites.

Polly said...

Oh THANK YOU! I needed this. I keep some things in a cedar chest (I guess that helps?) but I can't fit all my items in there. I will make some of these sachets!