A neat stack of folded knitted wool jumpers in soft natural colours on a wooden shelf in morning light
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.
doodlejumper

WOOL, WARDROBES AND MOTHS

Keep your
jumpers whole.

CLEAN before you store

  • Wash before storing
  • Seal it away
  • Disturb them monthly
  • Simple habits, borrowed from museums

The holes are made by tiny caterpillars.

Adult clothes moths don't eat at all. Their larvae digest keratin, the protein in wool, and they prefer dirty clothes in dark, undisturbed places. Museums protect priceless textiles with a few simple habits you can use at home.

Updated

Check your region

THE SHORT ANSWER

Clean, sealed
and shaken.

Moth larvae like dirt, darkness and peace and quiet.
Take those away and wool is far safer.

WHY WOOL

Larvae eat keratin

Clothes moth larvae can digest keratin, found in wool, fur, feathers and hair. They prefer stained or dirty fibres, so worn jumpers are most at risk.

Check your region

WARDROBES

Give them a shake

English Heritage suggests taking out hanging items and shaking them at least once a month: clothes moths hate being disturbed.

Monthly routine

STORAGE

Clean, then sealed

Wash or dry-clean wool before long storage, then pack it in vacuum bags or tight-lidded boxes. Cleaning removes eggs and the odours that attract moths.

If you find moths

A QUICK REGION CHECK

Where are moths
most common?

English Heritage asked the public to trap clothes moths at home and send in their results. Pick a region to see the average catch of common clothes moths per trap. The bar shows how high that is.

Region check

Choose a region
London and South East23 per trap

The highest average catch in the survey. English Heritage linked the risk to the warmer southern counties.

South West17 per trap

The second highest average catch, followed closely by the West Midlands at 16.

East of England12 per trap

A middle-ranking result, about half the London and South East average.

North West5 per trap

Much lower catches, similar to the North East at 6 per trap.

East Midlands3 per trap

The lowest average catch reported in the survey results.

Source: English Heritage, Operation Clothes Moth results. Flats and pre-1950 homes were also found to be more susceptible.

From English Heritage's Operation Clothes Moth, launched in April 2017, with results published a year later.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Moths are rising,
and the public helped count.

Both figures from English Heritage's
Operation Clothes Moth.

2×

Rise in common clothes moths over five years

English Heritage conservators saw numbers of the common, or webbing, clothes moth double over five years at the properties in their care, prompting the survey.

TREND · ENGLISH HERITAGE

5,000

Traps collected from the public

Visitors took home free traps, and data came in from 42 counties, compared with the 11 counties where English Heritage monitors moths itself.

SURVEY · ENGLISH HERITAGE

Flats were found to be more susceptible because of shared walls, and older pre-1950 homes because of their voids, fireplaces and attics.

A MONTHLY WARDROBE ROUTINE

Ten minutes
a month.

Clean folded wool jumpers packed into a clear storage box with a tight-fitting lid
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

These habits come from English Heritage's tips for preventing clothes moths at home.

  1. Look in the folds

    Check crevices, creases and folds of clothing, and behind labels, for larvae, webbing or cases.

  2. Shake hanging clothes

    Take wool items out of the wardrobe and shake them at least once a month.

  3. Vacuum the corners

    Vacuum around the bottom of wardrobes and shelves, and under furniture that sits on carpet.

  4. Store only clean wool

    Make sure clothes are clean before storing them, in vacuum bags or boxes with sealed lids.

IF YOU FIND MOTHS

Freeze it,
don't spray it.

Hands shaking out a cream cable-knit jumper in front of an open wooden wardrobe
AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Museum Wales treats infested objects by sealing them in a plastic bag and putting them in a deep freeze for two to three days, killing insects, eggs and larvae without damage or toxic residues. Insecticides are its last resort.

University of Kentucky entomologists add that dry-cleaning or hot laundering kills eggs and larvae, that infested clothing should not be treated with insecticides, and that cedar chests are seldom effective because they do not seal well enough.

Questions

Questions people ask

Do clothes moths eat jumpers?

The adults don't eat at all. The damage is done by the larvae, which can digest keratin, the protein in wool, fur, feathers and hair.

Why do moths go for some jumpers and not others?

Larvae prefer stained or dirty fibres, and dark, undisturbed places. Clothes in regular use are seldom infested; items stored for long periods are most at risk.

Do cotton or synthetic jumpers get eaten?

Rarely. University of Kentucky entomologists say cotton and synthetics are rarely attacked unless blended with wool or heavily soiled with food stains or body oils.

Can I freeze a jumper to kill moths?

Museums do. Museum Wales bags objects and deep-freezes them for two to three days. University of Kentucky guidance says to let items return to room temperature for about 24 hours before unwrapping.

Do pheromone traps work?

Traps with a synthetic female pheromone attract male moths. Museums and entomologists use them mainly to detect infestations early, when the pests are hard to find by inspection alone.

Sources

Where the facts come from

  1. English Heritage: Operation Clothes Moth results and top tips
  2. English Heritage: Clothes moth research
  3. Museum Wales: The clothes moth, museums' no. 1 insect pest
  4. University of Kentucky Entomology: Clothes moths (ENTFACT-609)

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