Attack of the Deadly Moths*

UK Moth attacks set to rise

By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:08am BST 26/06/2007

Do you have holes in your new cashmere cardigan, or is your carpet
looking a bit threadbare? Blame clothes moths, whose numbers and
appetites have grown alarmingly over the last year.

Ralph Lauren runway: Moths attacks to rise this summer

The surge in popularity for cashmere and other natural fibres has
fuelled the rise in moths

Experts are predicting this summer – their favourite time to attack –
could be the worst ever and the situation has been made worse by the
European Union banning one of the few chemicals guaranteed to eradicate
the problem.

Rentokil, the pest control company, says it is dealing with 25 per cent
more clothes moth cases than a year ago, as more and more households are
ravaged by the tiny creatures.

There are many causes for the increase, according to Stuart Hine, the
insect information officer at the Natural History Museum.

A return to fashion for natural fibres, especially cashmere is one.

Cashmere clothes have fallen dramatically in price with Tesco and
Primark now selling jumpers in the luxurious fabric for as little as £25.

The super-fine fibres are one of the moths favourite meals.

Global warming, however, is the most crucial factor.

"We're seeing more reproduction cycles each year by dint of there being
milder winters," said Mr Hine.

Earlier this year David Attenborough leapt to the defence of the much
maligned moth, but only six out of the 2,500 species of the insect eat
clothes and their numbers show no sign of falling.

Clothes moths, properly known as tineola bisselliella, do not themselves
cause the problem. It is the larvae which do the eating.

Their favourite diet is the detritus found at the bottom of birds nests
– a rich source of protein – but they are equally at home in the bottom
of a chest of drawers, the darker, warmer and dirtier the better.

Left to their own devices they can destroy thousands of pounds worth of
clothes in a matter of days. Debbie Lowndes, who works for a film
producer, had to throw away "two or three bin bags worth" of clothes
after she was attacked.

"I knew I had moths because of the holes in all my clothes. And then I
found all these little grubs munching away at the bottom of a chest of
drawers; you could see they were alive."

While moth balls fell out of favour years ago, both Tesco and John Lewis
confirmed yesterday that sales of new generation anti-moth devices had
jumped dramatically.

The department store group said sales of its £4.95 lavender sachets,
designed to keep moths at bay, had increased 44 per cent compared with a
year ago, while Tesco said sales of Raid's lavender mothproofer were
running 20 per cent ahead of last year.

However, experts warn these will only have a small effect on reducing moths.

Various old wives' tales exist as to the best method, such as putting
conkers in your drawers, but the only fool-proof way to kill the larvae
is by freezing them to death.

Ms Lowndes borrowed her local pub's chest freezer, which was big enough
to take most of her clothes in a few batches.

The larvae die after 48 hours at -10C.

Chemicals can be very effective, but the most successful Dichlorvos, an
organophosphate, was outlawed by the European Union five years ago.

"Dichlorvos used to hit a whole suite of pests," said Mr Hine.

"The banning of the chemical has most definitely played a part in the
increased number of moths."