WHEN winter is over, we tend to store away those precious woollen jumper and coats, and the extra blankets, and forget about them until the following year. It can be devastating to find out when winter rolls around again that a favourite jumper or expensive woollen suit has been a banquet for moth larvae.
There are numerous products available which are sprayed onto your clothes to protect them.
However, this choice means that you will be using products which contain chemicals that may affect your health, and should be avoided. There are, safe, natural alternatives which work just as well.
Herbs have been used for centuries as protection against clothes' moths, and one of the most successful herbs for safeguarding woollens is lavender. Other herbs can also be used are rosemary, southernwood, santolina (cotton lavender), tansy, thyme, spearmint and woodruff. A number of spices can be used including cloves, caraway seeds, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, tonka beans and dried, ground lemon peel.
Herbs and spices can be mixed together as a dry potpourri and then added to small sachets made from muslin, linen or coarsely woven cotton. The sachets are placed in drawers and cupboards amongst woollens and other clothes, or placed in the pockets of suits and jackets. They can also be hung on coat-hangers or wardrobe rails.
Now is the time to start preparing your moth-protection potpourri so that it will be ready to use when winter is over. A suitable repellent mix can be made by blending together four tablespoons of dried lavender, half a teaspoon of orris root powder, and three drops of lavender essential oil. (Increase ingredients proportionately for a larger quantity).
Using your hands, thoroughly mix all the ingredients in a ceramic bowl. Add the repellent mixture to a plastic bag, seal the bag so that it is airtight, and leave the mixture to cure in a dry, dark, cool spot for six weeks. Give the mixture a good shake every other day.
Once it has cured, place the mixture into your sachets and sew the ends together. Other control methods are to seal woollens and blankets in plastic bags, ensuring the bags are airtight, and hang them in the sun for a day.
This will kill any moths and their eggs that may be present. You can also sprinkle epsom salts in wardrobes, drawers and linen cupboards, or scatter dried orange peel or lemon peel in drawers and cupboards. Crumpled cinnamon bark pieces, dried wormwood leaves and the dried leaves of tansy and mint put into muslin bags and placed in cupboards and drawers will repel moths.
