primitives discuss killing bed-bugs, clothes-moths

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11282369

Oh my.

First up, the primitive with a sensitive bottom; the one who's looking around for a charity for the homeless that's run by atheists:

Curmudgeoness (10,253 posts)    Thu Apr 11, 2013, 08:49 PM

How to kill bedbugs without pesticides....

and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/plants/how-to-kill-bed-bugs-without-sprays-130410.htm
 
How do you kill bedbugs without having to sleep in a bed full of pesticides at night? Impale the tiny buggers!
 
For centuries, eastern Europeans, before the widespread application of pesticides such as DDT, would scatter the leaves from kidney bean plants around their beds as traps. In the morning the leaves would be covered with red dots, where the microscopic hairs on the leaves would have hooked the legs of a bedbug, stopping the creature in its munching little tracks.
 
Now if I could only find a way to eradicate clothes moths!

PADemD (1,962 posts)   Thu Apr 11, 2013, 09:25 PM

1. Home Remedies for Moths

How to Prevent and Get Rid of a Clothing Moth Infestation Naturally

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/doityourself/tp/Get_Rid_of_Moths.htm

Curmudgeoness (10,253 posts)    Thu Apr 11, 2013, 09:52 PM

2. Thanks.

I have tried most of these already. The only thing that has worked at keeping this from being worse is the chest freezer. I rotate the rugs, afghans, sweaters, etc. in and out of the freezer. I still find things that I have missed, but for the most part, this is the only thing that has helped. It seems that the "repellents" will only work to keep you from getting moths. After you get them, they don't do much of anything.
 
I have considered buying the traps, but I will have to buy 2 different kinds, since I cannot figure out which kind of clothes moths I have. And there are 2 moths, each requiring a special trap......but I might be ready to do this soon.

[I_B_Perky]

I get bugs in the house I go nuclear on their ass. Don't care what kind of bugs they are. Screw natural shit. I get pesticides. That don't work, I call the exterminator.

Dummies are so freaking stupid.

[Ballygrl]

I can't recall ever having clothes moths in our house, what causes them?

[FlippyDoo]

I can't recall ever having clothes moths in our house, what causes them?

If the DUmmies have moths it probably isn't regular moths. It's probably some sort of mutant feces-eating moth that views the DUmmies as a buffet. The same goes for the bed bugs.

[JohnnyReb]

  At first I thought that said "RED BUGS"....and I was going to say, long fingernails.

[franksolich]

I can't recall ever having clothes moths in our house, what causes them?

Way back in the mists of some of my earliest memories, there's one of the slight odor of mothballs--little white globules about the size of hail--emanating from a very large chest in our house.  But beyond early childhood, I don't recall moths or mothballs, other than until I was a teenager, one could find boxes of mothballs for sale at the grocery store; the boxes were wrapped in cellophane to keep their odor from permeating inventory around them.

This very large chest was 3'x3'x3', some sort of expensive wood, and had come with the family to Nebraska from New York City long before I was born.  It opened at the top, and therein were articles of a woolen nature--winter coats, blankets, whatnot.

The chest and mothballs evaporate from my memory about the time I was six or seven years old.

I dunno why; perhaps moths became extinct out here.

[JohnnyReb]

This very large chest was 3'x3'x3', some sort of expensive wood, and had come with the family to Nebraska from New York City long before I was born.  It opened at the top, and therein were articles of a woolen nature--winter coats, blankets, whatnot.

Cedar chest maybe?......that's what they used here to protect things from moths.

Edit to add: All my closet shelves are 1 1/2" eastern red cedar boards....have to sand them lightly ever once in awhile to restore that nice cedar smell....makes the wife happy for a little while.

[formerlurker]

I can't recall ever having clothes moths in our house, what causes them?

We got them when we put black mulch down in front of the house.   My neighbor across the street liked the black mulch and did her house the next weekend, then two weeks later she was removing it.  When we asked why she said moths, and lo' and behold we got them also.   It was horrible.   

[diesel driver]

Cedar chest maybe?......that's what they used here to protect things from moths.

Edit to add: All my closet shelves are 1 1/2" eastern red cedar boards....have to sand them lightly ever once in awhile to restore that nice cedar smell....makes the wife happy for a little while.

Cedar is a natural moth repellent.

[Ballygrl]

I remember when I was a kid my Mom buying a box of those mothballs and she'd put it in the closet, she rarely used it though.

[vesta111]

I remember when I was a kid my Mom buying a box of those mothballs and she'd put it in the closet, she rarely used it though.

Coincidence as I found a bug crawling on the kitchen floor this morning.  I have these sonic thingies plugged in about the house and rotated them, seems bugs can get use to the things if kept in one place too long.

Spring is here and who knows what bugs hitch hike on ones clothing into the house. Then there are the weird bugs that come in on produce and bags brought home from the store.

Most of us wash off fresh food but we give no thought to lava that may be in the bags we bring them home in.     Some of us collect the bags for other use and some of us throw them in the trash.   

Those that use the fabric bags to conserve energy and keep the landfill free of plastic bags are at risk, unless they launder the bags immediately after shopping the lava can grow over night and hatch into some odd bugs from across the world.

I have little understanding on how this works metamorphose I would guess,  from Lava to a butterfly or a nasty bug.     

Did they not close a big time clothing store in NYC last year because they found bed bugs in the top of the line clothing for sale . Most likely would have never been known had the store was Wal mart or K Mart but being a store that charged $500 for a scarf, all Hell broke out, the ultra rich were being eaten alive from clothing they bought.

[Dori]

I can't recall ever having clothes moths in our house, what causes them?

They eat wool.  I've only seen them once, but I don't really own much made with wool anymore.