To get rid of clothes moths in a closet: take everything out, wash or dry clean anything made of wool, cashmere or silk, vacuum the empty closet including corners and baseboards, then store clean clothes in sealed containers or garment bags. Cedar helps deter what comes next, but it will not clear an infestation that has already started. Cleaning does that.
It usually starts in October. You reach for the wool coat you have been looking forward to all year, and there is a small ragged hole near the elbow that was not there in March. Nothing else in the closet looks wrong.
That hole is the whole problem with clothes moths. By the time you can see the damage, the insects that caused it have often already finished and moved on. The good news is that the fix is mostly cleaning, it is cheap, and once the closet is clean it is genuinely easy to keep that way.
What is actually eating your clothes
Adult clothes moths do not eat fabric. They have no functioning mouthparts for it. The damage is done entirely by the larvae, which hatch from eggs laid directly on the fibers they will feed on.
Two species do nearly all of the damage in North American homes:
- The webbing clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella), the most common, which leaves silky webbing and grazed patches
- The casemaking clothes moth (Tinea pellionella), which carries a small tube of fiber around with it as it feeds
Both feed on keratin, the protein in animal fibers. That means wool, cashmere, alpaca, mohair, silk, felt, feathers and fur. Cotton and linen are usually safe on their own, and true synthetics like polyester are not food at all. Blends are the trap, because a wool-polyester blend still contains enough wool to feed larvae.
This explains the pattern most people notice. The holes are in the good sweaters and never in the t-shirts.
Why they chose your closet
Clothes moths avoid light and movement. They want somewhere dark, still and undisturbed, which describes the back of almost every closet, plus storage bins, under-bed boxes and the bottom of a garment bag.
The single biggest attractant, though, is not darkness. It is soil. Larvae strongly prefer fabric carrying sweat, body oils, hair, skin cells or food residue. A sweater worn twice and put away is far more appealing than a freshly cleaned one. Perspiration around collars, cuffs and underarms is the usual starting point.
That one fact drives almost everything else in this guide.
Step 1: Empty the closet and inspect
Take everything out. All of it. Moths are easy to miss when clothes are packed together, and you cannot treat a closet you cannot see.
As you go, look for:
- Small irregular holes, often in clusters, usually on wool or cashmere
- Silky webbing or tubes in seams, cuffs, pockets and collars
- Cream-colored larvae, about a quarter inch, sometimes inside a small fiber case
- Sandy grit at the bottom of storage bins, which is larval droppings
- Thinning or grazed patches where the surface looks worn rather than cut
Check the quiet places too. Under collars, inside folded cuffs, the underside of shoulders on hanging garments, and anything stored in a box since last spring. Also check felt, wool rugs, upholstered furniture edges and anything with feather fill.
Adult moths fluttering around a lamp are usually pantry moths, not clothes moths. Clothes moths are small, plain and tan, and they run or hide rather than fly toward light. If the moths in your kitchen are drawn to the ceiling light, that is a different pest and a different fix.
Step 2: Clean everything, because this is the step that actually works
This is the part people skip, and it is the part that matters. Every other step is maintenance.
Wash what you can, hot. Water at 120°F or above kills eggs and larvae. Check the care label first, since most wool will felt at that temperature.
Dry clean what you cannot wash. The solvent process kills all life stages, which is why dry cleaning before seasonal storage is standard advice.
Freeze the delicate things. For items that cannot take heat or solvent, seal them in a plastic bag, press the air out, and freeze at 0°F for at least 72 hours. Let the bag return to room temperature before opening so condensation forms on the plastic instead of the fabric. Some sources recommend a second freeze cycle after a few days at room temperature, because a slow single freeze can let some eggs survive.
Vacuum the empty closet. Corners, baseboards, shelf edges, the track of sliding doors, and the floor under where everything was hanging. Eggs and larvae end up in exactly these seams. Empty the vacuum canister outside when you finish, or the whole exercise moves the problem somewhere else.
Wipe the shelves and walls with warm soapy water once the vacuuming is done.
If the infestation is widespread, in the carpet, the upholstery and several closets at once, a licensed pest control professional is the right call. Whole-home clothes moth infestations are not a cleaning problem anymore.
Step 3: Store clean clothes properly
Never store anything worn. That is the rule that prevents the next round.
For seasonal storage, airtight beats aromatic every time. A sealed container is a physical barrier, and physical barriers do not wear off:
- Sealed plastic bins with a gasket lid for bulk wool and knitwear
- Vacuum bags for bulky items, which also solves the space problem
- Cotton garment bags for hanging pieces, which breathe better than plastic for long-term storage of natural fibers
- Acid-free tissue between folds for anything delicate or valuable
Leave a little air circulation for natural fibers in long-term storage. Fully airtight plus residual humidity can cause its own problems with mildew, particularly in a basement.
Step 4: Deter what comes next
Now that the closet is clean, the job changes from removal to prevention. This is where repellents earn their place, and where most marketing gets dishonest.
What repels moths besides mothballs
Mothballs work, and that is worth saying plainly. They are naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene, registered pesticides regulated by the EPA, and the vapor kills moths at every life stage inside a sealed container. The catch is in that last phrase: EPA labeling directs they be used only in airtight containers, which is not how most people use them, and the smell binds to wool for years.
The realistic replacements are airtight storage for anything going away for the season, and cedar or botanical sachets for the closet you open every day. Pheromone traps are useful for checking whether a problem is over, not for solving one.
We compared all of these properly in mothball alternatives that work.
Do cedar blocks actually work?
Partly, and the honest answer is more useful than the marketing one.
Aromatic eastern red cedar contains cedrol and thujopsene, and laboratory work has shown these can kill young clothes moth larvae at sufficient concentration. But the oils off-gas over time, eggs and late-stage larvae are largely unaffected, and an open closet rarely holds the concentration needed.
So cedar is best understood as a deterrent that stops adults laying eggs in the first place, not a rescue. Cedar in a clean closet is doing useful work. Cedar in an infested closet will not save the sweaters.
The full answer, including why your old cedar chest stopped working and how to bring it back, is in do cedar blocks actually work.
Keeping the closet fresh afterward
Half of what people want from a moth product is not really about moths. It is about opening the closet and having it smell good.
The short version: musty closets are a moisture and airflow problem, not a fragrance problem. Dry clothes completely before they go away, leave a few inches of clear rod at each end, and keep the floor clear. Then add cedar or botanical sachets, which handle scent and deterrence at the same time.
Our moth repellent sachets and cedar blocks are designed for both jobs, because in practice people buy them for both reasons. There is more on the scent side in how to keep a closet smelling fresh.
How often to refresh
| Task | How often |
|---|---|
| Sand cedar blocks | Every 2 to 3 months |
| Replace cedar sachets or hanging tags | Every 3 months, or when the scent fades |
| Inspect stored wool | Twice a year, at each seasonal changeover |
| Vacuum closet floor and corners | Every few months |
| Clean before storage | Every time, without exception |
The short version
Clothes moths are a cleaning problem first and a product problem second. Larvae eat animal fibers, they prefer fabric that has been worn, and they need somewhere dark and undisturbed. Remove those three things and the problem largely removes itself.
Clean everything, vacuum the empty closet, store clean clothes sealed, and then use cedar to keep the next generation from settling in. In that order. Cedar is a good deterrent and a poor rescue.
Then go wear the coat.
By Tanya Lee, Co-Founder of The Superbloc.
Sources: US Environmental Protection Agency on mothball registration and labeling; university extension entomology guidance on clothes moth identification and integrated management; published laboratory work on cedarwood oil constituents and clothes moth larvae.