Moths, unlike their cousins the butterflies, continue to get a bad reputation not only among the residents of Greenville but also with people throughout the world. Whereas butterflies evoke memories of beautiful, happy colors and warm sunshine, moths elicit dreadfulness, holes in clothes, and ruined cereals, pasta, or grains. Well, that is because it is true; moths enter our homes to either destroy your clothes by eating them, or attack your stored dry foods and rendering them useless. To be fair, only a few species of moths are actual pests, but those few can cause considerable damages to many homes.
If you are a resident of Greenville and are having problems with moths, then call the best pest experts in Greenville SC, Go-Forth Home Services. If you want high-quality pest extermination services near you, then Go-Forth Home Services is the name to trust.
About Greenville
Greenville County is the most populous county in South Carolina with 470,000 residents, with 61,000 right in Greenville City. It is located in the northwest corner of South Carolina and halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte. One of the many reasons why people came to live in Greenville is its mild weather the whole year round. Among all the areas in the south, Greenville is said to have the mildest summer.
Greenville is also starting to be recognized by media outlets throughout the United States. The National Geographic named Greenville as one of “The Best Cities in the United States”. Trip Advisor called it one of the “Top 10 Traveler’s Destinations On The Rise in 2018”. People Magazine called it “The Next Big Small Town”. It is the”# 3 Top Small City in the United States”, says Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. And the recognition just keeps coming for this great city.
Signs Of Moth Infestation
A sign that your house has a clothes moth problem is that your clothes are damaged, or may have holes on it. Or you may spot the moths themselves, or the eggs first.
Pantry moths stay where there is a supply of food. They can be spotted flying around your kitchen. You may also spot larvae inside open packs of dried food like rice, dried fruit, powdered milk, flour, cake mixes, cereals, nuts, and grains.
Moths As Pests In Greenville SC
Moths really are terrible household pests. Though they do not really pose any health risks, they are considered a nuisance because of the damages they cause.
The damages you may incur depending on what type of moths have infested your home. There are around 160,000 species of moths, but only a few are considered pests. Below is a list of the most common types of moths that are pests.
Clothes Moths
The clothes moths are capable of destroying your clothes that are made of fabric and other materials. They eat wool, silk, feather, leather, fur, and silk. They actually like the keratin, a protein that the moths’ larvae can eat. If their population is left unchecked in your home, the clothes moths can leave considerable damages to clothes and even furniture. Clothes moths are just ½ inch in length. They usually are beige in color. They are not very good flyers and are not attracted to light, so they stay near the clothes, usually in the dark areas of the closet. The female adults of the clothes moths can lay up to 50 eggs in two to three weeks. The eggs then hatch in about a week. Contrary to what many people think, the larva does the damages on your clothes.
To control moth infestation, keep the humidity levels low inside your house or office building. Clothes moths thrive in dark and high humidity areas. Look for as many cracks and crevices in your home, since this can be used as entry points by these moths. You may also use mothballs and insecticides. Periodically dry clean your clothes, or wash them most especially if the clothes have not been used for a long time and have stayed there in your closet. Washing is actually the most common method for killing moths in all stages. Launder your clothes for 20 to 30 minutes. Try using pheromone traps, place the traps in closets and other places you store your clothes. Regularly clean areas in your house that are seldom reached each time you clean, like under the furniture, inside cracks, in closets, and in heaters and vents. Use a vacuum cleaner for this. Properly store woolen items. You may also hang the woolen items and expose them to the sun, then brush them thoroughly. This is because larvae do not like bright lights. Also, regularly monitor your closet for any signs of the clothes moths.
To inspect for clothes moths, check for silken tubes on some parts of your clothes. Other clothes will have holes in them as a result of the moths clothes feeding on them.
Pantry Moths/Indian Meal Moths
The Indian meal moth got its name not because they reside in India, but because they feed on Indian meal or cornmeal. These types of moths infest your pantry specifically attacking your dry stored foods like cereal, rice, sugar, flour, dry pet food, soup mixes, powdered juices, bread, dried fruit and nuts, pasta, oatmeal, grains, and other similar food items. They are nocturnal creatures.
Indian meal moths are 8 to 10 mm in length, with a wingspan of 16 to 20 mms. Their wings are a combination of two colors: the front half of their wings are pale gray to tan, the lower half is bronze in color. Meal moths live for only 5 to 7 days, and their only main function in life as adults is to reproduce. As with the clothes moths, the Indian meal moths’ larvae are the ones doing the damages. The larvae can bite their way through plastic and cardboard so they can easily infest stored food items. Definitely nuisance pests.
To control the population of the Indian meal moths, check first the dry packaged food if it is infested with these moths. Do not purchase if infested. Most pantry moths enter your home this way. If in case you were not able to inspect, or you did not notice that it was infested and you purchased the product, return it immediately and make sure it will be properly disposed of. If not, there is a danger that they will just put it back to their shelves, and they would still spread anyway.
Store dry foods in a sealed plastic container, this will effectively cut off their food source. Then wash your cupboard with hot, soapy water to remove any larvae there.
Vacuum areas in your kitchen that you deem infested. After vacuuming, empty the contents of the bag properly, otherwise, they might just come back. You can also try diatomaceous earth in places where you find these moths. Diatomaceous earth is like tiny broken glasses that can inflict several cuts on the moth’s body, making them bleed to death. You can buy these in a local garden store near you. Moth traps are also a good way to remove their presence inside your home. You can use pheromone traps that these moths will stick into.
When you have food spills, clean them up immediately.
Ermine Moths
Ermine moths are small moths with a wingspan of 8 to 31 mm, whitish in color and covered in rows of black. They are more of a nuisance in your garden because they can defoliate garden shrubs.
Infestation can be prevented by using insecticides.
The Browntail Moth
For the brown-tail moths, their caterpillars and nests can cause problems because of the hairs of these caterpillars that can cause severe skin irritation and rashes. The adult moths also make nests made of silk which contain hairs that cause irritation too. It is important to remember that caterpillars and nests should be removed if found within your vicinity.
Moth infestation, whatever the type, should be given immediate attention. The earlier you take action, the better. Though there are DIY’s for getting rid of them, it is much better to seek help from licensed professionals. If you want the best pest experts in Greenville SC, then you should call Go-Forth Home Services.
Why Go-Forth Home Services?
Established in 1959, Go-Forth Home Services has excellent experience not only in moth extermination in Greenville SC, but a cockroach, rodents, spiders, weevils, ants, termites, bed bugs, mosquitoes, flies, centipedes, and millipedes extermination. They have garnered several positive reviews in social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Google, where customers indicated how satisfied they are at our services.
Go-Forth Home Services has a team of highly skilled and well-trained professionals who utilize only the latest and most advanced equipment in the pest control business. What’s more, they use family friendly and pet-friendly methods of extermination, so you know that your family is safe.
Go Forth is also a family owned business who have earned the trust of residents and business establishments in Greenville for more than 50 years.