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Bugs that like to eat my merino woollens what to do?
JessB Advanced Beginner BC CANADA Member since 3/14/06 Posts: 24	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 9/19/10 7:14 PM I'm getting my winter clothes out and have discovered I have a bug problem in the closet. It's not a total disaster - my winter clothes are mostly dark and the holes are mostly small so I've ironed fusible interfacing to the back. I hope that does the trick. I'm horrified by this and need to get the problem sorted out. I don't think it's moths - there is no residue at all, the holes are small and usually just one or two holes per garment. I haven't been able to find one of the little buggers (please excuse my language). AND, they only seem to go for the merino, not the cashmere or ordinary wool. Does anybody know what the bugs could be? Any suggestions about what I should do? We're not too keen on fumigating. I'm planning to launder everything in the closet and vacuum thoroughly. I'm thinking of zip lock bags for my special things. Any other suggestions?
CurlySu717   Intermediate TX USA Member since 10/26/06 Posts: 1043	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 9/19/10 7:35 PM Silverfish? They like organic fabrics like cotton and wool. Someone posted a question about silverfish not long ago. ------ "To love another person is to see the face of God!" ~Les Miserables www.lillianbettyandsibyl.blogspot.com
mastdenman   Intermediate CA USA Member since 1/12/04 Posts: 5853	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 9/19/10 7:48 PM silverfish in the stash ------ Marilyn January 2009 to January 2010 81 yards out and 71yards in January 2010 to the present 106.7 yards out and 146.5 yards in. January 2011 to the present: 47 yards out and 69 yards in.
marymary86 Intermediate GA USA Member since 7/20/08 Posts: 2257	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 9/19/10 8:05 PM I stopped having issues when I made sure all the woolens got dry cleaned at the end of the season and then stored in a cedar chest. I think the bugs hate the chemicals (so do I but it's better than losing my woolens - I love wool!!) ------ Mary http://checkmatesystem.com
mmr Advanced Beginner USA Member since 6/16/06 Posts: 22	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 9/19/10 8:15 PM It could also be a carpet beetle problem. http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-carpet-beetles.htm
Coconuts   Intermediate MI USA Member since 12/2/09 Posts: 1106	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 9/19/10 9:05 PM Could it be your washer or flaws in the fabric, since it's only the merino? But it very well could be carpet beetles. We have wine bottles full of baited DE in several rooms, plus I have sachets of rosemary and bay leaves in my closets, and I use Borax in the wash. I haven't noticed any for a while, but we have five cats and cotton/cellulose insulation, so I'm sure we have them.
goodworks1   Advanced IL USA Member since 7/19/03 Posts: 3323	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 9/19/10 10:51 PM I've learned to carefully hand wash all the woolens and store them with dried lavender sachets. But I'm not sure this works for silverfish or carpet beetles... ------ blog: goodworks1.wordpress.com
phnip Intermediate UNITED KINGDOM Member since 3/8/04 Posts: 28	Login to reply to this post In reply to JessB Like this post Date: 9/20/10 12:06 PM You may think this is a bit extreme but in one place we lived I kept all woollens in the freezer. I kept flour there as well and anything that could be a food source for bugs.
mmr Advanced Beginner USA Member since 6/16/06 Posts: 22	Login to reply to this post In reply to Coconuts Like this post Date: 9/20/10 12:24 PM Quote: We have wine bottles full of baited DE in several rooms Just curious - what is baited DE?
Rosie who use to be Rose   Intermediate OH USA Member since 10/10/02 Posts: 677	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 9/20/10 12:48 PM When we lived in Texas I found out that fire ants sometimes eat fabric, and wasn't that a fun pest to get rid of . Now I use large zip lock bags (I don't try to squish the fabric flat though when I seal thebags because of the wrinkle situation), put them in a trunk and I buy cedar litter, the kind we use to use for hampsters, and put it in an old pillow case in the trunk. HA! Let them try that! Rosie

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