Moths Are Eating My Clothes! Can I Break My Lease?

I´ve had clothes moths and checked the scientific literature for ideas (I am a fruitfly biologist). I found a paper suggesting microwaving an item of clothing for 2-3 minutes to kill whatever is in it. I microwave each sweater and scarf and put each in its own gallon ziploc until i use it. The wool stands up to it well. I haven´t had problems since. Food moths, such as those mentioned above in the bird food story, are a different species. To get rid of them, first toss all the open packages of food, including rice, cereal and even spices. If you can´t see in the container, don’t open it, just toss. Then, inspect those little rows of holes up the side of cabinets where you stick the brackets for shelves. The moths like to pupariate there. Use a vacuum cleaner. Look for escapees on the ceiling; vacuum cleaner again, and toss the vacuum bag. To avoid future infestations, inspect products for debris on the bottom of see through containers, and small scraps of silky fluff.

The landlord should clean up the problem. Ho is this not his/her problem? Someone is paying thousands of dollars (presumably) a month and they have to fix the issue? It is the landlord's building. It is not the tenant's duty to repair.

Good luck trying to break your lease over moths without paying the buyout fee for however many months you have left. I once had a place where the water was scalding, and the landlord did nothing about it. I went to see a lawyer and was told that nothing could really be done without an expensive fight. I moved. To me, moths are fixable. Constant first degree burns, however, are not. You have to decide whether it’s worth it to break the lease, or continue to try remedies to solve the problem. I would go with the less-expensive option first. I think unless it’s a really egregious situation, fighting a landlord is a losing game.

Most moths do not eat clothes. It's the larve of very small moths that eat animal fibers that have come in contact w other organic material like body oils. It's easier to see a moth flitting about than a little carpet beetle. You may have one or both, the latter consuming much more than animal fiber. Heat might kill the insects. Try ironing the clothes. Not sure if a dryer gets hot enough. I have put a load of sweaters in my car trunk during a heat wave. I've read that cold is not as effective. When you smell mothballs, you are inhaling insecticide. Unfortunately, they tested it on animals and it is cancer producing. Please consider smarter management and keep kids and pets well away from it. As for damaged woolens, look up repairing sweaters with a felting needle. It looks quick & easy and there are videos. If tiny beetles got your non-woolens, come up with some creative patches or embroidery.

What's often overlooked about clothing moth (Tineidae, Tineola) infestations is a food source for the larvae (the caterpillars). People will search or find them in their woolen clothes, down and feather pillows, quilts, comforters and other obvious fabrics and materials and feel confident that they're now home free and treat the issue in some manner. There can also be carpet beetle (certain Dermestidae) issues since the larvae also feed on those items listed above. The moth and beetle larvae also feed on dead, dried rodent and bird carcasses and can be in their nests and sometimes in rodent stored food caches. They feed on dead insects, too. If a rodent program has been underway in the building and traps (forgotten traps?) and baits used, there is a high probability that the tineid moth issue can be traced to animal carcasses. I've been involved with a few such cases. In this case, did the landlord actually unknowingly cause the moth infestation?

I tried cedar and natural oils but none work. I dont know if they are actual moths or carpet beatles. I see the larvae shell left behind sometimes but no actual moths flying around. Those little monsters attacked my expensive cashmere and left my budge cashmere alone. The only thing that saved the few things I have left were storing them in plastic containers with the dreaded moth balls.

Put whole cloves all over your closet in little bags or even thin socks. I had a problem in Berlin and put cloves in the pockets of wool and cashmere and even mink coats here in NYC and... no moths. Smells a lot better than moth balls, which are toxic actually

Cedar and cedar oil did not work for us. What we do now is make sure what we put away has been washed or dry-cleaned, put in a bag (ideally cotton, but cotton/plastic from the Container Store is fine too). Put moth repellants in the bottom of the bag. This is the only way we can stop from having our expensive woolens nibbled.

We've had good results with a cedar oil spray. It will make your closet smell like a cedar closet, and that's a lot more pleasant than the smell of most insecticides.

You may have carpet beetles, which are more difficult to get rid of than moths. In any case, thank your lucky stars whatever it is is only in the closet. Read up on methods, remove everything from the closet, clean thoroughly and repeatedly, store all clothes, shoes, any edible contents of the closet in sealed black bags until you can treat each item. Permanently keep all your dirty laundry in sealed laundry bags. (We separate items such as socks that may pick up eggs from the floor and can withstand heat treatments from more delicate ones.) We keep all clothes in sealed hanging cotton garment bags inside the closet (or in drawers). Cashmere items go in individual zip lock bags inside the garment bags or in under bed storage boxes.

Sprays won't do for clothes moths. You need pheromone baited traps. And you need to be persistent. Try 'Insects Limited' online.

Cloths moths are super hard to get rid of. Your landlord is not likely to help because they could've come in on anything you own...I think mine originated from some wooly moroccan pillows I bought from a friend. Out of total desperation, I finally had my house "fogged" but I have still have small outbreaks of them. You must have items dry-cleaned, or put them in the freezer for a couple of weeks. Washing in hot water will not kill larvae if they have been laid in your sweaters, and the larvae are very hard to see. You can also buy clothes moth traps, which will help catch some of them. Every moth caught means a few less for the future.

Getting moths out of the apartment can be rough, but for starters, you can make your clothing unattractive to them. Keep your moth attractive clothing either in large ziplock freezer bags, (you can put them in the freezer, too in rotation) also, if you get things dry cleaned save those plastic clear bags, or by some good garment bags—- then take some paper towels, or old cotton face clothes or clean cotton socks...anything absorptive will do, really and heavily impregnate them with a mix of lavender and cedar essential oil. Rose geranium will do the trick too. Moths really dislike strong smelling essential oils. Put lots on the fabric and stick it in the bag, avoiding any oil stains on your clothes. It smells better than mothballs and works as a repellant very well, just keep refreshing your sachets. There’s a reason why lavender and cedar was used in linen chests for generations: it works. And it’s pleasanter than raid and cheaper than a new cashmere sweater...

I brought moths to my house after a visit to friends in Mexico. Then they migrated to smallish wool rugs. I emptied a non-contaminated closet, put in all the offended items and used an aerosol anti-moth bomb inside. Then, I left the house for the day. Worked perfectly! While I do not recommend the use of insecticides, it saved numerous precious items.

If you have spare room in your freezer, bag up your cashmere sweaters and put them there in warmer weather. Also make sure that they are stored somewhere reasonably chilly in winter - moths like warm environments to lay eggs in. One major problem these days is the proliferation of cables, chargers, computers and whatever. They keep the carpet around them lovely and warm and no one ever disconnects and vacuums the area properly. Moth heaven!

This another downside of renting, despite the other article painting the benefits of renting.

If you don't like your clothes smelling like repugnant chemicals and you don't like breathing them in then may I suggest you use some insect repelling herbs or essential oils such as: Cloves Eucalyptus Lavender Lemon Rosemary Thyme Don't use all of them at once. When we moved into this house we were attacked by bugs, I kid you not. It stands next to a farmer's field in the back, an old forest on one side, and on the other side is a vacant lot that has set unmaintained for about 20 years. We bought the house but didn't move in for over 6 months and weren't aware that the seller had been fighting insects and mice for a while. After a month living here we were crazy. I two 5 liter jugs of Distilled Water with 50 drops of Lavender, 25 drops of Rosemary, and 20 Drops of Lemon, two drops of glycerin soap and a couple of tablespoons of vodka. Then I poured out 2 cups in sprayer and fill the volume, about 5 liters, with tap water, and began spraying. We left when I was finished for a nice weekend to the beach. I opened the house when we returned and it seemed to have solved most of the problem. Now I mop the floors with a weaker solution of which I added Tea Tree Oil to. I plant window planters with Basil, Rosemary, marigolds, Oregano, Lemon Thyme and that not only provides with herbs and beauty, but it keeps the insects out of the house with our open-window habit during the warmer weather (we don't have screens on our windows).

If the moth infestation is attributable to an act or omission of the landlord, and can be proven, there's an argument that the landlord breached the lease by maintaining a nuisance. That's a viable theory in California, not sure about New York.

The article makes no mention of chemical protection - putting moth repellent into spaces with clothes. This is a regular thing to do - their effect lasts about the year. Here are a couple of examples https://www.meindm.at/haushalt/shop/Dünger-%26-Insektenschutz/Motten/Vandal/Vandal-Mottenhänger/57977/2_10009004.action http://www.nexalotte.de/kleidermotten.html Don't know about your moths but they worked for me. Good luck.

I don't have anything to add to all of the great suggestions below. I did, however, want to offer my sympathy. I had a moth infestation a couple of years ago; it took forever to get rid of them. The worst part - I am a knitter, so I wound up having to throw out hundreds of dollars worth of yarn. Strangely enough, they went after linen in addition to wool.

We had moths a few years ago and had great success using an organic solution: beneficial insects called trichogramma wasps. They’re tiny wasps (not visible to the naked eye) that feed on moth eggs - it took a few weeks of repeated application, but it wiped out the problem completely. Check out Arbico Organics online - I’m not a shill, just a happy customer. Good luck!

Get Raid Max 3 Deep Reach Concentrated Foggers, 2.1 Oz, sold in packs of three. Keep bombing until the problem is solved.

I think the tenant would have a very hard time proving that this is actually a problem created by the landlord, unless the entire building is experiencing the problem. It's just as likely the tenant introduced the moths to the apartment.

The type of moths that eat wool to eat wool are not that common. Most moth infestations are eating food or human sweat left on the garment. Get a very exact diagnosis of what types of moths are infesting your apartment. As spring and summer comes along, wash all you woolens. Take coats to the dry cleaners.

Moths are nothing. Two years ago, bedbugs spread from one apartment to more than a dozen—including mine. For months I slept on my couch and lived out of plastic tubs of clean clothing. All other possessions were shrouded in plastic, chemicals in all the rooms and my books, clothing, furniture. Although the building management covered the cost of treatment, preparation and incidentals cost me thousands—which, I belatedly discovered, was not covered by my renters insurance. I could live with moths—but bedbugs? I still wake suddenly in the middle of the night, flashlight ready. Just in case...

While Ms. Kayson is always happy to provide advice from a Real Estate Attorney - she could have gone the extra mile in this case and made it easy for the LW -- NYC Moth Exterminators "Positive Pest Management of New York City provides the highest quality Moth Exterminating Services to residential and commercial customers in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. While Moths can ruin clothing and food, Positive Pest Management has the experience and skill to handle any extermination situation related to these or other pests. All moths, including Indian Meal Moths, Grain Moths, Flour Moths (Pantry Moths) and Clothing Moths, love to live in dirty, dark and humid places where nobody disturbs them for long periods. This gives them the time and freedom to destroy our clothes and food. These insects can be brought into homes in packaged foods, although they may enter from outside sources, or from adjacent apartments." http://www.positivepest.net/new-york-city-moth-extermination/ The page goes on to describe the different types of moths - along with pictures to help with identification. It also provides their phone number and other contact information. You don't need a generic exterminator - you need a company which specializes in dealing with these specific types of pests.

Hang cedar blocks or little bags of cedar shavings in your closet. This keeps moths away.

Put your sweaters in garment bags with some (lots) moth balls. Problem solved.

"It is important to recognize that damage attributed to clothes moths may in fact be caused by another group of insects adapted to digesting keratin— carpet beetles. Carpet beetles are very common in homes and buildings, and feed on most of the same materials as clothes moths. However, these pests are quite different in appearance." This info is from a publication on clothes moths from the University of Kentucky Entomology Dept. (https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef609). Here's the link to their publication on carpet beetles: https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef601

Another method of killing moths involves placing garments in a freezer for a week or two. No everyone has the space to do this.

You need to do several things: Empty out closet, vacuum thoroughly with nozzle -- get at places where floor and walls meet -- and then fill all cracks neatly with clear goop. If you are not averse to bug streams, spray all cracks and let them dry before you seal them. Do the same everywhere in your apartment. Moths live and breed in dust-filled cracks between baseboards and floors. And then they get into clothing. Empty dresser drawers and vacuum all cracks in them too. Wipe down. Vacuum your books, all sides. Vacuum bookcases. Wipe down. Wash or dry-clean all clothes. Also rugs. Put out little moth traps low to floor, in bookcases or beneath furniture -- couch, dresser. Don't let pets get at them -- they are sticky. And for God's sake, if you see one flying or crawling, don't rest until you kill it. We accidentally brought in moths with non-human grade peanuts meant for the blue jays. Fun to toss them out to the birds. Not fun when moths began blossoming in the open nut canister and betook themselves to different corners of the house and began eating everything. And keep vacuuming! It took us a couple of years to eradicate them entirely. Your landlord's spraying will be ineffectual unless you do the cleaning and sealing (and remember, no super will ever do it as carefully as you will!) and . . . vacuuming.

Have you tried using mothballs?Old remedy but it may work.

Place lavender in all your closets and drawers. I tried a lot of remedies and nothing worked better than lavender. But first clean out your closets and food pantry by washing down the surfaces and throwing away food items, especially cereals. Then place packets of lavender in these areas. Also check behind any woven artworks you have hanging on your walls for infestation.

Moths showed up in our apartment. They ate clothes, carpets, paper, etc. We cleaned everything, threw away a lot. The moths persisted. It took several deep cleanings, moving things outside into the cold for an extended period and a whole lot of cardboard moth attractors that they get stuck to. It literally took years to get rid of them, but we eventually did. Never had this problem in NY before and then all of a sudden, there they were and several other people also said they had the same problem. Moths are invaded New York!

If you otherwise like the apartment, you should probably try to get rid of the moths there. Moving may not solve the problem, as larvae on your clothing would move with you and take up residence in your new place. Dry cleaning and sealed storage of woolens will help, and proper food and other storage.

Does the LW purchase grains, flour etc in bulk? These could very well be "cereal moths" brought into the apartment from the supermarket by the LW. Very common. Sounds like the LW has not considered this possibility. And no, they don't bite humans. Perhaps the LW might consider keeping the moths on a leash - like that pigeon woman of a previous letter.