How to Prevent Sweater-Eating Pests

Picture this: on the first chilly day of fall, you go into your closet in search of the sweaters that you stored during the warmer months. You even have one in mind that you want to be the first sweater of the season because it’s your favorite. Once you finally get to your stash of sweaters, you pull out the one you had in mind and get ready to put it on. But then you see them: holes. They weren’t there before (and aren’t a specific design choice), and there’s a lot of them. How could this have happened when you stored all of your sweaters so carefully? There could be a couple of reasons, but the one that is almost always the correct answer is a clothes-eating pest invasion.

There’s good news and bad news here. The good news is that basically every pest that eats through clothing is otherwise harmless to people and pets. The bad news is that these pests are great at hiding in our closets and dark spaces, so it’s frustratingly easy to miss an infestation until it’s too late. Most sweaters are made of materials that these pests love, including cotton, wool, cashmere, polyester, and a blend of fabrics. There are quite a few pests that will chew through clothes, and every region has its own common species. That being said, there are four types that frequently cause problems for sweater-owners. Let’s take a brief look at each of these offenders before discussing the best ways to keep these pests out of your sweaters and prevent them from ruining the appeal of sweater weather. 

Carpet Beetles 

Sweaters aren’t made of carpet, but that doesn’t stop carpet beetles from munching on our favorite fall clothing. These pests are after the keratin, a protein that is primarily found in wool and cashmere — aka, two of the most common sweater materials. Carpet beetles live for up to two months and can produce 100 eggs, which will cause more problems once those eggs hatch because the larvae are even more destructive. They need to eat quite a bit to grow into adult carpet beetles, so larvae will devour the fibers on a sweater. 

Carpet beetles are small — only 1/8 of an inch long — so they can be more difficult to spot than these other pests. They can also fly, giving them an advantage in their quest to remain hidden. Carpet beetles have multiple food sources that they can easily find in and around our homes. Their favorites are carpeting (clearly), rugs, blankets, clothing, and pollen. Since carpet beetles aren’t picky when it comes to clothing, they can eat certain synthetic fibers that other pests cannot. They can also be year-round pests if they stay in a heated house, but the only caveat is that their eggs will naturally hatch at a slower rate in winter than in summer. 

Crickets

This is probably the most surprising addition to this list since we really only think of crickets as being outdoor insects that love to make noise as soon as the sun sets. Since crickets are nocturnal, they’re easily attracted to the artificial lights in our homes once it gets dark outside, and this attraction can inspire them to invade before seeking out a hiding spot. This can lead them to our closets since they’re less busy than other rooms. When it comes to sweaters, crickets are there less for the actual clothing and more for any stains or debris on the sweaters. 

They don’t purposefully eat the threads and fibers, as opposed to other pests. Crickets are attracted to sweaters with stains, starch, dirt, odors, and food remnants. These are the actual components they feed upon, especially in the fall when their outdoor food sources are gone. When crickets feed on a sweater, any resulting holes are from them accidentally eating through the fibers while devouring the debris on it. They can chew through both natural and synthetic fibers with their strong mouthparts. In addition to this damage, crickets also produce droppings that will stain any clothing, so they are a definitely nuisance to have in your sweater collection.

Clothes Moths

Specifically, clothes moths are a major pest of sweaters that are untouched for a while. They love wool and cotton, so clothing made of these materials are more at risk for an infestation. The webbing clothes moth is one of the most common sweater pests, and their small size makes it easy to overlook them. They are pale gold in color and can lay hundreds of eggs in their lifetimes. They are drawn to sweaters made of wool or cashmere, which makes webbing clothes moths the enemy of anyone whose sweater collection is on the more expensive side.

Similar to carpet beetles, clothes moths are at their most destructive in their larval stage. They are drawn to the keratin protein in wool and cashmere, and will eat small holes through these sweaters. The larvae are pickier with their sweater materials, so they usually stick with organic fibers. Adult clothes moths will eat a blend of materials and like to lay their eggs on a nearby sweater in order to give their offspring an immediate food source. One final fact of clothes moths to note is that they prefer to stay in the darkest of spaces, so if your closet doesn’t get much light throughout the year, it is more at risk of gaining a clothes moth infestation.

Silverfish

These strange-looking pests are more commonly associated with papers and damp areas than with clothing, but silverfish are actually a frequent clothes pest as well. It is true that they need more moisture than other insects to survive, so a closet that is inside or close to a bathroom is more likely to attract silverfish. They feed at night and typically seek out dirty laundry for the debris and stains, but silverfish can eat through any kind of sweater.

Similar to crickets, silverfish are also only found on sweaters because of the natural debris on them. They aren’t interested in the fibers or threads like carpet beetles and clothes moths are. Silverfish love eating the dirt, food, dust, and dead skin particles found on sweaters that are left alone and aren’t completely spotless. They can be found around shelves and on the floor, so sweaters that are lower to the ground are more susceptible to a silverfish invasion. Between the ragged holes they chew and the yellow stains they leave behind, silverfish aren’t a pest you want to find in your closet any time of year.

Pest Prevention & Sweater Protection

Now that we’ve covered four of the most common sweater-eating pests, the next logical step is to discover how to prevent them from invading in the first place. As with most pests, the essential ingredient in these tasks is eliminating the pests’ food source. This doesn’t mean getting rid of your sweaters altogether (don’t worry), but rather, taking away all of the random crumbs and particles that attract some of these pests to the closet.

To prevent clothes pests from ruining your sweaters, we recommend:

• Storing all sweaters in airtight sealed plastic bags during the off-seasons.
• Getting rid of any sweaters that are completely infested. One or two holes isn’t awful, but multiple holes and stains are good reasons to declutter that sweater.
• Vacuuming the closet or storage area regularly.
• Refraining from stacking your sweaters on the shelf without a covering in the off-seasons. This is especially important if you keep your sweaters in an area with less light.
• Washing and drying all sweaters before storing them in the spring. If the sweater material allows it and you would prefer it, dry cleaning is also a good way to ensure that there aren’t any hidden pests in the sweater before storing it.

These tasks aren’t surefire guarantees that you will never have a clothing pest problem in your life. Pests are crafty little critters and can sneak through the cracks despite our best efforts. However, all hope is not lost! There is one other important task that we strongly suggest doing regardless of your sweater collection size…

The Best Time to Contact Pointe is All the Time

Whether you have a full collection of sweaters that you wait in anticipation to break out every year or you own a few reliable ones, the last thing you need during the fall season (or any time of year) is a pest infestation. They bring nothing but trouble wherever they go, which is why efficient pest solutions are essential. At Pointe Pest Control, we take pride in keeping local homes and businesses pest-free all year long. We begin every service with a complete inspection of the property as our technicians assess the pest activity and determine the species involved, then immediately create a customized treatment plan that will solve your specific pest issues as efficiently as possible. Plus, all of our treatments are fully safe for both people and pets, so there is never the risk of toxic chemicals lingering in your home. We look forward to keeping you pest-free, so contact us today to learn more about our reliable pest control services that will keep your sweater collection as cozy as ever! 

Citations

Bond, R. (2019, May 4). Search and destroy: How to get rid of sweater moths. Apartment Therapy. Available at https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-get-rid-of-sweater-moths-201405 (Accessed on October 23, 2023).

Brougham, R. (2023, April 26). 5 insects that may be eating your clothing. Family Handyman. Available at https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/insects-that-may-be-eating-your-clothing/ (Accessed on October 23, 2023). 

Getting rid of clothes moths. (2019, December 6). EarthKind. Retrieved October 23, 2023, from https://www.earthkind.com/blog/how-to-get-rid-of-clothes-moths/ 

Identifying and controlling clothes moths, carpet beetles, and silverfish. (2023, July 14). Government of Western Australia: Agriculture and Food. Retrieved October 23, 2023, from https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/pest-insects/identifying-and-controlling-clothes-moths-carpet-beetles-and-silver%EF%AC%81sh 

Leverette, M.M. (2022, July 13). How to control bugs that eat clothes. The Spruce. Available at https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-control-clothes-eating-insects-2145853 (Accessed on October 23, 2023).