# A Horror Story: Knitter Sees a Moth **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 29, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-horror-story-knitter-sees-a-moth/402013 "2007-04-29T03:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-horror-story-knitter-sees-a-moth/402013/1 "2007-04-29T03:32:10Z")
It’s true: I only saw one. But I have a closet full of yarn, much of it wool. Not to mention actual GARMENTS that I’ve lovingly crafted. I don’t know how many of you recognize knitting or style terms such as “Aran knit” but trust me…you don’t want moths near something you spent hundreds of dollars and hundreds of hours on. The aforementioned moth siting was near to both the yarn stash closet AND the dresser storing finished works. Is the one moth an indication that I’m infested? What should I be looking for as far as larvae or potential for infestation? And even though I’ve heard the term “mothballs” what the heck ARE they? Do they work? Is there something that smells better and is more effective? Strangely, I’ve never had this problem before, so never looked into it. Laura ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-horror-story-knitter-sees-a-moth/402013/2 "2007-04-29T04:03:18Z")
There are many kinds of moths - are you sure this was one that is dangerous to materials? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-horror-story-knitter-sees-a-moth/402013/3 "2007-04-29T04:05:50Z")
Mothballs are made of a smelly chemical compound that gradually sublimes (sublimates? sublimes? goes straight from solid to gas) into the air. It KILLS moth larvae. Go buy yourself enough big plastic tubs to hold all of your knits, and a box of mothballs for each tub. Put them all away, sealed up tight, for the summer. By the time you want them again, they’ll all be dead–if they ever existed. Things like lavender and cedar only REPEL moths. They do not kill them. They do not kill the larvae. If you have seen a moth, it is too late for them to do any good. Don’t take any risks. I know precisely what “Aran knit” means. Just buy the tubs and the mothballs. Now. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-horror-story-knitter-sees-a-moth/402013/4 "2007-04-29T04:11:20Z")
Moth balls are small white balls of naptha, an ingredient in gasoline, with a distinctive odoe that is supposed to repel moths. It can usually be found in the supermarket in the laundry aisle. I have no idea whether they really work, although I have seen claims that they are both ineffective and environmentally hazardous. [This site](http://www.velona.com/about/chris2.html#top) addresses some of those issues. and the [University of California, Davis](http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7435.html) has another. On a brighter note, there really are not that many moth species that are a threat to wool. The [Ohio Extension Service](http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2107.html) only notes two that attack clothing and the [University of California, Davis](http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7435.html) also addresses the issue. (I’d have thought that dealing with the threat of moths would be easily discovered in the journals, magazines, and message boards of spinners, knitters, and weavers.) ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-horror-story-knitter-sees-a-moth/402013/5 "2007-04-29T04:48:55Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Moth balls are small white balls of naptha [/QUOTE] Many [mothballs are now made](http://www.niehs.nih.gov/external/faq/mothball.htm) with para dichlorobenzene, rather than naptha. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2007, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-horror-story-knitter-sees-a-moth/402013/6 "2007-04-29T07:39:15Z")
The best thing is to place wool in plastic bags and stick them in the freezer for 48 hours to kill any eggs or larvae.