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How many have you lost to moths? How many rescued?

St.Ignatz

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,444
Location
On the banks of the Karakung.
I've got a modern OR that I was able to "fix, a Camp Draft that needs a lot more work and a real heart breaker discovered today. I'll need some time before I can talk about that last one.

Or would you rather not talk about it?

Tom D.
 

monbla256

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,239
Location
DFW Metroplex, Texas
I've got a modern OR that I was able to "fix, a Camp Draft that needs a lot more work and a real heart breaker discovered today. I'll need some time before I can talk about that last one.

Or would you rather not talk about it?

Tom D.

I keep all my felts in their boxes with aromatic cedar blocks inside the box. Never had moth problems. :)
 

St.Ignatz

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,444
Location
On the banks of the Karakung.
I keep all my felts in their boxes with aromatic cedar blocks inside the box. Never had moth problems. :)

The first two were in boxes with moth balls in the closet and cedar blocks in the boxes I suspect they picked up a hitchhiker while spending an evening on a coat rack. I've gotten into the habit of quarantining new acquisitions in a plastic trash bag with a few moth balls. I had been overlooking the box itself so that is now included in the process. I am still trying to figure out the last loss.
 

harty

New in Town
Messages
29
Location
Sioux Falls, SD
I live in the same town where I grew up. I remember there being moths that would sneak into Mom and Dad's house from time to time but few and far between. I don't think I have ever seen one near our place in the 5 years we've lived here. I think it may be to do the bat population around our area of town. No moth bites.
 

warbird

One Too Many
Messages
1,171
Location
Northern Virginia
I live in the same town where I grew up. I remember there being moths that would sneak into Mom and Dad's house from time to time but few and far between. I don't think I have ever seen one near our place in the 5 years we've lived here. I think it may be to do the bat population around our area of town. No moth bites.

The moths that you see flying around at night in the summertime and the moths that eat fur and wool are different. I have never had a problem with moths eating any of my hats. I have acquired a few that had small nibbles.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,081
Location
London, UK
I have one or two with minor nibbles, two with a bit of a crater in them. I need to get myself a brim trimmer so I can take an eighth of an inch off the brim of my Fed III in Carbon Grey to use the removed strip for repairing it. I think it might have been a carpet beetle rather than a moth, though.
 

Blackthorn

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,568
Location
Oroville
My VS hats go right back into the box Art shipped them in, after I wear them. I don't leave them out on display for this very reason. I don't want my investment (in love more than in money) to get ruined. I do have a hat rack where I keep my Akubras.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,081
Location
London, UK
A hat rack in the light is surely a place they're less likely to be hit by moths? [huh] I don't claim any expertise in this, just have the impression that moths prefer dark spaces?
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
Yes, that's what they say. I've had problems with moths off and on for years. They can be VERY hard to get rid of. I've had hats with a few nibbles, but even so the nibbles have not been very noticeable. Luckily they've never gotten at any of my more prized specimens. I've kept hats in hat boxes with mothballs for extended periods, and I think that has helped.
 

Miss sofia

One Too Many
Messages
1,675
Location
East sussex, England
A hat rack in the light is surely a place they're less likely to be hit by moths? [huh] I don't claim any expertise in this, just have the impression that moths prefer dark spaces?

I agree Edward, i've been battling with moths for years, they like dark, confined spaces. I hang hats on shelves and racks, out of direct sunlight of course, same with outerwear. They don't like orange peel, cloves, lavender or other string smelling herbs, so bundles of those in hat boxes or in wardrobes can be a good repellent. There are some excellent organic pesticides like Neemol that can be sprayed directly onto all fabrics, which i use, as i love the smell of mothballs, but my son doesn't. I have been lucky, but i haven't left much to chance!
 

Dubya

One of the Regulars
Messages
220
Location
Kent, England
:pound:

I had to re read the title of this thread more than once! I thought to myself "How odd to ask people a question like that??"

I thought the thread title was 'How many moths have you lost? How many rescued?"

Gawds sake! :twitch:
 

LoveMyHats2

I’ll Lock Up.
Messages
5,196
Location
Michigan
No damage done to any of my hats while in my homes. I do keep my hats in the box at all times, and for some after they have been off for a while, I place the hat in a plastic bag for extra protection.

The cedar blocks may help, also acorns from a eucalyptus will work, ( the acorns are actually fairly much a stronger odor than cedar).

I am sure as time comes, I will learn what and how to fix a hat if a moth or anything else decides to have "lunch" on one of them.
 

Woodfluter

Practically Family
Messages
784
Location
Georgia
Haven't lost any hats to wee bugs, but have repaired damage in old hats...to some extent. Usual methods I got from you all.

As an aside, are we sure this is the work of moth larvae? Seems that silverfish and carpet beetles are also likely culprits.
http://www.citymetropestmanagement.com.au/fabricpests

On damaged woolen clothes (e.g. socks), I've seen the cast larval skins and sandy droppings so I'm pretty sure it was the moths. But on old hats, I do wonder...never saw anything that would provide a clue, just the shallow or deep craters. They often seem to favor the fold line adjacent to hat ribbon - but not exclusively. So my question is:

Has anybody apprehended a suspect actually committing the crime?
 

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