Your home must be treated all three times regardless of whether you have observed clothes moths or not. The treatment does not cause unpleasant smells and it is safe for humans and pets. However, humans and pets must not stay in the home during the treatment itself, and you must wait 20 minutes after the treatment is completed before re-entering your home.
It is essential that Absolut Pest Control has access to all homes within the specified time period. If you cannot be home yourself, please make sure someone is there to let us in. The key could possibly be left with a neighbour or a caretaker or maybe it can be placed in a caretaker mailbox.
See this video that shows how the treatment is done.
When your home is being treated for clothes moths
Information on clothes moths
The clothes moth (Tineola Bisselliella) is not originally a Danish insect. It originates from warmer places, and did not migrate to Denmark, until the end of the eighteenth century when firestoves where installed to heat people´s homes.
A female moth can lay between 100 and 150 eggs in its lifetime. The eggs are very small and white, and are hidden in the folds of textiles. After 4-8 days the eggs hatch – if the temperature is right – and then the larvae immediately begin constructing their characteristic pipe-shaped covers. If the temperature is below freezing, the eggs will die within a couple of weeks.
The clothes moth larvae eats irregular holes in the textiles and leaves behind lots of threads and droppings. The clothes moth larvae, that can grow up to 10mm in length, pupate as fully-grown larvae in the covers they constructed and grew in. The development from egg to grown moth takes from one month to a year, depending on the temperature, the humidity and the quality of the food. The clothes moth´s optimal temperature is about 25 degrees Celsius and, if conditions are optimal, for instance in heated rooms, 4 entire generations can easily breed in a single year.
Since moth eggs are very fragile and are distributed loosely throughout the materials where they are laid, many of them will be destroyed by vacuuming and normal cleaning procedures. As it is the larvae that do all the damage, it is important to destroy them, but although grown moths do not consume nourishment, in order to prevent breeding, they should also be exterminated through the use of an insecticide.
Smaller textiles such as clothes, bedding, linen etc., should be heat-treated or frozen. The easiest way to do this is by washing your textiles in a washing machine at minimum 55 degrees Celsius, or by heating them (in a dryer, an oven or a sauna) until their core temperature has reached at least 55 degrees for an hour. Alternatively, the textiles can be frozen at -18 degrees for at least 72 hours.
Larger textiles that are more difficult to handle such as rugs, curtains, blankets etc., should be dry-cleaned. Alternatively, they can be beaten, brushed and vacuumed, however, dry-cleaning is the most effective method.
Furniture textiles, such as upholstery, lining etc. should be beaten and then vacuumed thoroughly. If the weather is freezing, you can put your furniture outside during the night and bring it in during the day for a period of 2 days. This fluctuation between hot and cold will kill all eggs, larvae and fully-grown moths.
We can address any pest problem for both individuals and businesses.
We take care of clearance and disinfection of apartments and other residences, whether it’s due to death, neglect, or other forms of contamination.
You are always welcome to call us and let us assess the problem. You are not obligated to anything by making the call, unless we agree otherwise.
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