AN AUTUMN CAMPAIGN.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXI, Issue 2261, 22 April 1926, Page 2

AN AUTUMN CAMPAIGN.

THE DESTRUCTIVE MOTH. Housewives may be reminded that the present is one of the best seasons of the year for launching a campaign against the clothes moth. The generally accepted theory is that this destructive little pest lays its eggs before the advent of really cold weather and then dies. which are deposited in snug places among woollen articles and furs, will remain there until the spring,' when the increasing warmth causes them to hatch out, and the new crop of moths will appear, ready to repeat the process later. - This account of the life story of the clothes moth is, no doubt, correct so far as it 'goes, but it seems certain that at least a proportion of the moths hatched out every year—possibly the later arrivals Avhich have not yet reached the egg-laying stage—live through the winter, ready to wake up again in the spring to carry on their destructive work. The larvae of the moth can thrive only amid warm and suitable surroundings—and it is they who are mainly responsible for the havoc wrought among our clothes—but the adult moth can no doubt hibernate in any odd corner after the manner of others of their race.

Moths' eggs are so tiny and so easy to overlook that it is never safe to assume that anything is free from, them when the insects themselves are in evidence. Fluffy materials of furs may look all right, but may have the germs of mischief in them all the same. The house moth, however, rarely lays its eggs in anything that is in constant use or rarely moved—it is the things thrown into drawers and forgotten or packed away in boxes or ottomans with badly-fitting lids that tho moth will almost certainly discover. Even a garment left hanging for some time on the back of a door provides a convenient opportunity for the laying of eggs. But one of the most tiresome of tho moth's habits is its fondness forgetting under the carpets, especially where felt is laid underneath, for this makes a most ideal nursery for the new generations of destroyers. A layer of paper between carpet and under-felt will prevent this; moths dislike paper because of its cold surface. Articles which can be wrapped in two or three thicknesses of newspa per, the edges of the latter being doubled over, or, better still, pasted together, are usually quite safe from moths. Some of the moth preventives have an unpleasant odour, but there are others, such as lavender blossom, sandal-wood shavings, and cedar-wood sawdust, which have quite a pleasant smell. When moth is suspected in any article the latter should be well brushed and shaken and then left to hangin a cold or draughty place; neither eggs nor larvae can survive for long in a low temperature. Passing a hot iron over any material that can be so ! treated will arrest the mischief, while other articles may be steamed in a not. too hot oven after having been wrapped in a,damp cloth or towel. Every drawer, cupboard, or box in which clothing is to be put away should bo very thoroughly dusted out with a brush previously dipped in strong disinfectant, . and the receptacle then lined with paper.