My kitchen was savaged by moths – a £1 hack made my flat smell like the local chippy, but a cupboard staple worked great
MOTHS have become the absolute bane of my life over the past few months and I have been driving myself and my flatmates insane.
Every time I open my food cupboard one will fly out, and I constantly have to bat the critters away when I’m trying to relax in front of the TV.
Although all of the food in my cupboards has been sealed away in airtight containers to try and keep the moths out, this hasn’t worked as a deterrent, and the creatures are still flying around the house in droves.
Desperate to banish the pests from my home I searched online and found three cheap, humane hacks on TikTok which others claim do work.
Thankfully, Moths found in the kitchen are called pantry moths, or Indian meal moths.
They aren’t harmful to humans but they can get into food and make it inedible, which can be extremely frustrating.
I tested out each of my methods in a different cupboard to find out which was the most effective at keeping the moths at bay.
Lavender essential oil
Moths hate the scent of lavender, cedarwood and thyme, so you can use essential oils in these as a natural repellent.
Adam Juson, Co-Founder of commercial pest control company Merlin Environmental, says: “Lavender might be popular with humans, but moths find it unpleasant and overpowering.
“This makes adding lavender sachets and sheets in drawers and cupboards an effective way to get rid of bugs. The strong lavender scent masks smells that moths are attracted to.”
I picked up some lavender essential oil for the bargain price of £2.97 from Amazon, and decided to give it a try.
I poured some of the oil onto a cotton wool pad, and then dabbed it on one of my food cupboards.
The essential oil smelled absolutely delightful, which definitely lifted my spirits every time I entered the kitchen.
I have definitely noticed a reduction in the amount of moths since using this method, however, when I went to open my food cupboard this morning to get my oats out, a moth flew right into my face, so it definitely hasn’t worked completely.
Rating: 6/10
Herb Bags
Another popular method I found during my research was making tiny bags of herbs to repel moths.
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Hornets and wasps – hate the smell of peppermint oil so spraying this liberally around your patio or balcony can help to keep them at bay.
Moths – acidic household white vinegar is effective for deterring moths. Soak some kitchen roll in vinegar and leave it in your wardrobe as a deterrent.
Flying ants – herbs and spices, such as cinnamon, mint, chilli pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cloves, or garlic act as deterrents.
Mosquitoes – plants, herbs and essential oil fragrances can help deter mozzies inside and out. Try eucalyptus, lavender and lemongrass.
Moths hate the smell of rosemary as it contains terpene compounds, which act as a natural insecticide.
They are also not a fan of thyme, mint sage, cloves or cinnamon.
Thankfully, I already had all of these products at home, so I didn’t need to fork out for anything for them, but you can pick up these herbs and spices from your local supermarket for around £1 each.
I borrowed some cute little fabric bags from my flatmate and set about making a mixture of all of the herbs to put inside the bags.
This was rather messy, and I ended up getting herbs everywhere, which was quite annoying.
It also seemed quite wasteful to be pouring herbs into a bag instead of using them to make a tasty dinner, but I thought that it would all be worth it if it kept the moths at bay.
I placed the bags into another one of my cupboards and waited patiently for the results.
It has now been almost a week, and neither me nor my flatmates has spied a single moth coming out of that particular cupboard, so I think this hack could be a winner.
Rating: 8/10
White Vinegar
The crème de la crème of cleaning products, white vinegar can be used to fix pretty much any household problem, from getting rid of mould to killing garden weeds.
And my research suggested that it can also be used to tackle moths as well.
White vinegar changes the PH levels of any surface that it comes into contact with, and moth eggs and larvae that are exposed to white vinegar will not be able to survive in this acidic environment.
I picked up some cheap white vinegar for £1 from Morrisons, threw on some rubber gloves, and set to work scrubbing out one of my cupboards.
Although I love putting vinegar on my fish and chips, I do not want my house to smell like the local chippy, which is exactly what it resembled after I’d finished scrubbing.
The smell faded eventually and seems to have prevented the moths from returning, so aside from the stench, all in all this is a pretty good hack.
Rating: 7/10.
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