Do clothes moths eat cashmere. Clothes moth adults do not feed so they do not cause damage to your cashmere. Cotton is a vegetable based fiber and is usually safe from the ravaging mouths of moth larvae. There are primarily only two species of moths that damage clothes in the usthe webbing clothes moth and the casemaking clothes moth. They hatch within a few weeks of being laid.
Both are members of the family tineidae bisselliella. When they first hatch theyre only a millimetre long and they burrow into your clothes so you don. Instead they lay eggs that hatch into cashmere eating larvae. Wool cashmere and silk are animal based fibers keratin is the protein in animal fibers that provides nutrition for clothes moth larvae to eat.
Moth larvae have a fairly specific diet and so female moths typically pick clothes made from animal fibers such as silk wool cashmere angora or fur materials that contain keratin. Moth larvae generally only feed of fibers that are of animal origin wool silk cashmere angora and similar. Many people are under the impression that the adult moths named above are the culprits when it comes to the holes in cashmere cardigans or wool jackets. Not all species of moths love cashmere.
It is the larvae not the moth that wants to nibble the. Do moths eat cotton clothing. By taking several inexpensive steps you can significantly reduce the chance that your cashmere sweater will fall victim to the clothes moth larvae. Infestations are prone to occur when clothing is stored during the off season so warm summer months are prime time for clothing moths to dig in to popular winter wear like.
Preventing moth infestation with cashmere clothes clothes moths are a menace that once established can cause a significant amount of damage in a very short amount of time. Moths dont eat clothes. Beware as moths are partial to cashmere. Adult clothes moths those you may see flying around your house in search of your previous cashmere cannot eat they live a very short lifespan purely with the intent of reproducing.
They are namely the tineola bis selliella and the tinea pellionella. Moths are destructive no doubt but they dont actually eat your clothestheir babies do. In the united kingdom there are over 2000 species of moths and only 2 species of them are known to like cashmere. Why moths love cashmere.