Differences between clothes and food moths

To the layman, food and clothes moths look pretty similar. We help identify moths and explain how clothes moths differ from food moths.

A larva in muesli, small holes in your new favorite sweater and then a moth flutters out of the pantry - moths in the house are an unpleasant surprise. The inconspicuous animals develop into annoying pests that can cause considerable damage. In order to take the right countermeasures and thus quickly get rid of the uninvited visitors, However, you need to know whether the pest is a clothes moth or a food moth acts. For a layman, the differences between clothes moths and food moths are often not clear, so confusion often occurs. In this article you will learn the most important differences between clothes moths and food moths so that you can identify the right moth without a doubt and successfully combat it.

How to recognize food moths

Under the heading "food moth' different species of moths like that dried fruit moth (Plodia interpunctella), the flour moth (Ephestia kuehniella) and the storage moth (Ephestia elutella) summarized. The moths reach a body size of up to 25 millimeters and are colored differently depending on the species with irregular brown or black patterns. However, damage in the household is not caused by the adult animals, but by their larvae. The yellowish-white colored larvae of the food moth are 1.1 to 1.7 cm in size and look very much like maggots. The larvae are stored product pests that feed on different foods such as cereals, infest flour, nuts, chocolate or tea and contaminate them with their droppings and webs be able. Food moths are often brought into the household unnoticed by infested food - the nimble moths then feel particularly at home in the kitchen.

Tip: The wing drawing of the pest moths is not clearly defined. It can vary quite a bit depending on the season, diet, lifestyle and subspecies. Therefore, specific pheromone traps or the observation of the preferred food source always provide the most decisive information.

Pheromone traps are a simple and reliable tool for early detection of moth infestation. Our Plantura food moth traps contain pheromones, for example, which only attract male food moths. Since the moths stick to the glued boards, they can also be viewed and identified at leisure. The application of our Plantura food moth traps is very simple. They are just stuck in affected cupboards or drawers and then attract the male moths over a period of about six weeks. However, one thing should be noted when using them: moth traps are only a means of identification and are not sufficient to control the moths. However, due to the early detection of infestation, they offer the best conditions for timely control.

Tip: The storage moth is similar to the clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella), both have fringed wings shiny in a light golden yellow. The only way to tell the difference is with the help of pheromone traps - or by finding the larvae of the moth either in the closet or in the pantry.

How to recognize clothes moths

clothes moths (Tineola bisselliella) have a body size of about 4 to 9 mm as moths. Their front wings are straw yellow and have a silvery sheen. In contrast to other species of moth, the wings of the clothes moth have no spots or markings - an important distinguishing feature! As with the food moth, the actual damage is caused by the voracious larvae. Adult clothes moths do not eat and therefore do no harm. The larvae, which have a light-colored, threadlike body with a dark-colored head, feed on Materials containing keratin such as wool, fur, silk, feathers, but also natural insulating materials are on her menu. The material damage can be enormous in the event of an infestation and is easily recognizable by small holes in the affected piece. Clothes moths love dark wardrobes, but the little moths also feel at home in carpets - this is where their larvae find optimal living conditions.

Female clothes moths secrete pheromones to attract males to mate. There are also special pheromone traps that only work on clothes moths. The application of our Plantura clothes moth traps is also very simple. The traps can either be set up, hung or even attached to the underside of cupboards or shelves with adhesive dots. However, as with traps for food moths, not all males are caught and the Traps are therefore not sufficient for fighting, but for infestation detection and monitoring serve.

Tip: Fur moths are also clothes moths. They have variable, sometimes grey-black wing markings and should not be confused with the similar-looking flour moths.

Differences between clothes and food moths

Clothes moths and food moths differ primarily in their appearance: clothes moths, in contrast to food moths do not have dark patterns or spots, but are a solid straw yellow with a silvery tinge Shine. But they both have one thing in common: Both the clothes moths and the food moths are pests and therefore undesirable in the house. However, the larvae of the food moth infest food and are therefore stored product pests, whereas the larvae of the clothes moth feed on fabrics and textiles containing keratin and as material pests be valid.

Due to their special eating habits, there is another distinguishing criterion: the whereabouts. You will not find a food moth in a closet, as there is no food for the larvae there, and a clothes moth also rarely strays into the kitchen. If you pay attention to the basic characteristics of the appearance and the occurrence of the nimble moths, you too can easily distinguish between clothes moths and food moths.

Summary - This is how the moths differ:

food moths	clothes moths
Mostly dark patterned wings (dried fruit moth), more rarely shiny grey-black or yellow (flour moth, storage moth)	Mostly plain straw yellow (clothes moth), more rarely straw yellow with darker markings or darker grey-black (fur moth)
Infest and contaminate various foods	Leave feeding damage in textiles and natural insulating materials
Occurs mainly in the warm summer months	Can occur in the house or apartment all year round
Develop optimally at around 30 °C	Develop optimally at around 24 °C; however, a (slower) development is already possible from 15 °C
Recognizable by webs or larvae in food	Recognizable by webs and larvae in the closet or holes in clothing

Once the moths have been identified, it is time to declare war on the small pests. However, the use of chemical control agents is against moths in the closet and especially in the kitchen, of course, unpleasant and also not harmless. Our Plantura parasitic wasps against clothes moths and food moths, on the other hand, represent a safe and sustainable measure against the pests. The ones we use trichograma- Ichneumon wasps are the natural enemies of moths and ensure effective elimination thanks to their high level of specialization.

The beneficial insects are delivered to you in host eggs in quantities of 2000 on small cards, which you simply have to place in the affected areas. A card covers an area of ​​about one square meter or a closed room, for example a cupboard compartment. The number of cards you need therefore depends on the size of the area concerned - for a normal-sized kitchen, for example, we recommend four cards. To ensure successful and definitive moth control, it is important to repeat this process every two weeks. For this reason, you will receive a delivery of ours every 14 days so that you can always lay out fresh cards at the right time Plantura parasitic wasps against food moths and clothes moths in the mail.

Tip: Because of the different development times, four repetitions are necessary for food moths and six for clothes moths.

Incidentally, after the work is done, the small beneficial insects die within a few days and, due to their tiny shape, practically crumble into dust. It is therefore sufficient to wipe the affected shelves with a damp cloth and wash the clothes once.

Tip: It is helpful to attach moth traps even while fighting. Although they do not contribute significantly to combating them, they can be used to monitor the moth population and indicate when the cupboard and kitchen are moth-free again.

In our special article on these topics, we will tell you how best to prevent food and clothes moths and how not to let them become a problem in the first place Control food moths and Fight clothes moths.