# Is it a moth??? Please help



## sleepingbeauty (Oct 29, 2020)

Is it a moth??? Please help. The pest control said it's fruit fly, but it does look like a moth and there are a lots of them on our clothes.


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## jmon (Nov 5, 2012)

I agree with you. To me it looks like and from your description sounds like a common clothes moth. Fruit flies usually hang out around decaying/rotting fruit, garbage ect. Very surprised your bug guy said it's a fruit fly. Doesn't look like any fruit fly I've seen before.

The common clothes moth like clothes, The adult clothes moth doesn't necessarily cause a lot of damage to your clothes, they lay their eggs on your clothes and then the hatched moth larvea mainly eat the clothes.That's why sometimes you will see or notice little holes in your clothes etc.

Easy to control/treat with otc chemicals available at any box store. Just google How to treat moth infestation. Lots of options out there.


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## sleepingbeauty (Oct 29, 2020)

Thank you, then I am not crazy! I used moth balls and most of them died eventually, but more moths keep coming to our apartment somehow and it's a never ending issue. I had my building manager call pest control and tell them it's not a fruit fly and send them the same exact photo. Now pest control says it's a fungus fly.


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## bob22 (May 28, 2008)

Not a fruit fly. Looks like a moth, perhaps a Miller?


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## sleepingbeauty (Oct 29, 2020)

I wish the pest control guy bought thought the same.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Google "Webbing Clothes Moth".


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

@sleepingbeauty nice to meet you!

That's a plain old garden variety clothes moth. I'm not a pest control professional, but I strongly urge you to find another pest control person, pronto. I suspect he might not know feces from fascia, either. (Sorry, it's Friday, been a long week!)

Clothes moths' caterpillars feed on woolens, leather, suede and other animal products, including silk. In nature, they feed on animal carcasses. They make holes in garments, hence the term "motheaten" or "motheaten looking." 

The best way to keep them out of your clothes is to use a cedar chest or cedar closet, i.e., lined with red cedar, readily distinguished by its aroma. The moths don't like it and stay away. The great, wonderful cool thing about cedar is it won't stink up your clothes the way moth balls, cakes and crystals do. If you have to, the chemicals do work. 

If you've got a lot of moths, you may have damage to your clothes. _I'd get in there now and look and see. Don't wait._ Don't worry about cotton, or any other plant fibers; it's leather, silk and wool that get damaged. 

Do it now, before damage worsens. Sometimes "holy" garments can be fixed but if they get that "shotgunned" look they're likely best tossed._ Again, the sooner you look and see, the better_.

Let us know what you find, we're here to help.


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