Oxford Democrat., 1920-05-11
lnsuring Clothes Against Moths.
USE PREVENTIVE MEASURES WHEN
you PUT GARMENTS AWAY.

This is the time of the year when th
little moth gets busy. 1t Is much easie
TO bar him from your wardrobe than
10 to put him ont afterwards and repai
the damage. Early In the spring is tb
time TO use the ''0unce Of prevention.
The moth 10 no discriminator of person
or things; the school girls half Ror
wooden gloves or your new Bolivia Goa
with the squirrel collar are all one t
him when he starts on his perforatin
pilgrimage.
Woolen stuffs and fur are his favorit
materials. Eternal vigilance seems th
only successful method Of PROTECTING
wooden garments from the pests. Gar
ments which are used from time to tim
all summer can not be wrapped, bu
must hang In the closet and wardrob
ready for unexpected changes in th
weather, but will keep In good copdi
tion, the United States Department o
Agriculture suggests, II the following
precautions are carried ont:
Keep the closet or wardrobe clean.
possible, hang garments in q closet tha
has window. Brush clothes thorough
ly at regular intervals. Turn pocket
wrong side out, cuffs down and brush
Brush under lapels, plaits, and the to]
of hems. Every one knows how mucl
dust collects In all Of these crevices o
clothing. II this dust is not allowed Il
remain the moths will not have as goo,
lodging place.
PRECAUTIoN IN STORING
The larger part Of ones winter ward
robe 10 usually carefully "put away" u
the spring to remain stored until col,
weather appears again. Some peopl
are fortunate enough to be able to sen,
their clothing to q storage compan
which makes q business Of seeing tha
moths do not damage garments left Il
It's care. The rank and file, however
still have to follow grandmother's meth
DDS and pack their clothes in trunks o
cedar chests or wrap them up and stor
them on the closet shelf.
In the fall, when they are unpaoked
there is always the fear that in spite o
your care the moths may have found
way In during the summer. Much o
this anxiety would be unnecessary if tn,
garments were made absolutely clear
when stored away, and IL they wer,
packed in as nearly an air-tight way q
possible.
Thorough brushing should remove al
moths and eggs, but hanging for a da.
n the sun and wind also helps. Whel
the garment is clean, the next step Is t.
wrap it up so carefully that the moth
can not reach it. This can be done IL
several ways: Sew 1t up in strong. brown
wrapping paper; use pastebosrd boxei
and seal with strips of gum paper, OF
place the garments in paper bags which
are sold for storage purposes. A mos
effective method is to pack the clothinl
in 8 trunk, sprinkling In freely naphtha
sne fakes; when filled place a sour
plate on top of the clothing and place
three tablespoonfuls of carbon disulphiG
in the plate. Close tightly and do NOT
open again until fall. Care must be
taken In using disulphid to keep al
flames away from it's fumes as these are
as explosive as gasoline.
Nsphthslene fakes or moth balls
alone, using two pounds In an ordinary
trunk, are most effective for protecting
SaOsaSo AAo" haOth iukCcbotiOu IUl
killing all stages Of the insect. CamphoI
is less effective, and while red-cedal
chests readily kill all adult moths they
do not prevent the hstobing of moth
eggs. Tests show that the following
substances often used for the purpose
possess no value as moth "repellents"
Tobacco extracts and powders, lavender
flowers, cayenne pepper, allspice, cloves,
angelica root, black pepper, borax,
colocynth pulp, eucalyptus leaves, for.
msldehyde, hellsbore, lead carbonate,
lead oxide, lime, quassia chips, sodium
bicsrbonate, and sodium carbonate.
Brushing, busting with nsphthalepe
fakes or pyrethrum powder and careful
wrappings are the best insurance agains,
moths. Placing in cedar chest pro.
vides additional safety.