Five Secrets to Preventing Pests in Your Custom Closets

Familiarize Yourself With Common Closet Pests

In any battle, it’s important to understand your enemy. Knowing the common closet pests will tell you how to spot them, what kind of environment they like and your best steps for preventing them. According to UC Riverside, there are three main insect species that you have to worry about in your closet: 

• Clothes Moths
• Carpet Beetles
• Silverfish

Other insects that may cause damage to the items in your custom closet, and your closet cabinets themselves, are other species of moths and beetles, cockroaches, termites and crickets. 

Your geographic location will determine the types of pests you may encounter, so be sure to research the most common pests in your area. This includes learning about any seasonality to their behavior. Knowing pest patterns throughout the year will allow you to predict where they’ll be and when to look for them.

Keep Your Clothes Clean

Dirty clothes can quickly attract pests. Remember, it doesn’t take much to feed a tiny insect. They can smell anything with nutritional value from a long distance away, so try to wash clothing with stains as soon as possible. And you may be surprised what qualifies as food to insects:

• Beer
• Milk
• Fruit Juice
• Perspiration

You want to keep your closets as sterile as possible, so commit to only storing clean clothes inside, and use a quality hamper that can keep soiled items tucked away. You may even want to invest in a hamper with a lid. Do you have a job or hobbies that make your clothes extra dirty? Consider keeping your hamper with dirty clothes in your laundry room, away from your clean closet. 

Reader’s Digest also recommends a few tips to remove insect larvae before they’ve had a chance to feast on your fabrics:

• Vacuum clothes
• Encourage healthy air circulation
• Shake out clothing 
• Wash clothing with water at 100°F or more

Remove Old Clothes That May Attract Pests

In addition to stained and soiled garments, some fabrics and types of clothing may naturally attract pests more readily:

• Cotton
• Wool
• Silk 
• Leather

Natural Hair and Fur

These natural materials are favorite foods for insect larvae, especially moths. If you own an article of clothing that you rarely wear and it doesn’t hold any sentimental value, consider getting rid of it. If the clothing is something you want to keep, try to wash it or have it cleaned every few months. This will not only prevent pests but help keep smells down too. 

Don’t want to clean your items and can’t stand the thought of parting with them? Good Housekeeping recommends several long-term storage methods and tips to keep your items safe and protected from pests. This includes using acid-free tissue paper, vacuum-storage bags and special boxes made for lengthy periods of storage. 

Avoid Introducing Pests

The best way to prevent some pests from entering your home is to avoid introducing them in the first place. Recently travel? Make sure your hotel room didn’t have a pest infestation that could have spread to your luggage, accessories or clothing. 

One of your biggest risks when traveling is bed bugs, which are infamous for their ability to spread. This stubborn pest can hitch a ride on clothing, accessories, furniture, boxes and more. Once they make their way into your home, they require expensive and time-consuming removal from a professional company. The EPA notes that there are several ways to look for signs of bedbugs so you don’t end up bringing them home:

• Red or rust-colored stains on bed sheets or mattresses 
• Dark spots on fabrics that may look like a marker 
• Skin irritation, such as rashes, hives or red bumps*

*Note: the EPA explains that looking for physical symptoms of bedbugs on your skin is an unreliable way to spot this pest because these skin irritations can be triggered by so many other causes.

If you’re buying vintage clothing, furniture or accessories, inspect and clean these items before introducing them to your closet. You may also want to keep these items sealed in plastic bags until you have a chance to wash them. A little work up front preventing these pests can save you tons of effort later if you have to remove them.

Create a Space Pests Hate

In addition to keeping your clothing clean, it’s important you keep your entire custom closet as clean as possible to avoid welcoming in pests. This includes regularly dusting and vacuuming the floors, cabinetry, door frames and any other surfaces where dust, eggs and food can collect.

Another important step to creating a clean space pests won’t want to call home involves keeping your closet as organized as possible. Avoid clutter, such as piles of clothes, shoes and accessories, where pests can hide, build nests and lay eggs. Your closet should be neat and organized with space between hanging clothes to encourage good airflow. You should also keep as few items on the floor as possible. 

In addition, you want to keep the space as healthy as possible by ensuring you eliminate any excess sources of water. Unwanted water in a closet due to a roof or pipe leak, or even steam from a nearby bathroom, can not only support insects, but also create dangerous mold growth that could damage your clothing. Custom Closets of Houston includes several effective tips for avoiding mold growth in custom closets. 

Want to take the pest prevention one step further? The Spruce recommends several organic materials that you can incorporate into your closet to prevent pests:

• Cedar Hangers and Shoe Trees
• Cedar Blocks or Shavings
• Dried Lavender 
• Lavender Essential Oils
• Borax

Of course, insecticides are always an option, but you may want to exhaust more natural options before introducing any potentially dangerous chemicals first. 

Conclusion

If you’ve invested significant time, money and effort into crafting a beautiful custom closet and filled it with clothing and accessories you love, give this space the attention it deserves. Like your kitchen, bathrooms and living room, this space demands regular upkeep. A custom closet should be one of the most rewarding areas of your home. And with a little effort, you can ensure it is for years to come. 

Sources:

• https://entomology.ucr.edu/ebelingchapter8 
• https://www.rd.com/article/get-rid-of-moths/
• https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/house-and-home/household-advice/a657038/keep-your-wardrobe-in-tip-top-condition/
• https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/how-find-bed-bugs
• https://www.customclosetsofhouston.com/tips-for-avoiding-mold-growth-custom-closets
• https://www.thespruce.com/control-clothes-eating-pests-organic-methods-2145992