I’m a nature lover, but I like to keep nature outside. My new house has had a series of unwelcome visitors, including moths. Enter Moth Prevention Moth Traps, which are designed to draw in adult male moths, trapping them before they breed. The company claims that its traps are proven to have the best catch rates for clothes moths and textile moths on the market—and they’re supposedly safer than competitor products, too. I decided to test out the highly rated traps to see if they’d help me get a handle on the situation.
Design: Simple but smart
I have to say that I was skeptical when I unwrapped these moth traps. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but not something that essentially looks like a blue and yellow cardboard box with a hook on one end. I think I envisioned something more trap-like, by which I mean more sinister. As I quickly learned, the Moth Prevention Moth Traps are deceptively simple and have three times the trapping surface area of similar products. They’re basically mini cardboard enclosures (about the size of a slim container of envelopes) where you load an adhesive sheet coated in four natural moth pheromones (replacement sheets are available for purchase and should be swapped out every three months). These pheromones lure mating-age male moths into openings along one side of the box, preventing them from mating with female moths that would then lay eggs. This strategy disrupts the moth breeding cycle, buying time to rid the house of the infected materials and ultimately eliminate these pests once and for all. It’s the larvae, or the intermediate stage between the egg and flying moth, that do damage to your clothing, carpets, and other upholstered items, and moths lay around 200 eggs each time they mate. To set up, I simply had to remove the cover of the adhesive board, put it inside the box, and then put wherever I suspected moths. Thanks to the removable hook, these traps are easy to hang in a closet, but you can also just place on a shelf or in an area adjacent to the infestation.
Performance: Effective
Flimsy appearance aside, these babies work. Despite seeing a moth here and there on our top floor, I wasn’t 100 percent sure that we had a problem. These traps confirmed my fear. I started to see moths in the traps after a few days (it sometimes takes a bit), but luckily only on the top floor—not in my closet, which is a floor below. These traps specifically target common webbing clothes moths (Tineola bisselliella), case-bearing clothes moths (Tinea pellionella), white-shouldered house moths (Endrosis sarcitrella), and brown house moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella) moths. Pantry moths (those found in your kitchen) infestation need other products. I didn’t catch tons of moths, possibly indicating that we had a new issue that hadn’t gotten really bad—yet—but it was still pretty disturbing. The traps last for three months, so I continued checking them regularly to assess how many moths are being trapped on the adhesive strips. I continued to see more moths stuck to in the trap over this time period. It’s easy to deal with the strips, as they are basically just tape with nothing gross, wet, or overly sticky (nothing is going to get on your clothes). The only issue is that once the surface of the sticky panel is covered in moths, it can’t take in any more. I like that I can use these traps to keep monitoring the situation and ensure we get rid of these critters once and for all. Of course, I’ve also been vacuuming and cleaning areas with the pests and getting rid of infected items.
Safety: Natural and mess-free
I have five children and a dog, so I was concerned about product safety and odor of this product. It exceeded my expectations on those fronts. The traps are scentless, mess-free, and child- and pet-safe; they include no insecticides, and they’re 100 percent natural. Instead of the strong, unpleasant smell of mothballs or other harsh chemicals, these traps use natural, odorless pheromones (developed and produced in Germany), making them so much more pleasant than chemical-based products. I also appreciate that they won’t attract other species of insects.
Price: A worthwhile investment
Moth Prevention Moth Traps retail for around $38 for a pack of three. There are multiple other moth trap products on the market, some with more traps for less money (Dr. Killigans Premium Clothing Moth Traps includes six traps for $20, for example), so this product is on the more expensive side. However, it’s effective, odorless, and results are guaranteed. If you’re not happy, the manufacturer offers a 90-day refund. I do wish the pack included more traps, but when dealing with pests, I’m willing to go with quality over quantity.
Moth Prevention Moth Traps vs. Greener Mindset Clothes Moths Traps
These products are both insecticide- and odor-free. The huge plus of the Greener Mindset product is that it contains seven traps for a lower price of around $26, while the three-pack Moth Prevention kit is $38. Both products also offer money-back guarantees, so there is no harm in trying either one. The Greener Mindset traps have mixed reviews, while the Moth Prevention product has mostly stellar feedback. I’d say the Greener Mindset traps are worth trying if price is a concern. Otherwise, I’m sticking with the sticky traps from Moth Prevention, as I’m more confident in their effectiveness. The Moth Prevention Moth Traps are a great buy. These traps successfully help you gauge your moth problem, while also trapping and killing the breeding males. This product is stink- and mess-free and safe for use around animals and children, too.
