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Re: citronella for moths control

On Wed, 6 May 1992 dodj@nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu wrote:

> hello,
> does anybody know if citronella drives moths away?  i hear it's supposed
> to work on mosquitos - but moths?
> we have a problem with moths getting into our apartment, and we saw a
> plant that has the citronella scent.  i forget what it was called. 
> anyway, i was wondering if it would discourage moths.


Dear   (?),

	I think that it is a good idea to sign postings to discussion
groups.  Also, when discussing growing techniques which work, how a plant
is doing, or (as in this case) other environment-related phenomena, I
think that people posting to the list should mention their location, even
as generally as mentioning their home state.

	Anyway, about the moths.  I would imagine that they are coming in
at night, and that they are attracted to the light in your apartment. 
Although there are only a couple of types, such as the "clothes moth"
which can damage linens and some food products, I realize that moths in
general can be annoying.  Once in a while, a moth might lay eggs on a
house plant, and the caterpillars might damage the plant, but that is
pretty rare and shouldn't be a problem, except for people who grow
tomatoes in windowsills (those people would have to watch for hornworms).

	I don't know anything about using citronella oil or citrus plants
to repel moths, but I doubt that it would be very effective.  More likely,
the moths would just enter, and would then avoid getting too close to the
source of the odor.  It citronella does indeed repel moths, it might be a good
substitute for moth crystals, but this would entail enclosing the linens
(such as wool sweaters and pants) in a container with the citronella oil
source, so that there would be a strong concentration of the repellant
odor.  

	Trying to keep moths away by just growing a fragrant plant next to
the window is not likely to work.  If one were to put an open dish of moth
balls next to a closet full of woolen clothes, for instance, the moths
would just fly right by, and would then get into the closet to lay eggs on
the woolens.  They are persistent animals, almost seem determined, but
that's probably too strong a word for something with such a limited
behavioral repertoire.  Genetically hard-wired and hell bent on
destruction (or on the miraculous propagation of life, depending on the
perspective from which the events are viewed), would be more apt.

	Not to be alarmist, but rather to show how incredibly adapted/adaptable
these animals are: at a talk by an expert on biological control, a
researcher told us that some of the flour/pantry moths which get into
foodstuffs can enter a jar of flour or nuts or cereal by getting under the
lid and circling/spiraling around the threaded screwtop pathway!  He was
serious, and this is why people like him specify using clamp top and/or
canning jars for
storing foodstuffs in the pantry.  Or, just make sure that the screw top
jars are tightly shut, is what I try to do.

	Anyway, I didn't intend to launch into a lecture on moth control. 
I would look into installing or repairing screens to help keep moths out
of the house.  You could also hang some flypaper (I'd use the kind without
insecticide added), and hope that some of the moths fly into it and get
trapped.  

	Hope that this helps.

Cordially,

Keith Dabney
Entomology Dept.
CA Acad. of Sciences
San Francisco
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