Cedar is a traditional moth repellent

After my post the other week, in which I discussed the use of lavender as a moth repellent, I thought I should mention cedarwood moth repellents, which traditionally take the form of blocks of wood or chips. Cedar deters adult moths, and is said to kill the larvae if the concentration of essential oils is high enough. In my opinion, a good rule of thumb is that if it doesn’t smell strong to you, the moths won’t mind it either!

One method I read about recently suggested painting the cedarwood oil directly onto the inside of a wooden wardrobe (being careful to make sure the oil is fully dry before replacing clothes to avoid marking). Cedar woodchips and blocks are very common, but the fragrance dies out quickly, and they need to be refreshed regularly with cedarwood essential oil to stay effective.

Do use 100% pure cedarwood essential oil because cedar fragrance oil or diluted essential oil may not contain sufficient active components.

Here is a decorative wardrobe bag with cedar roses and cedarwood essential oil

Ideally source some cedar roses like the ones in the picture, but other pine cones would suffice as they will be enhanced with cedar oil anyway.

Coat with cedar essential oil. I do this by shaking the cedar roses vigorously in a plastic bag with a few drops of oil, and leaving sealed in the bag overnight to allow the oil to diffuse fully into the wood. Alternatively you could paint the roses with oil using an artists paintbrush.

Make sure the cedar roses are dry to the touch (and so won’t mark the textiles) before placing them inside a pretty bag. The organza bag shown is 10x12cm and comfortably holds three cedar roses. It has handy drawstrings for hanging, and can easily be re-opened to refresh.

Why not go for a double whammy and put a handful of dried lavender flowers in there too!

 

If you don’t want to fragrance the cedar roses yourself, you can buy them ready-made

 

There’s an updated post about cedar roses for clothes moths