Wool garment protection

[Phoenix Rising]

Following on from a post made by Helen Cox in Friends and gossip - she gave a warning about carpet beetles and moths at this time of the year and the potential for damage to wool garments that they can present. This got me thinking, as although in these modern times we have moth balls etc, how did folks in medieval / tudor / elizabethan times protect their clothing from being eaten away by such pests, especially as they lived a bit closer to nature than we present dwellers do?

[Bittersweet]

The herb specialists will know this I expect but camfor, lavender, etc spring to mind with me. I don't know how common they'd be at that time though.
As I say, the herb people on here will know I'm sure

[sally]

prevention is your major first call. We have problems because we store our woolies and fur for months at a time. If you are wearing them reglarly, shaking and brushing the surface and airing diligently, then the little offenders can't get comfy. There is the old story about hanging furs in garderobes to deter moths as well, but I must confess that I don't know how firmly based in evidence that one is?

The Menagier de Paris certainly has advice on how to avoid fleas in clothing, can anyone recall if he also mentions moth?

[guthrie]

prevention is your major first call. We have problems because we store our woolies and fur for months at a time. If you are wearing them reglarly, shaking and brushing the surface and airing diligently, then the little offenders can't get comfy. There is the old story about hanging furs in garderobes to deter moths as well, but I must confess that I don't know how firmly based in evidence that one is?

The Menagier de Paris certainly has advice on how to avoid fleas in clothing, can anyone recall if he also mentions moth?

I've never seen or heard any evidence for the hanging of garments in garderobes, and in many cases there isn't much room for doing so.

On page 140 of the Eileen powers translation published by Boydell of the Goodman of Paris, it says:

Concering which know you and tell you your women, that in order to preserve your fur coverlets and yours stuffs, it is meet often to air them, in order to prevent the damage whcih moths may do unto them; and because such vermin gather when the cold weather of autumn and winter groweth milder and be born in the summer, at such time it behoves you to set out furs and stuffs in the sun in fair and dry weather

The introduction to the book also quotes from a black letter work, which I presume means printed in the 16th century or so, by a Laurens Andrewe, who wrote:

The mothe bredethe amonge clothes tyll that they have bytenit a sonder and yt is a maniable work, and yet it hydeth him in ye clothe that it can scantly be sene and it bredethe gladly in clothes that have ben in an evyll ayre, or in a rayn or myst, and so layde up without hanging in the sonne or oether swetre ayre after ... The erbes that be bitter and well smellinge is good to be layde amonger such clothes, as the bay leavis, cypres wode.

[Phoenix Rising]

Looks as if it was a combination of herbs and giving your clothes a good airing! Can't see the garderobe idea myself either, as guthrie says theres not a lot of room. Someone has also mentioned woodshavings to me, but not sure how this would make a difference? (unless I'm not thinking along the right lines - which wouldn't be anything unusual for me!)

Wonder too if the washing of the clothes would have somewhow protected them in some way? Know this would have been done infrequently, but when it was could anything have been added to them herb wise to act as a natural 'buzz off' to pests?

[Brian la Zouche]

i know cedar wood is kinda good for keeping 'creepys' away maybe thats the wood shavings mentioned, but wasnt about much here till the 18th cent

at donno manor in the tudor garden they have lavendar, and the women there say its good for keeping beasties away,

[Man from Coventry]

From my personal experience anything involved with re-enactment and worn tends to stink of woodsmoke pretty quickly ! Wouldn't this have been fairly good in itself of protecting the items, but of course would assume they are worn regularly ? Most people don't seem to have had many sets of clothes and had to wear them regularly. I suspect this was a problem for the more affluent such as the Goodman.

[NikkiB]

It is true that moths are particularly destructive at this warmer time of year. The Tapestry Moth or Carpet Moth (Trichophaga tapetzella) is found all around the world. In common with clothes moths, the carpet moth is very small. If you notice small balding patches in the corners and at the edges of your carpets, the chances are that you have an infestation of carpet moths. This is a problem that needs immediate attention because it will continue to get worse. Carpet moths are stubborn when it comes to leaving your home! Use a thorough treatment routine to ensure the carpet moths are thoroughly eradicated, as follows:

1. CLEAN - Move furniture away from edges of the carpet and thoroughly vacuum (both sides if possible) also paying particular attention to under furniture and along skirting boards

2. KILL - After an initial powder treatment and further vacuuming, spray the carpet deep into the pile to kill any eggs and / or larvae. For severe infestations, Fumers will be required.

3. MONITOR AND REFRESH - Place moth traps close to affected areas to monitor for adult moths and to break the breeding cycle. Keep moth traps current and consider respraying regularly – please remember, with warmer houses carpet moth damage and infestations are now a year-round problem

Thankfully, we have lots of modern day solutions to deal with these problems, unlike in days of old!

Link removed. Tod-moderator.

[guthrie]

It should be noted that the above post is undoubtedly linkspam for the website linked to within it, and other suppliers are available. I'd love to know whether they are working in that business or are sub-contracted to post links on relevant threads or blog posts.

[carolgreen270]

garments in garderobes, and in many cases there isn't much room for doing so