The Top 15 Clothes Moth Cities in the USA in 2021
By Pat Kelley, BCE, President of Insects Limited
2021 brought lots of new challenges and problems to the United States as a nation. Not the greatest of these was clothes moths, yet clothes moths continue to pop up on our radar of annoying and damaging pests each year. There has been a definite trend for the past decade that the current year is worse than the previous. Looking at 2021 with respect to which cities in the U.S. have the worst clothes moth problems, we saw several cities stay in the same ranking spots, while others moved up or down on the list. Also, a few that had previously been on the list and had fallen off, are now back on.
This is the 5th year in a row that Insects Limited has released a ranking of the top 15 clothes moth cities in the U.S.
Let’s take a closer look at the Who’s Who of clothes moth cities for the year 2021.
For 2021, the top two cities for clothes moth remain unchanged as New York City and Boston remain the two hottest spots in the United States. These two have held these spots for 5 years straight, ever since the rankings began in 2017. Generally speaking, the Northeast Coast of the U.S. again remains a stronghold for clothes moths with NYC, Boston, and Philadelphia in the top 3 spots, while Washington D.C. is at 13th.In the Midwest U.S., Cincinnati topped all cities even after dropping one spot to #4, Chicago raised one spot to #6, Minneapolis dropped one spot to #10, and Pittsburgh was new to the list at #15. Find the entire list of the rankings below.
The Southeast Cities of Atlanta (#8) and Orlando (#11) continue to see moth issues arise.
In the Western U.S. Santa Fe kept up the streak of New Mexico cities making the rankings during every year that the rankings have been done.
Dallas stayed strong at #5, while Portland and Los Angeles made the top 10 at #7 and #9.
Denver jumped back onto the list after a 1-year hiatus at #14.
The cities that fell off the list this year include Phoenix, previously ranked 7th, Providence, RI, previously ranked 12th, and Austin, previously ranked 15th.
What can I do about clothes moths?
Knowing what to look for is essential in identifying clothes moth activity. Finding and eliminating the moths early in an infestation can prevent years of battling these pests if they are allowed to get out of control in your home. Pheromone traps are a good means of identifying and locating problems, but knowing the telltale signs of the frass and moth webbing produced by the larvae after eating the clothing, and rugs, can prove extremely valuable in early detection.
Clothes Moth Pheromone Traps
Clothes Moth Biology Videos
Life Cycle of Clothes Moths on a Wool Rug
Identifying Clothes Moths by their Frass
Top Five Facts About Clothes Moths
Clothes Moths Destroy a Wool Sweater
Where will they go next?
Webbing clothes moths, Tineola bisselliella, appear to continue to be on a rapid rise in many metropolitan areas. Research has suggested that the webbing clothes moth does not come into our homes and businesses from natural reservoirs (E.g. bird nests, dead animals) but instead travels from person to person. This type of behavior is called synanthropic, which means the clothes moths benefit from an association with humans and the habitats that humans create. As we pass along our wool rugs, blankets, sweaters, fur coats, feather pillows, etc. to family members, friends, or other means of trade, we also move the moths from location to location. The densely populated northern portion of the Eastern Seaboard (Maine to Washington DC) again accounted for over 70% of the clothes moth sales for the entire country. As people move about the country, they carry the clothes moths with them, so even if your city isn’t on this list now, be prepared because they still might be coming your way soon!
**The list of top cities was compiled based on the total number of sales of clothes moth pheromone traps into the greater metropolitan areas of each ranked city during the period of January 1 – December 31, 2021.
Insects Limited, an Insect Pheromone Company
Insects Limited, Inc. researches, tests, develops, manufactures and distributes pheromones and trapping systems for insects in a global marketplace. The highly qualified staff also can assist with consultation, areas of expert witness, training presentations and grant writing.
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