Top Clothes Moth Cities in the USA in 2020
Pat Kelley, BCE - President of Insects Limited
By no means was 2020 a typical year by anyone’s imagination, but the insect pests that plague us went on like everything was just fine. So, when we looked back at the year concerning which cities in the U.S. have the worst clothes moth problems, we saw many cities stay in the same ranking spot while a few others moved down on the list.
This made way for several new players in this destructive race.
This is the 4th year in a row that Insects Limited released a ranking of the top 15 clothes moth cities in the United States. Let’s take a closer look at the Who’s Who of clothes moth cities.
For 2020, the top two cities for clothes moth remain unchanged as New York City and Boston remain the two hottest spots in the U.S. These top 2 rankings have been locked in since the rankings began in 2017. Cincinnati was a big surprise this year as it has never been in the rankings but soared up into the # 3 spot this past year. Philadelphia dropped down two spots to #5, while Los Angeles held tight to 4th place on the list.
A record number of seven new cities were added to the list that were not on this list in 2019. Phoenix had never been ranked previously and jumped into the # 7 slot. Atlanta at # 8 had only been ranked once previously where it was at #15 in 2018 but had dropped off of the list in the following two years. Orlando rounded off the top 10 in 2020 but had only been ranked once before at the #14 spot in 2017. Providence, RI had never been ranked before and hurdled into the # 12 rank. Portland, OR had been ranked at the #15 spot during the years of 2016 and 2017, but then was unranked during the next two years until returning at # 14 in 2020. Finally, Austin, TX had never been on this list and just squeezed into it this past year at the # 15 spot.
Generally speaking, the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. remains a stronghold for clothes moths all of the way from Maine into Florida.
In the Midwest U.S., Minneapolis dropped four spots to # 9 while Chicago dropped five spots to #11.
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. Find the entire list of the rankings below.
The cities that fell off of the list this year include San Francisco, previously ranked 8th, Denver, previously ranked 9th, Houston, previously ranked 11th, Washington DC, previously ranked 12th, Cleveland, previously ranked 13th, Seattle, previously ranked 14th, and Albuquerque, NM, 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 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 webbing from the larvae eating the clothing and rugs can prove extremely valuable in early detection. Check out some great YouTube videos that can help. Here are links to a few of those:
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
Clothes Moth Identification Guide
Entomologist Patrick Kelley gives a quick identification guide for casemaking clothes moths. This will help you identify which clothes moth species that you have prior to trying our professional-grade pheromone traps. This guide breaks down the differences between webbing clothes moths and casemaking clothes moths. Clothes moths of both species feed on wool, fur, feathers, mohair, animal hair, and other animal fibers. They can infest museums, homes, and businesses.
Where will they go next?
Webbing clothes, 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 person1. 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, and 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 between January 1 – December 31, 2020.
Resource: 1Krüger-Carstensen, B., & Plarre, R. (2011). Outdoor trapping and genetical characterization of populations of the webbing clothes moth Tineola bisselliella (Lepidoptera: Tineidae) in the broader area of Berlin. Journal of Entomological and Acarological Research, 43(2), 129-135.
Insects Limited, 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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