Moth control · Southeast Michigan
Moth Control in Ann Arbor and Southeast Michigan
Clothes moths and pantry moths look alike flying across a room and are two completely different problems. One is in your wardrobe eating wool. The other is in a packet of flour or birdseed. An exterminator works it out by looking at what is stored, not at the moth.
Quick answers
Moth control in Southeast Michigan: the quick facts
Clothes moths and pantry moths are two separate problems that look alike flying across a room. One is in the wardrobe eating wool, the other is in a packet of flour or birdseed, which one it is decides everything, and the answer is usually found by looking at what is stored rather than at the moth.
- Most common here
- Clothes and pantry moths
- Two different problems. One eats wool and natural fibres, the other eats dry stored food.
- Worst months
- Jul
- The months with the most sightings in Michigan, from public records anyone can check.
- How it gets in
- Brought in, not crawled in
- Pantry moths almost always arrive inside a packet of food. Clothes moths arrive on second-hand fabric.
- Included in
- A one-time job, quoted
- Not on the Honorable Shield list, so we price the visit. You get the number over the phone before anyone comes out.
Moths in Michigan.
Two moths cause the damage in Michigan homes: clothes moths in wool and pantry moths in dry food. The adults you see flying are not the problem. Their larvae are.
We find the source, treat every stage in the closet or pantry, and show you how to store things so it does not start again.
Seasonal pattern
When are clothes and fungus moths worst in Michigan?
This is when clothes and fungus moths are actually recorded in Michigan, month by month, from public observation records rather than from a guess.
Warning signs
How moths announce themselves.
Watch for these warning signs in your Michigan home:
Holes in wool clothing
Small, irregular holes appearing in wool sweaters, suits, scarves, blankets, or other natural-fiber garments stored in closets.
Webbing in food packages
Silky webbing or clumps inside cereal boxes, flour bags, rice containers, or pet food, a telltale sign of pantry moth larvae.
Silky tubes on fabrics
Clothes moth larvae spin silk tubes or cases on fabric surfaces where they feed. Look for these in dark corners of closets and on stored clothing.
Larvae in food or closets
Small, cream-colored worm-like larvae found in food packages, on clothing, or along closet edges and baseboards.
What to look for
What a moth problem looks like at home.
Clothes moths damage wool; pantry moths get into dry food. These are six of the signs people notice, and what each one tells us.
Small holes in wool are larva damage, not the adult moth. Check the rest of the closet too.
Silky threads and clumps in grains or cereal mean pantry moth larvae. Throw the package out.
Wings pale near the body and copper at the tips: an Indian meal moth. The source is in the pantry.
A thin silk tube on wool is a case-making clothes moth larva. It feeds from inside the tube.
Cream colored and about half an inch long. Larvae wander when they are ready to pupate.
Fine grains the color of the fabric are larva droppings. Look straight up at the wool above.
How our exterminators get rid of moths.
Whether it's clothes moths or pantry moths, we eliminate the entire infestation and protect your home from future invasions.
Name the moth and find the source
We identify exactly which moth species you have, locate all infestation sources. Closets, pantry shelves, storage areas, and assess the extent of the damage to create a targeted treatment plan.
Treat eggs, larvae, pupae and adults
We apply professional-grade treatments that target eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults. For clothes moths, we treat closets, storage areas, and fabric surfaces. For pantry moths, we eliminate all contaminated food sources and treat shelving and crevices.
Store it so it cannot start again
We provide specific guidance on proper clothing storage, food storage practices, and install monitoring traps to catch any new moth activity early. Before damage occurs.
Every moth control visit
The full Honorable TriShield™, every time.
Three layers. The house, the lawn, then the property line. Not a rushed spray along your baseboards. A cheap quote usually skips two of the three.
Foundation barrier
Three feet up the wall. Three feet out from it. All the way round the house, plus windows, doors, the garage and the roofline. That strip is the road bugs use to get in.
Measured with a tape, not eyeballed
Granular yard moat
A ring of granules across the lawn. Rain wakes it back up. So does your sprinkler. In a Michigan summer that is most weeks.
Skipped by most companies. Granular costs money.
Property line
We spray the whole property line. Bugs get stopped at the edge of your yard, not at your back door.
The layer a cheaper quote quietly leaves out
How to identify the moths in your house.
These are the household moths we treat that have confirmed sightings in Washtenaw, Oakland, Wayne and Livingston counties. Each one is identified by independent naturalists, so the animal in the photo is the animal named.
The pantry moth. Wings pale near the body and copper at the tips.
A local cousin of the clothes moths, found around the house.
Its larvae carry a silk case and eat wool in closets.
All of these have confirmed sightings in Washtenaw, Oakland, Wayne and Livingston counties. Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations, pulled 2026-09-25. Photos: Indian meal moth by Rosario Douglas (CC BY); Pavlovski's monopis moth by threelark (CC BY); Case-bearing clothes moth by Ken Kneidel (CC0).
What it costs
Moth control is priced as its own job.
Moths are not on the Honorable Shield list, so we price the visit rather than roll it into the plan. We tell you the number over the phone before anyone comes out, and nobody here can discount it.
| One-time treatmentSingle visit | Follow-upIf it comes back | |
|---|---|---|
| You get | One visit, treated to the label | A second visit |
| Price | From $497 | $247, any house size |
Prices are the starting figures: a home up to 1,000 square feet, or half an acre for yard work. What is covered is set out in the plan terms.
Moth control, answered straight.
What is the difference between clothes moths and pantry moths?
Clothes moths are small, golden moths that feed on wool, silk, and fur in dark closets. Pantry moths (Indian meal moths) are slightly larger with copper-brown wings and infest stored food like cereal, flour, and rice. Both are common in Michigan and require different treatments.
How do I know if I have a moth infestation?
For clothes moths, look for holes in wool clothing and silky webbing in closets. For pantry moths, look for moths near kitchen lights, webbing inside food packages, and small larvae in cereal or flour. Both leave behind fine, sand-like droppings.
Why are moths a problem in Michigan?
Michigan's long winters mean we store wool clothing and blankets for months, creating perfect conditions for clothes moths. Our sealed homes trap pantry moths inside to reproduce undetected. Humid summers further accelerate moth breeding cycles.
Do cedar closets and mothballs work?
Cedar's effectiveness fades as the wood ages. Mothballs contain hazardous chemicals and only repel moths. They don't kill larvae already feeding on your clothing. Professional treatment is the only reliable way to eliminate an active infestation.
How do pantry moths get into sealed food packages?
Pantry moths often enter your home already inside grocery products. Their tiny eggs can be present in flour, cereal, rice, and dried goods before you buy them. Once inside, adults lay eggs in other food items and the infestation spreads quickly.
Pest-Free Guarantee
They come back? So do we, free.
On Honorable Shield, see a covered pest between visits? We come back within 48 hours and treat it again. You pay nothing.
Moth control where you live.
Old streets with big trees get different bugs than new build on cleared ground. Pick your town to see what we actually find there.
That is not all of them. See all 38 towns, or ask us if we reach your street.
Other pests we treat
One plan covers every one of these. No extra charge when something different shows up.
Every visit includes all three barrier layers. See what we treat, or ask an exterminator.
Moth control · Same-day service available
Ready to Be Moth-Free?
Every day you wait, moth larvae are destroying your clothing and contaminating your food. Call now for fast, professional treatment.
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