5 Best Pet-Safe Moth Traps That Aren’t Toxic for Pets or Kids

Moths can become of great annoyance, whether it’s clothes moths or pantry moths.

The former is capable of destroying a whole wardrobe full of clothes in a couple of months, while the latter can infest, contaminate and ruin your or your pet’s food supplies very quickly.

Dealing with moths can be not just annoying but even dangerous when you have pets or kids at home.

Mothballs, the most common moth traps, are similar to insecticides and are toxic to pets. In fact, mothball toxicity and pet poisoning is a major issue for many pet owners.

We should exercise caution when attempting to rid these insects, and using pet-safe moth traps may be the only option.

What are Pet-Safe Moth Traps?

Pet-safe moth traps include no pesticides, insecticides, or other toxic ingredients that might poison your pet or child.

They usually have glued traps that work by mixing a strong moth pheromone blend solution in the glue adhesive.

Once the moths in your home sense the pheromone in the air, they become attracted to the traps and then glued in place until their death.

Such moth glue traps are usually meant to be bent in a triangular shape and placed or hanged within a wardrobe or a cabinet or just on top of a shelf.

As the moth pheromones are usually odorless to humans or other mammals, neither you nor your pet will be bothered or attracted to these moth traps.

The public often maligns larger glue traps intended for rodents as they can cause some rather gruesome and agonizing deaths to these mammals, but few people have such qualms for insect glue traps.

The main point of interest with such glue traps is that while they are usually slower-acting than most mothballs and broad-use pesticides, they are almost 100% pet-safe and eco-friendly.

These are several good pet-safe moth trap brands currently available:

Why You Might Need Pet-safe Moth Traps

As it is already evident to most pet owners, mothballs and other pesticides can be extremely dangerous to pets.

The American Animal Hospital Association (AHAA) also lists them among pets’ most dangerous household items.

While mothballs and other insecticides can certainly do a good job exterminating moths and other pests, if you have pets or even small kids at home, that’s often not worth the risk.

Instead, a pet-safe moth glue trap can do the same job, albeit slightly slower, and be 100% safe for your dog or child, as long as it is of a high enough quality.

How to Use Glue Moth Traps Effectively

As pet safe as they are, there are still some things to consider when using moth traps:

• Place them away from pets. If possible, place the traps away from your dog’s or kid’s reach. The fact that the pheromones are not toxic or odorless doesn’t mean that you can’t attract a dog to the physical appearance of a glue trap.

Most dogs and cats are curious by nature and feel the need to sniff and touch every new thing they see, and the step between “just sniffing” and “getting his nose glued to the trap” is quite small.

• Hang them properly. When hanging a triangular glue trap inside a wardrobe, make sure that the clothes around the trap won’t squeeze it too tightly.

As all 3 of the inner sides of the trap are covered with a powerful adhesive, squishing them together will render the trap useless.

• Use appropriate trap. Always double-check and make sure that you’re using the right trap for the job.

Clothes moths and pantry moths are attracted to different traps as they have different pheromones.

• Replace when needed. Find out what the average longevity of your trap is and replace it once it has passed.

A lot of pheromone-baited glue traps don’t last too long and are intended for quick extermination sessions.

Once the trap stops attracting moths, you should replace it with a new one.

• Don’t stop too soon. Keep using the moth trap for several weeks after you’ve stopped seeing moths.

The moths’ life cycle means that their eggs take about a month to mature, so they risk being hit with another infestation after several weeks.

• Take other precautions. Don’t just wait for the traps to do their job – get your clothes or food (depending on what’s attacked) out of the infested area and cleanse them manually as best as you can.

How to Choose A Good Pet-safe Moth Trap?

Pet-safe moth glue traps are not the most complicated products out there, but there are still several things you’ll need to consider to find and buy the best moth traps that are safe for pets and children:

• Get the right traps for the job. Getting a clothes moth glue trap for your food moths or vice versa won’t be effective.
• Get enough traps. Depending on how severe the infestation is, you might need to use multiple traps simultaneously. Most packs come with 2 – 8 traps per pack, but even that might not be enough depending on your situation. Getting at least some extra traps is often a good idea since dealing with the life of adult moths is usually not enough to fully stop a moth infestation. Moth eggs and larvae take about a month to mature (depending on the species and external conditions, according to PennState College). So it’s smart to keep placing moth traps after the noticeable number of adult moths has been reduced for prevention’s sake.

• Consider the price per trap, not the price per pack. The prices with moth glue traps can vary greatly depending on the branding, the quality, the long-lasting effectiveness, and the number of traps per pack. Make sure that you consider all these factors.
• Don’t compromise with the quality of the traps. Many sub-par moth glue traps dilute their pheromone so that they are effective enough to attract some moths but be as cheap to make as possible. A non-diluted pheromone bait in a glue trap should be able to attract dozens of moths in just hours (if there are dozens of moths around) and also last for at least a couple of weeks or more.

The 5 Best Pet Safe Moth Traps

There are literally thousands of moth-killing products on the market. Many of them are undeservingly advertised as either “pet-friendly” or “effective” when they are often neither of those things.

To save you a fair bit of research, here are our five favorite brands and generally best pet-safe moth traps on the market right now.

Dr. Killigan’s Premium Pantry Moth Traps

Dr. Killigan’s moth traps are designed to be effective against pantry moths such as Indian Meal moths and other similar types.

It’s not effective against clothes moths and is instead meant to protect your birdseed, pet food, flour, raisins, almonds, whole grains, and other dry food. As a result, they are 100% pet-safe and natural.

Instead of pesticides, they include a pheromone-based bait that attracts moths and attracts them to the traps’ glue. The traps are easy to set up and require no additional tools or support.

PROS:

• The formulated blend of pheromones is a solid bait.
• Dr. Killingan’s moth glue traps are effective against almost all types of food moths.
• The nice external design of the traps makes them a not-so-unpleasant sight to have in your kitchen, especially compared to alternative products.

CONS:

• Most pheromone-baited glue moth traps are highly effective in the first days after setting them up, but the bait loses effectiveness.

 

GreenWay Clothes Moth Traps

The GreenWay moth traps are eco-friendly and pet-safe traps that work on both male and female case-making clothes moths (Tinea pellionella) and webbing clothes moths (Tineola bisselliella).

These natural moth traps work well on rugs, clothes, antiques, furniture, taxidermy, and more, a good alternative to mothballs and pesticide options.

Each unit includes 2 traps and 2 lures and can capture multiple moths in a concise time span.

PROS:

• The formulated blend of pheromones in these traps works as an excellent bait.
• These traps are effective against both case-making and webbing clothes moths.
• The large surface of the traps allows for dozens of trappings peruse.

CONS:

• The traps are highly effective at first, but the pheromone bait expires quickly after deploying it, and a new trap is needed.

 

Clothes Moth Traps 6 Pack | Child and Pet Safe | No insecticides

These Premium moth glue traps come with 6 traps per pack. They are made by Professor Killamoth, who pride themselves on their strong pheromone baits.

The bait is natural and odorless, making it great for households with kids and pets.

Unlike most other similar products that need to be replaced frequently, this traps’ bait lasts significantly longer, which means that you’ll save money from constantly replacing the traps, as well as be able to use them preventively.

These traps are for cloth moths only!

PROS:

• The Killamoth pheromone blend is not only powerful but long-lasting as well.
• These moth glue traps are effective against most clothes moth species.
• The bait is odorless to humans and mammal pets so that it won’t bother you at all.

CONS:

• Do not attract & trap as many moths as competitors’ products do.

 

Mottenfalle Clothes Moth Traps 6-Pack – Prime Safe Non-Toxic Eco-Friendly

The Mottenfalle cloth moth traps come with 6 traps per pack and are effective against all types of clothes moths.

These moth traps have a bright and beautiful floral print that will compliment even the most elegant interiors.

The sealed foil packaging helps keep the pheromone moth traps secure and retain all their properties.

The glue adhesive is quite effective and will trap any insects that crawl on top of it.

PROS:

• The Mottenfalle clothes moth traps are excellently designed for wardrobes and other clothes storage facilities.
• The glue adhesive on these traps impresses with its strength.

CONS:

• The pheromone bait on these traps attracts the males only.
• People caught some reports no months.
• Hangable glue traps such as these run the risk of being pressed by nearby clothes and have their sides glued together.

 

Garsum Pantry Moth Traps

Garsum pantry moth traps come with 6 traps per pack and have a protective sheath to prolong the effectiveness of the pheromone bait. Effective for food months.

100% safe and non-toxic! You can use it in kitchens, closets, and other food storage areas. Protect your pet food, bird seeds, whole grains, almonds, raisins, and other dry goods.

Each trap can last up to 3 months with barely diminished effectiveness, making them good prevention tools.

The pheromone bait uses female moth pheromones to attract and trap male moths.

This limits their effectiveness to only one part of the species, but it’s still enough to wipe out an effective infestation over time.

PROS:

• The Garsum pantry moth traps impress with their long-lasting effect.
• Completely natural and pet-safe, you can use these traps anywhere.

CONS:

• These traps only attract males, making them more of a long-term population control tool than a fast-acting exterminating solution.
• Some report that it was not effective in catching many moths.

In Summary

Pet-safe moth traps may not be the fastest acting or most effective moth control tools out there, but when you have a dog, a cat, or children around the house that you need to keep safe, they are the best possible option you have.

Find the appropriate tool for the job, use it correctly, and take a few extra precautions.

As long as you manage to find and buy a trap that is still effective enough to do the job, you’ll be able to rest assured that your pet is safe while the pesky moths are not.

READ NEXT: 7 Hidden Toxins in Your House That’s Poisonous or Cancerous to Dogs

 

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