Who hasn't fallen victim to moth holes at some point in their lives? It's little wonder since moths love dark, undisturbed areas like wardrobes, where they can hide in the creases of your cashmere cardigan, nibbling from time to time. According to Green Protect, year-on-year, the UK has seen a 250% increase in the number of searches for ‘how to get rid of moths,’ due in large part to increasing temperatures. As spring and summer are peak moth seasons, let’s take a look at some top tips for warding off these pests.

One of the simplest things you can do to prevent moth invasions is to practice good housekeeping. There is a direct correlation between moth damage and clothes that are stained by food and sweat, so keep clothes clean, regularly dust and vacuum closets and wardrobes, or try storing clothes in airtight containers. Always keep an eye out for larvae webs on material and wash clothes at temperatures of at least 50ºC to remove any you spot.

If you use storage jars to keep your food fresh, you’ll want to check them regularly for moth infestations. Always avoid pouring new products on top of old and try not to keep products past their ‘use by’ date, as this, too, can invite pests.

You can also try to make your own remedies for fighting moth invasions. According to Martha Stewart's website, moths hate vetiver, a grass from South Asia: "Tuck a bundle into a linen sachet and put it in a drawer, or slip it over a hanger in your coat closet to welcome guests and repel pests." Herbs like rosemary, lavender and bay leaves also make effective moth deterrents, and you can simply spray oil from these plants on the contaminated areas. 

Daniel Neves of Inoculand Ltd says that once moths have really settled in they can be troublesome on carpets and clothes. "We often combine a chemical treatment with a heat tent to heat-treat the clothes", he says. Inoculand charges around £260+VAT for a heat tent with 100 items of clothing on hangers inside. You can also try trapping moths to prevent further infestation.

Read on for more expert tips on how to rid your home of other common household pests. 

No matter how generous a host you consider yourself, some household guests will never be welcome, so if your house has been infiltrated by some of these unwanted pests, be they rodents or insects, then click or scroll on and follow our advice to get rid of them as soon as possible...

Pest Control Direct describes woodlice as "harmless" but they are still not the most pleasant things to find inside your house and there is a chance they could damage wooden floors or furniture. Though they are more commonly found in gardens, occasionally woodlice end up inside, often coming in through windows or doors that are not sealed, or sometimes even coming up through the foundations.

As with many household pests, there are lots of sprays and powders on the market to deal with these critters but Pest Control Direct says a good first step is to cover up the places they are coming in, using things such as air vent covers. Apply some common sense too – an innocuous pile of wood outside your back door may just be the breeding ground they are looking for and could even provide a stairway to an entrance.

Like woodlice, slugs and other slippery creatures in the gastropod family such as snails are more often found in gardens, and though they’re not particularly wanted in our gardens either – where they have a tendency to eat up all the plants – we definitely don’t want them inside our houses.

Since April 2022, there has been a ban on slug pellets containing metaldehyde, so some homeowners have switched to wool pellets instead. However, one of the best ways to stop them from getting in your home is to lay down copper tape, which deters them by giving them a small electric shock. Lots of gardeners use it round plant pots, but you could place it around places where you think they are getting in.

If you have a pet, the risk of them bringing in fleas is always a possibility and often the first you will know about it is seeing them itching and scratching. According to the British Pest Control Association (BPCA), the most common type of flea in Britain is the cat flea, followed by the bird flea and then the dog flea, though frustratingly dogs can play host to other fleas temporarily.

Though a flea infestation can feel like an uphill battle, the BPCA says the humble vacuum cleaner is your best weapon: "Vacuuming all areas will help remove any debris, eggs, larvae, pupae and adult fleas, but it is important to empty the vacuum – or put the vacuum bag – into an outside bin." Vacuuming also encourages adult fleas to hatch from their cocoons and makes them more vulnerable to insecticides. Remember to also wash all furnishings (cushions, blankets etc.) on a hot wash.

Once you get one ant in your house it sometimes feels as though they've called all their friends and family and told them to come too, which is actually quite close to the truth. Ants are very social and highly organised – once a foraging worker ant has found a big supply of food, he will let his colony know.

Putting away food as soon as it's finished and cleaning surfaces and floors of crumbs is one way of deterring ants. Some experts also suggest drawing chalk lines outside doors and windows as this affects ants' pheromones. It's thought coffee granules and spices may have the same effect. If all else fails, pick up an ant powder from the supermarket or hardware shop, but remember to keep it away from pets and children.

The telltale wall scratching or droppings of mice or – surely worse! – rats are enough to instill terror in most of us.  But with figures from the BPCA estimating that there are between 10.5 million and 120 million rats in the UK, there is a real risk that you could find one in your home. In the past, harsh winters managed rat populations naturally, but now populations are growing again.

When it comes to mice, Daniel Neves of pest controllers Inoculand Ltd suggests canary seed bait for traps. "Wholewheat bait is not very appetising for mice in comparison," he says. "There are also formulations in the form of a paste contained in a tube for caulk sealant guns, and Talon Soft and Sakarat D are two good examples." Mouse traps should not be used for rats – if you have the latter, it's time to call pest control.

Recognised by their long pincers at the end of their body, the RSPB says that earwigs are largely nocturnal creatures who seek out "dark cracks and crevices to rest during the day". They are not poisonous and despite their name, highly unlikely to enter a human ear, but they are drawn to damp areas and most of us wouldn't want to share our bathroom with them.

With earwigs prone to warm, damp areas, investing in a humidifier that will encourage them to stay away is one humane treatment and should also deter other little critters, like beetles and cockroaches, that like similar environments.

Even if you’re not an arachnophobic and spiders don’t fill you with fear, the chances are you don’t want them spoiling your cosy night in by crawling over the sofa on film night. And with false black widow spiders, you could end up with a nasty bite, too! They're relatively small in size and have a shiny black globular body, similar to the deadly black widow spider. You'll normally spot their loose tangle of webbing around window and door frames.

While the old glass over a piece of cardboard trick works for many, wouldn't it be nice if you just didn't have to bother with them at all? According to Empire Pest Control, the smell of mint and pepper is a natural deterrent to spiders and may also work on ants, mosquitoes, moths and possibly even bed bugs. The trick is to vacuum well first to get rid of any that may already be in the house. Other scented plants like rosemary and basil may also work.

Wasps are the outdoor pest that turns a perfectly lovely picnic into the stuff of nightmares, and being stung by one is no laughing matter either. So when they invade our homes – often coming in through open doors and windows in summer – it feels like they are really taking the biscuit.

When it's just the odd one coming in then you can usually keep them at bay by opening windows and swatting them back outside, but when you have a wasps nest, it's a whole different problem. According to Rentokil, large wasp nests can contain up to 25,000 wasps, so if you see something like this outside a window, in a wall cavity or loft, call the professionals in immediately.

Staying true to their name, fruit flies tend to be drawn to over-ripe or fermenting fruits lying in fruit bowls, where they quickly lay their eggs and so it doesn't take long for an infestation to get out of hand. It's also worth noting they can also be found near dirty drains and around other food left out.

As with anything, prevention is key. Placing a cover over your fruit bowl – especially in summer months – should keep them off to a large extent but you should also be vigilant and get rid/use up any fruit that is on the turn. There are also fruit fly traps on the market or you could make your own – put some apple cider vinegar in a bowl, cover it with plastic film, pierce a few small holes in it (big enough to get in but they shouldn't be able to get out), and you have your own DIY trap.

Cockroaches are horrid critters that no one wants to find inside their home yet they have been the bane of human homes for a very long time indeed – there is evidence cavemen had to put up with them – and it’s said that when the apocalypse comes they will be one of the few things to survive. They love warm, dark spaces so can often be found under appliances or in food cupboards where they can feast on food debris and sometimes even in sofas.

The BPCA says it recommends employing a pest controller to deal with a cockroach infestation, who will use dusts, baits and sprays, as well as deal with any potential shelters. There are, of course, lots of other tips doing the rounds on social media, including washing up liquid and water sprayed on affected areas, or peppermint oil. One way of killing cockroaches without using harsh chemicals is to mix three parts Borax with one part sugar and apply to the areas where you've seen them.

Rentokil says these "prolific breeders" are very hard to deal with. While, as their name suggests, they like beds, they are by no means limited to them and you can often find them in clothing, luggage and also sofas. Rentokil also states: "These pests are also becoming an increasing issue in student accommodation, care homes and apartments, but have been found in aeroplanes and buses, and once established they can move easily between rooms and properties spreading bed bugs to other areas."

Bedbugs typically lay around 200-500 eggs over a period of two months in batches of 10-50 and eggs can often hide in crevices in a bed or furnishings. Daniel Neves says that bed bugs are normally introduced by their hosts on their suitcases/belongings/clothes. Often an infestation goes unnoticed for a while until they start to see the bites. "From there the key is to break the life cycle and ensure that all stages of development have been eliminated from all areas," he says.

The larvae of wood boring beetle, there's very little to like about woodworm, and Rentokil says that the key to stopping them before they cause "irreparable damage to your property" is in identifying them early. Rentokil also advises: "If left untreated woodworm can seriously weaken timber – this may lead to structural failure in your property."

Keep an eye on woodwork and wood furnishings in your home – antique pieces, favourite tables and chairs and doorframes, for signs such as crumbling wood, bore dust, tunnels in wood and exit holes. You may even spot the larvae themselves or beetles. Rentokil suggests booking a survey with one of its experts if you see any of the above.

If there is one sight certain to put you off your food, it's the sight of wriggling maggots in your kitchen. While maggots are usually the larvae of flies, it's not always the case, so try to look out for adults of the larvae to assess what you are dealing with – as it could also be a sign of beetles, moths, or fleas.

The best way to keep maggots away is to keep your home clean of rotting food – including the dustbin. A solution of three parts white vinegar to one part water should kill the maggots you have found, and then deal with the flies. Readers Digest quotes Nicholas Martin, founder and editor-in-chief of Pest Control Hacks, as saying basil is a great deterrent for flies. “Flies hate basil very much, so they don’t try to get closer to objects surrounded by basil plants,” he says.

These tiny beetles are sometimes referred to as flour beetles – as they are often drawn to flour or grains – or snout beetles due to their appearance. If you find these in your home it's highly likely they've come in via some foodstuff you've bought, so if you can identify the offending item, return it to the store and complain. Next, destroy the food and get ready for a deep clean.

Clear out the cupboards where the offending item was stored and make sure you give the cupboard and the floor around it a good vacuum. Once you have finished vacuuming, take the bag outside to the bin and empty it to prevent any stray weevils from coming back in and then clean the worktops and other surfaces.

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