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Pantry moth or clothes moth trap

Updated: 23 October 2026

You have moths in the flat and two different kinds of damage, or none you can see yet. A pantry moth or clothes moth trap only works if the pheromone matches the insect that is actually breeding. Food-moth lures target stored-product species. Clothes-moth lures target insects whose larvae eat keratin in wool, fur, and feathers. London Moth's troubleshooting page says a clothes pheromone is not aimed at the Indian meal moth or at common house moths. This page is that choice. The nine food traps are on the [food moth trap comparison](/hub/pest-control/food-moth-trap). We may earn a commission if you buy through our links.

You have moths in the flat and two different kinds of damage, or none you can see yet. A pantry moth or clothes moth trap only works if the pheromone matches the insect that is actually breeding.

Our top picks

Puciuua Puciuua food and clothes moth traps, 24 pack

Best overall

Puciuua Puciuua food and clothes moth traps, 24 pack
6.1/10about £27.99
View offer
Hey Nature Hey Nature pantry moth traps, 8 pack

Rank 2

Hey Nature Hey Nature pantry moth traps, 8 pack
10.0/10about £10.99
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Dr. Killigan's Dr. Killigan's pantry moth traps, 6 pack

Alternative

Dr. Killigan's Dr. Killigan's pantry moth traps, 6 pack
9.6/10about £14.97
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Signs in the kitchen
  2. 2.Signs in the wardrobe
  3. 3.Which trap to buy
  4. 4.Combo packs and empty traps

Signs in the kitchen

Start with the food. Waltham Forest's fact sheet lists grains, flour, nuts, dried fruit, pet food, seeds, and chocolate. Look for webbing that clumps flour, larvae in a packet, and moths near that food. Larvae can chew paper, cellophane, and polythene. A holed bag of bird seed in Hey Nature reviews, or pet food named on Dr. Killigan's bullets, is the same problem. The British Pest Control Association says contaminated food belongs in an outside bin. A food-moth card catches males. It does not catch larvae in the packet.

Signs in the wardrobe

Clothes moths eat keratin in wool, fur, and feathers. Rentokil separates them from the Indian meal moth by that diet. Look for irregular holes in wool, silk, fur, or feathers, and larvae in dark storage. A moth in the bedroom is not, by itself, a clothes moth. London Moth says a clothes pheromone is not aimed at house moths either. If the damage is in fabric, use the clothes moth trap comparison. Dr. Killigan's bullets say the pantry card is not for clothing moths. A carpet-moth review sits outside that line.
Puciuua Puciuua food and clothes moth traps, 24 pack

Testsieger

Puciuua Puciuua food and clothes moth traps, 24 pack
6.1/10about £27.99
View offer

Which trap to buy

Buy the food card when the evidence is in dry food. The nine listings run from about £5.90 to £27.99. Prefer a bullet that names Indian meal moth, or prints Plodia interpunctella or Ephestia kuehniella. Hey Nature, Super Ninja, Veddelholzer, and Pest Expert state males. Health and Safety Executive guidance says a monitoring trap should not claim it kills or eliminates an infestation. Hey Nature is asked about wardrobes, and the saved page does not answer that in a separate field. Webbing in flour and holes in a wool coat need two lures. The listing checks are on the food moth trap buying guide.

Combo packs and empty traps

Puciuua's 24-pack at £27.99 is titled for food and clothes moths and names neither pheromone nor lure life. The score is 5.0 from four reviews about a wardrobe, not webbing in flour. At about £1.17 a card you are buying quantity without a species line. Females ignore a male sex pheromone, and larvae never fly to the glue. A back strip that drops the card is covered on how to use pantry moth traps. If moths continue after you remove the food and clean, call a professional.

Common questions

How do I tell food moths from clothes moths?
Use the damage, not the ceiling. Webbing, larvae, or ruined flour, cereal, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, pet food, or bird seed point to a stored-product moth. Holes and cases in wool, fur, or feathers point to a clothes moth. Rentokil separates them by diet. A moth in the kitchen with no damaged food, and no damaged clothes, may be neither.
Will a wardrobe trap work in the pantry?
No. London Moth says clothes-moth pheromones are not aimed at the Indian meal moth. A wardrobe card in the flour cupboard can sit empty while food moths fly. Buy the lure that matches the food damage, from the food-moth comparison, and keep clothes lures with the clothes.
I see moths but no holes in clothes. What trap do I need?
Look in the food before you buy a clothes card. If packets are webbed, you need a food-moth monitor after you bin the food. If neither food nor wool is damaged, do not assume a pheromone card will explain a moth that came in through a window. MothMag reviews include that outdoor pattern, which is not a cupboard infestation.
There is webbing in the flour. Which species is that?
That pattern fits a stored-product moth such as the Indian meal moth, which Waltham Forest links to grains, flour, nuts, dried fruit, pet food, seeds, and chocolate. A food-moth pheromone card is the matching monitor. The larvae are still in the packet until you throw it out. The glue does not identify the species in a laboratory sense. It only catches males if the lure matches.
Are food and clothes combo traps reliable?
Not when the listing refuses to name the pheromone. Puciuua's title covers both and its bullets name neither. The four reviews talk about a wardrobe. Treat that pack as an unnamed glue card, not as two lures in one box. Two named products, one for food and one for clothes, are the clearer buy.
Do house moths need a food lure?
No. London Moth says clothes lures do not target common house moths, and a food lure is built for stored-product species. A house moth in the living room is not a reason to peel a pantry card in the flour cupboard. Confirm food damage or fabric damage first.
Can one infestation be both types?
You can have both pests at once, because they breed in different materials. You cannot treat them as one infestation with one pheromone. Use a food card for the cupboard and a clothes card for the wool. Clean each site on its own. A combo title does not replace that split.

Related pages

Food moth trap

Best pantry moth traps: the top pick and who to skip

Food moth trap buying guide: five checks before you pay

How to use pantry moth traps: peel, place, replace

How to get rid of pantry moths: bin, clean, then trap

Sources

Public UK sources used for species, lure limits, and monitor wording. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these nine listings. Last checked 19 October 2026.

  1. HSE insect monitoring traps (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. HSE biopesticides, pheromone section (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. BPCA moth control (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Waltham Forest Indian meal moth fact sheet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Bromley stored product insects leaflet (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Rentokil UK moth species (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Pest Evidence pheromone traps (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. London Moth troubleshooting (retrieved 19 October 2026)