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Telegraph
2 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Moth infestation ruined your wardrobe? You need this tiny wasp
Overzealous hot-washers aside, there is no greater nemesis for the cashmere lover than Tineola bisselliella – the common clothes moth. We are now in the very worst of fashion seasons, that of these nasty sand-coloured little beasts, when they emerge in all their evil winged glory, the damage to our jumpers long since perpetrated by their larvae. I have mourned countless precious items lost to moth procreation. A 1980s YSL blazer, Burberry scarves, assorted designer knits, a vintage rabbit fur coat (possibly for the best, but the mess was revolting), my childhood teddy, as well as my daughter's fancy navy- blue wool princess coat from when she was a toddler (sob), and latterly her favourite Anya Hindmarch Uniqlo jumper. I am admittedly lax in my efforts at prevention. I have barely any proper storage, so my clothes are stuffed into drawers and the back of rails. I fear washing expensive knits, one because I don't want to ruin them, and two because over- washing destroys fibres and jacks up my water bills. In my 20s, my freezer was solely stocked with ice, vodka and jumpers, but now I have a child and a dog so it's jammed with fish fingers, peas and raw pet food. It seems I have unwittingly sacrificed my knitwear for the temperamental digestion of a small French bulldog. I'm not alone. There are endless Reddit threads describing moth-related trauma, dread, the logistics of washing every item in your house – and even the suggestion of sprinkling diatomaceous earth under your furniture to dehydrate moth invaders. Former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman only solved her extensive moth infestation by fumigating and industrially cleaning her entire house. The stylist and vintage aficionado Bay Garnett has lost cashmere Louis Vuitton, Chanel throws and four-ply cashmere sweaters. 'Four years ago I had people in to kill them,' she laments over the phone. She is now hyper vigilant, keeping her most precious knits in the freezer, where low temperatures will kill off larvae hidden in fibres. ('My husband and I have a silent war over who's going to get that corner of the freezer.') Susie Lau, the fashion writer and influencer, has more tales of woe – 'Oh God, there's one flying around by the radiator right now,' she says, horrified. A treasured Prada jacket with a wool collar is double plastic-bagged. A ravaged £700 Celine top languishes in the back of a drawer 'mocking me'. Meanwhile Kerry Taylor, who runs the notable vintage fashion auction house, relies on pheromone traps 'which tell you if there is moth activity' and a chest freezer for new pieces coming in. 'It's got to be -18C or more. That's the only thing I've found that works. All those sandalwood balls and lavender pouches? Forget it, they're not going to do anything.' However, haute natural-fibre lovers may find salvation in the unlikeliest of bedfellows: microscopic wasps. Officially known as Trichogramma evanescens, the insects – less than 0.5mm in size – have been deployed as a revolutionary new biological treatment now being rolled out nationwide in the UK by Rentokil. The Telegraph has in the past sent me to report from lots of glamorous places. When I worked on the fashion desk, my life was a flurry of fashion shows in Milan, New York, Paris. Pulling up to Rentokil's HQ in an industrial estate just off the M23 near Crawley, I did wonder if this was some kind of punishment. However, prepare to be as riveted (and revolted, as I was). The wall inside the entrance is decorated with 12 framed uniform shirts, like a premiership footballer's trophy room. The different designs denote the companies acquired and held under the international Rentokil umbrella: yellow for California's Western Exterminator Company; grey and red for its Specialist Hygiene division; cornflower blue for Ehrlich, the US pest control company, which it acquired in 2006. Upstairs there are training rooms for all these disciplines, with scenarios set up like a children's interactive role-play centre – in hell. An industrial kitchen features rodent droppings; a grain store, a rotten mouse; a loft has chewed wires and a wasp's nest; cockroaches are glued to the bottom of a supermarket hot food counter. The hotel room scenario conceals moth damage in the wardrobe; the walls, carpet and bedding are splattered generously with theatrical blood, to train technicians for murder and suicide clean-ups. This year marks the company's 100th anniversary. It is now the world's largest pest control company: it sits on the FTSE 100 and had a revenue of £5.6 billion in 2024. It operates in more than 90 countries worldwide, employs around 60,000 people and was recognised as one of Britain's most admired companies in a 2024 study. The business was founded by Professor Harold Maxwell-Lefroy, an entomologist who conquered wood-boring beetles in the timber roof of Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament with his new chemical concoctions. In a plot twist worthy of Agatha Christie, Maxwell-Lefroy died that same year (1925) after accidentally inhaling insecticide fumes in his lab at Imperial College. His assistant, Bessie Eades, bought the rights to the company from his widow, launching the brand as a domestic service in 1928. Last year, Nelson Peltz, the American billionaire investor (and Brooklyn Beckham's father-in-law), bought a 2.26 per cent stake via his Trian Fund Management. (His investment came after he sold his shares in the Walt Disney Company after a failure to secure board seats. Seemingly, having been rejected by the world's most famous mouse, he's now seeking to cash in exterminating Mickey's namesake rodents.) Although, technically, rats are Rentokil's most profitable pest, accounting for 44 per cent of call-outs last year. Clothes moths make up just 1.05 per cent of visits, but while small in the pest-firmament, they are incredibly pervasive and destructive. The problem is that even once fully eradicated, moths can easily return, via new clothing, toys, furniture and fabrics being brought into the house. Downstairs at Rentokil HQ there is a lab, staffed by three entomologists who investigate controls for all global pests except North America (Rentokil Dallas has its own testing centre). Here you'll find jars of moths and larvae, kept in culture to be used when required for experimentation. A plastic box contains a mound of knitwear, donated by colleagues. It was put in fresh and clean in 2017, on top of a square of carpet, then moths and carpet beetles (a similar scourge to clothes moths) were added. They have eaten fully through one jumper, the rest is covered in detritus. It is a fashion horror scene. Taped on the lab's wall is a list of recipes. House flies are fed a mixture of wheat bran and yeast powder; moths get fishmeal and yeast powder. Rentokil is currently assisting Olivia Augusta, a Central Saint Martins final year jewellery design student, who asked for their help with her graduation project. She has duct-taped a sweater leaving sections exposed which was placed into a box with moths – when ready she will use jewellery to cover the holes left by the moths. 'You can spend an awful lot of money removing moths,' says Paul Blackhurst, head of Rentokil's technical academy. Indeed, earlier this year a £32.5 million mansion in west London had an infestation of moths so bad that its exasperated owners sued the vendor and were allowed to hand it back with an almost full refund. 'About 10 years ago there was a big rush for more natural home insulation using untreated wool,' Blackhurst says, shaking his head. 'Before it used to be washed in borax [sodium tetraborate, which works as an insecticide]. The problem is [moths] could be in anything, cavity walls, old furniture. You've got to find that pocket and isolate it.' Moths adore our centrally heated cosy homes. They go for the good stuff, natural fibres – merino wool, cashmere, silk. ' National Trust properties with tapestries, butterfly collections, taxidermy, dead cluster flies around the base of windows –they'll thrive on that,' adds Blackhurst. Abandoned bird's nests hidden in chimneys are often an origin source. 'There's so many associated secondary infestations with bird's nests, it's phenomenal,' he says, smiling. 'Bed mites, bird mites, as soon as that material [the feathers] is exhausted they'll move on to the next thing [your clothes],' he adds. A dead rodent under a floorboard will have a similar effect. Once the moths have fed off the mouse, they will head to your cupboards. This activity is incessant, which is why everyone I've mentioned this article to is so excited by the tiny-wasp army treatment, potentially offering a silver bullet to infestations. The real culprits are the moth larvae. Once impregnated into your fibres, they feed off the protein left there from your sweat or spilled dinner, and as they hatch and grow they decimate the fibres. When you've got adult moths flapping around it's too late. Which is where the wasps come into play. Rentokil's Entosite treatment utilises microscopic Trichogramma evanescens wasps, which are released in small sachets at the site of infestation. They work as egg parasites: the wasps seek out moth eggs, then lay their own eggs inside the larvae – so instead of another moth, a new Trichogramma develops and hatches. The treatment was first trialled in 2021 by conservators at Blickling Hall, a Jacobean National Trust stately home in Norfolk, in the face of a post-Covid moth explosion. These microscopic parasitoid wasps were used during a trial alongside pheromone traps (which attract male moths, reducing the chances of them finding a female). A year later, they saw an incredible 83 per cent reduction in moth numbers. 'The concept of biological controls has been around for years,' explains Blackhurst. 'As controls on insecticides tighten, and they get taken off the market, we're looking more into it.' Traditional moth-busting involves heating a propert to 56C (not possible in historic houses where the heat can damage delicate textiles) or fogging with chemicals over a four-hour period (or a combination of both). A thorough investigation to locate the primary source means looking in the loft, up chimneys and under floorboards to find that errant rotting rodent or bird's nest. It is incredibly invasive. 'We buy the wasps and get them fresh,' Blackhurst says. They are sent out in timed batches, which will hatch over three weeks. The sachets have a tiny hole through which they will emerge, unseen. 'Their sole responsibility is to mate and find eggs, deposit their egg in the moth egg, which will then hatch and consume the moth egg. That's their protein source.' Because moth life cycles will be at different stages, Rentokil will return and place more releases over a three- to six-month period, sometimes in conjunction with an insecticide treatment (especially for extensive infestations) that can be utilised after the wasps have finished, to zap anything remaining. 'It's a more natural, tailored approach for a longer-term strategy' he adds. Blackhurst is a man of cautious optimism. 'We've had good results,' he says, adding that 'we trial everything; we will not release something if we're not comfortable with it.' The treatment starts from £450, with an initial £100 survey cost taken off from the overall treatment cost. 'Human messiness is basically the cause of all pests,' Matt Green, Rentokil's principal entomologist tells me, popping a white lab coat over his Carhartt sweatshirt. The boardroom we are standing in is decorated with totems of Rentokil's century of extermination – the company marked its centenary earlier this year with a 'Pestival' ice cream van that handed out free treats in South London, albeit topped with chocolate covered mealworms. Rat taxidermy features heavily in the office decor, alongside framed Manchurian scorpions from China, emerald beetles from Japan, giant water bugs from Mexico. A trophy cabinet houses a royal ratcatcher sash from George IV's reign, vintage poison bottles, a branded Matchbox toy van among other archive ephemera. There are reassuring amounts of hand sanitiser and wipes scattered around. Pests are, of course, relative. 'It's a hugely cultural thing,' Green continues, 'In Iran no one lifts the phone for pest control unless something is going to kill you. [Then there's] nuisance pests of the bourgeoisie – in America we have technicians that deal with millipedes. They're not going to hurt anyone, somebody just doesn't want them in their house because they're an icky bug. Pest control in the Middle East and Africa will treat snake infestations.' He compares it to Maslow's hierarchy of needs 'for pests'. Green is based in the lab, where extermination and control products are tested and new treatments developed. In an ante room, decorated with enlarged close-up photographs of bugs, sits a line of prototype plastic fly-traps. The final product is in a rich puce hue. 'Thanks to PhD students from the University of Thessaloniki in Greece, who painted fly-traps in different colours as a test,' explains Green. Pink was the most effective shade for attracting them. Along the corridor, sweltering behind thick plastic strips, lie several small rooms full of creepy experiments. There are boxes of mosquitoes and bed bugs, fed by donated but unusable NHS blood, deliveries of which come weekly. There are rolling cultures of flies, 100 of which get put into different ultraviolet fly-traps for testing every morning. 'We get through about 600 flies a week,' says Green. Boxes of giant stick insects and Madagascan cockroaches (the largest will fill your palm) are kept as teaching tools to show what these beasts look like up close. 'You can get a biology degree in the UK without looking at an insect,' Green shakes his head, adding, 'when the population gets too big, sometimes the technicians take them home to keep as pets.' I watch as Fabio Leonel, his entomologist colleague, gently strokes a cockroach until it makes a hissing rattle noise. They share jovial tales from the field. Blackhurst grins: 'There was an interesting rat problem which was linked to drains, but then a secondary infestation of fleas from the rats…' My skin begins to itch. On the way home I turn up the air conditioning in the car to full freeze. I get home shivering. In my daughter's room I spot two moths flying above the carpet. I vacuum ferociously and spend the next three days washing every single item of knitwear in the house, saying out loud to any pupae within earshot, 'Beware. I will unleash the wasps.'
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Car crash leads to Buckhead water main break
Crews are currently working to repair a water main break while investigators work to learn more about the car crash that caused it. The Atlanta Department of Watershed Management reported a 16-inch water main break on Peachtree Road near Peachtree Park Drive in Buckhead on Saturday morning. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] They say the break happened because of a car crash, but did not comment on how the crash caused the break. Drivers are being told to exercise caution in the area and consider using alternate routes. TRENDING STORIES: 1 dead after overnight double shooting near Atlanta event center Man accused of shooting, killing woman and child inside DeKalb apartment now in custody Officer shot 6 times by YSL gang members says he kept thinking 'I'm not dying out here' There is currently no estimated time for repairs to be complete. It's unclear if businesses in the area are being affected. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
1 dead after overnight double shooting near Atlanta event center
Atlanta police are investigating an overnight shooting that left one person dead and another injured. Officers were called to Defoor Place near the Dynasty Event Lounge just before 12:45 a.m. to reports of a person shot. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Investigators say they found two people with gunshot wounds, one of whom died from their injuries. The extent of the other victim's injuries is unclear. TRENDING STORIES: Man accused of shooting, killing woman and child inside DeKalb apartment now in custody Officer shot 6 times by YSL gang members says he kept thinking 'I'm not dying out here' Police make arrest in shooting death of 12-year-old Atlanta boy Police have not commented on possible suspects or what led up to the shooting. The deceased victim's identity has not been released. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Officer shot 6 times by YSL gang members says he kept thinking ‘I'm not dying out here'
For the first time, an Atlanta police officer is talking with Channel 2 Action News about an attack where a gunman shot him six times. YSL criminal street gang member Christian Eppinger shot Officer David Rodgers six times in 2022 as he tried to arrest Eppinger for armed robbery. Rogers spoke one-on-one with Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne on Friday and walked him through the harrowing incident. 'I encountered Mr. Eppinger, gave him commands to get on the ground, let him know that he had paper. He failed to comply. I had issues getting my Taser, and at that point, he flanked me and I was shot,' Rogers said. Earlier this week, we obtained video of Eppinger firing at Rodgers. 'While I didn't know I was shot six times, I heard that sound quite a few times. Poom, poom, poom,' Rodgers said. 'You kind of feel the heat from the blood flowing out of you, and I went to go access my firearm and couldn't, and I remember turning towards him and all I could see was the white pants he had on and the muzzle of that Glock.' Rogers said that he thanks God for surviving the attack. 'I kind of talk to God for a little bit. Just kind of remember saying to myself, 'I'm not dying out here,'' Rogers said. 'I took a graze across the back of the head that cracked my skull. I think they told me I took four to the back of the shoulder, shattered my humerus. And then one to the back of my thigh, right around my hamstring.' Rodgers says he used to work for Georgia Power but was laid off. He told Winne that it was the power of God that led him to his calling: policework. RELATED STORIES: Final defendant in YSL case pleads guilty Case of mistaken identity ends with young mother killed in alleged Atlanta gang shooting Young Thug says 'he's too big for jail' as he talks about life after incarceration, new music 'I fell in love with the service. Love with the people,' Rodgers said. He said it's a miracle that he's even still alive today. 'I'm definitely a walking miracle. No doubt about it. Yeah, God gave me the gift of life in that situation, or more life. He definitely placed some angels around me throughout recovery. And he gave me these special gifts of peace. I've had peace,' Rodgers said. Rodgers credits Will Johnson, now a sergeant, who, Eppinger also shot at but didn't hit, for fast action applying a tourniquet at the scene and more. He said he got to Grady Memorial Hospital in the back of an undercover car led by a blue light escort. Rodgers said he was in the courtroom on Monday when Eppinger was sentenced for the attempted murder of Rodgers and Johnson, and a host of other crimes, to 40 years in prison and 25 years' probation. The prison time will run at the same time as a 45-year sentence from a probation revocation,who Eppinger was already serving. 'Outside of the bigger question of where's the justice, I think we have to pay particular attention to how we treat our protectors,' Rodgers said. Rodgers told Winne that more than he was angry for himself, he was upset for Johnson and other officers. 'It was maybe 30 to 40 officers within that courtroom that day. After the sentence came down, and you just look at the reactions on everyone's face, there was a lot of sadness. There's a lot a dejection. You saw tears, but you saw defeat,' Rodgers said. The judge overseeing the case told Winne that in crafting Eppinger's sentence in the YSL case, she considered the lengthy probation revocation Eppinger was already serving, was essentially already a punishment for the same crimes for which she sentenced him Monday. 'I want every member of the Atlanta Police Department to know this: I see your bravery. And I recognize it, and so do the citizens of this city,' Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. 'I would have rather they just put in a stipulation that he got a PhD while he had to sit down, just so he could experience something else other than what he's grew up in,' Rodgers said. Rodgers said the most important part of his entire story is thankfulness. He says he is grateful to God and for the people He put around him to be strong when he couldn't be. He said they include his family, Mayor Andre Dickens, former APD officer Lois Palzolo, Sgt. Will Johnson, Officer Stacy Booker, Sgt. Jamir Denson, former APD officer Thomas Crowder, Officer Claudia Rivers, Maj. Janice Sturdivant, Dr. Stephanie Thomas, Officer Jaz Rivera, Inv. Leon Delain, Lt. David Holleman, Lt. Tim Henninger, Chris Wigginton and Billy Shoemaker of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, Douglasville Police Sgt. Matt Underwood and his charity Hooked On Blue, Chad Wallace of Team Blue Line, Keegan Merritt from a state peer support program and local school teacher Ashley Guthrie. He says their support came in many forms—from daily phone calls to getting him out of the house before he could return to duty and much more. And he said he wants to thank countless Atlanta citizens for their prayers and well wishes.,
Daily Mirror
13-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Boots £112 Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium perfume reduced to £33
Shoppers have said the luxury perfume gives an 'effortlessly graceful' impression to others who smell it Boots shoppers can take advantage of a huge saving on an expensive perfume usually worth more than £100. For a limited time only, shoppers can get a major 70% saving on a "classy" perfume that users say is suited for both going to the office or on a night out. The Black Opium Illicit Green Eau de Parfum is available with a massive discount. Normally, this expensive 75ml bottle would cost £112 at Boots, but there is an offer on to get it for just £33.60 - a huge saving of £78.40. Illicit Green offers a twist on the classic YSL fragrance Black Opium. Its addition of "juicy green mandarin and creamy fig accord" creates a " vibrant mocktail-inspired fragrance that invigorates all the senses." Boots has lots of deals on at the moment for people wanting to purchase a fragrance. Most deals apply to major brands and bigger bottles that should last a while, like Versace Woman Eau de Parfum (was £66, now £24) and Vera Wang Princess Eau de Toilette (was £66, now £26). There are some men's options too, which might make ideal last-minute Father's Day presents for June 15. Big discounts include a 200ml bottle of BOSS Bottled Night Eau de Toilette (was £114, now £58.50) and the same-sized bottle of Rabanne Invictus Eau De Toilette (worth £129, now £64.50). Other shops have similar offers on at the moment too. Superdrug is offering Ghost Deep Night Eau de Toilette (75ml for £28, reduced from £55) or The Perfume Shop has La Vie Est Belle (100ml for £67.99, down from £127). But, women have been praising the glitter-encrusted bottle of YSL's designer fragrance that has been described as a "beautiful, classy fragrance" that "lasts ages" and "leaves an impression". Dozens shared their opinions online about the "luxurious fragrance". One said: "Versatile and well-suited for a variety of settings, this scent is never offensive or overpowering — just effortlessly graceful." Another added: "Reasonable price and love the perfume. I wear it for work and going out." A third wrote: "I have two other fragrances in the black opium collection, but Illicit Green is my favourite. When I'm out, people always ask what perfume I am wearing." A few people had issues with the perfume, as one claimed: "Doesn't live up to YSL name. It doesn't stay long at all. Not value for money." Another added: "Really disappointed with the lasting of the fragrance. It just does not last on my skin and even I cannot smell it." However, more experiences were positive as someone else put in their review: "The smell is very long-lasting and gets better as it wears. The first spray is not a true indicator of how it will smell once it settles. I absolutely love that it can be worn day or night, depending on how much you spray on yourself. A fifth shared: "Lovely scent and lasts long, worth stocking up when discounted." And, one more added: "Absolutely brilliant, a great choice that smells divine and is a long-lasting fragrance."
