Moths, these little buggers
They’re back.
You spot one on the wall, or worse, one flies out when you open the wardrobe door. Tiny things, but enough to make you look at your clothes differently.
For a few years, I used a liquid moth preventer in my wardrobe. It worked well and smelled good, but it has since been taken off the market following tighter rules around ingredients.
Since then, a lot of what’s left on the shelf feels more limited: sticky sheets, cedarwood pieces, lavender sachets.
So if cedarwood and lavender are already the classic answer, why not make our own?
What I’m sharing here is very simple: one cedarwood and lavender mix, used in two different ways. For drawers, I use small fabric bags. For the wardrobe rail, I turn the same mix into a hanger sachet.
Moth Sachets for drawers
What You’ll Need:
50g cedarwood chips
50g dried lavender buds
cedarwood or lavender essential oil
small fabric bags
What I do:
Put the cedarwood chips and lavender buds into a large bowl and mix them together.
Fill the fabric bags with 2 roughly 2 scoops of the mix
Then add 2 drops of essential oil to each bag. If you are making several at once, it is easier to add a few drops to the bowl instead and mix everything through before filling the bags.
Close the bag and give it a little shake.
How I use them
I place them inside storage boxes and drawers
They are an easy way to bring that dry, clean smell to protect your storage space.
Moth Hangers for the wardrobe
What you’ll need
50g cedarwood chips
50g dried lavender buds
cedarwood or lavender essential oil
one piece of thick paper card, around 600gsm, for the hook
one sheet of A4 coloured paper card, around 200–300gsm, for the hanger body
unbleached tea bags or small mesh bags
What I do
The version I’m recreating has three parts:
the inner pouch that holds the filling
the outer cover
the hook
The inner pouch
This is what keeps the blend contained and makes the whole thing easier to refresh later.
Add 2 teaspoon of the mix cedarwood and lavender to each tea bag, then add 1–2 drops of essential oil max per bag.
The dried lavender and cedarwood do the base work, but a few drops of essential oil help the scent come through more clearly. Without it, the overall smell can feel too faint, especially after a little time in the wardrobe and moths do not like essential oils!
The outer shape
This is what allows it to sit neatly on the rail.
For this, use a 200g/300g thick coloured card for the outshape body and the 600g card for the hook.
See the video for the folding and cutting of the hanger body and hook.
Want the printable pattern? Download the wardrobe hanger + hook template for £1.
wardrobe hanger & hook pattern
How I use it
I hang it between coats, jackets or dresses where I want the scent to circulate more gently around the rail.
It works particularly well in wardrobes that need something a little neater than a loose fabric sachets that are more suited for drawers.
Final thought
The reason I like making my own is simple: it gives me more control over both the scent and the format, and it works out more economical too.
The drawer sachet is the easy version. The wardrobe hanger is a bit more hands-on, almost like simple origami, but it turns the same idea into something more tailored to the rail.