Releasing wasps into your wardrobe sounds like something that would cause more problems than it would solve, but it is one way of dealing with a moth infestation. One microscopic wasp species feeds on moths before they hatch and they are being sent through the mail in their thousands.
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00:00When Megan Gallagher found her house wasn't the only one infested with moths, she and
00:07her friends investigated all the ways to get rid of them.
00:10You've got those little sticky triangles that you can set up around the house.
00:14Really they're there to just detect the existence of the moths, they're not there to eradicate
00:20your problem.
00:22And with the naphthalene balls, after a little bit of research in relation to those, I'm
00:26not comfortable with using those around the house.
00:31Enter entomologist Dan Papacek, who's been researching, breeding and selling beneficial
00:36bugs for the past 40 years.
00:38We have several, several million wasps in here at any one time.
00:41You wouldn't believe it.
00:42These things are so small, you'd fit probably half a dozen on a pinhead and still have room
00:46to spare.
00:47These are parasitoid wasps whose sole purpose is to lay their eggs into the moth egg.
00:53They spend many, many minutes drilling their way into that moth egg with their ovipositor,
00:58their little egg laying apparatus, and they can push an egg inside the moth egg.
01:03That egg hatches and consumes the larvae from within, breaking the moth life cycle.
01:08When you read on the website how many wasps you're purchasing, and it's tens of thousands
01:13at a time, you just think, this is going to be an infestation in itself, how's this going
01:18to work?
01:19The wasps are sent out in release cups or on cards.
01:22These are then placed in areas where there's moth activity, prepared to wage war in your
01:27wardrobe.
01:28In here are live wasps developing within the eggs.
01:31When they get to their destination, those eggs will hatch and emerge and get on with
01:35doing their job, and they'll come out through these little tiny pinholes.
01:3810,000 waspies, fly free.
01:42It's a long-term approach to pesticide-free moth management, and initial results after
01:47the first few months are very promising.
01:49I think my hubby was a bit sceptical.
01:51I think he was worried about being bitten in the night or what we were releasing in
01:55our home, but so far it's proven a very safe option, and I think a successful one.
02:00She's certainly been bitten by the biocontrol bug.