Moths problem in sheep wool insulation - it happened to us
Okay, so it's happened. The sheep wool insulation we used to insulate under the floorboards in the dining room has developed a moth problem.
To cut a long story short, and after experimenting with biological moth-control Trichogramma wasps, the only real option was to rip out the wool and replace it with...yes with what?
We didn't want to use Rockwool (because it doesn't help to regulate moisture) we didn't want to use Kingspan or the like (because it's really not sustainable, smells, is a pain to work with, and also doesn't regulate moisture).
To cut a long story short, and after experimenting with biological moth-control Trichogramma wasps, the only real option was to rip out the wool and replace it with...yes with what?
We didn't want to use Rockwool (because it doesn't help to regulate moisture) we didn't want to use Kingspan or the like (because it's really not sustainable, smells, is a pain to work with, and also doesn't regulate moisture).
Hemp to the rescue
We considered hemp insulation because:
- it isn't susceptible to moths (they only eat wool)
- it's a good insulator
- it's naturally repellent to rodents (apparently it tastes bitter) And after a chance conversation with a conservation/restoration specialist in a museum in Germany who praised hemp and said they're using it to fill cracks in historic timber frame buildings, we decided to go ahead and order hemp as a replacement natural insulation.
Removal works
The floor had to come up, and the wool had to come out.
The removed sheep wool was bagged up and taken to our local tidy tip. They accepted it in their textile recycling.
Here you can see the moths under the boards. There was plenty of eaten away holes in the sheep wool insulation. It was quite gross, to be honest, so I didn't take photos of that.
Theremafleece have been incredibly helpful, even though the sheep wool that had developed a moth problem was NOT their product. The faulty wool insulation had been manufactured by a competitor who no longer exists (we were told the company went bust and was bought, so is now under new ownership).
Thermafleece helped with technical support and in more ways than we could possibly write about here without sounding like we're being paid by them for advertising :-).
We still have more sheep wool insulation in other places in the house but not from the same manufacturer who went bust. And so far, that doesn't seem to have developed an issue. Knock wood.
After the new insulation was fitted, we used the opportunity to replace some broken boards and sand them down with a big, noisy floor sander from Granville Tool Hire. Handy hint: paint the walls after sanding the boards (Dust. Lots of it).
Then we sanded the boards and gave them a nice coat of Osmo Wood Wax finish 3111 white.
A new coat of paint on the walls using Earthborn Clay Paint (the shade formerly known as 'White' is now "White Clay').
Memphis the cat totally loves it.
The removed sheep wool was bagged up and taken to our local tidy tip. They accepted it in their textile recycling.
Here you can see the moths under the boards. There was plenty of eaten away holes in the sheep wool insulation. It was quite gross, to be honest, so I didn't take photos of that.
This hemp insulation is a great product (and I'm not being paid to say this!)
The product we replaced the wool with was Thermafleece Natra Hemp insulation.
Theremafleece have been incredibly helpful, even though the sheep wool that had developed a moth problem was NOT their product. The faulty wool insulation had been manufactured by a competitor who no longer exists (we were told the company went bust and was bought, so is now under new ownership).
Thermafleece helped with technical support and in more ways than we could possibly write about here without sounding like we're being paid by them for advertising :-).
We still have more sheep wool insulation in other places in the house but not from the same manufacturer who went bust. And so far, that doesn't seem to have developed an issue. Knock wood.
After the new insulation was fitted, we used the opportunity to replace some broken boards and sand them down with a big, noisy floor sander from Granville Tool Hire. Handy hint: paint the walls after sanding the boards (Dust. Lots of it).
Then we sanded the boards and gave them a nice coat of Osmo Wood Wax finish 3111 white.
A new coat of paint on the walls using Earthborn Clay Paint (the shade formerly known as 'White' is now "White Clay').
Memphis the cat totally loves it.
