mothicide

English

Etymology

From moth +‎ -icide.

Noun

mothicide (countable and uncountable, plural mothicides)

1. A substance that kills moths.
   • 1903 March 27, Lexington Leader, Lexington, Ky., page 8:

     DON’T BURN YOUR MONEY / By using inferior mothicides in storing your winter clothing.

   • 1928 January, W. ZurLinden, “Moths”, in The Supplement to the United States Naval Medical Bulletin Published for the Information of the Hospital Corps of the Navy, volume XII, number 1, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, page 44:

     Tons of naphthalene, paradichlorbenzene, camphor, and other reputed “mothicides” have been employed to kill moths.

   • 1950, “Subsistence”, in Storage of Quartermaster Supplies (Department of the Army Technical Manual; TM 10-250), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, section IV (Care and preservation of supplies), subsection 59 (Prevention of Damage by Moths), page 30:

     Wool and mixed-wool clothing in storage must be protected from damage by moths. The standard methods of protecting clothing are: a. Initial treatment of such cloting with mothicide or insecticide by the manufacturer with additional treatment at the depot when the clothing is repacked or baled. b. Use of mothicide or insecticide in the bins of the loose issue room to protect the unpackaged clothing.