Nowhere to hide: Empty your closet to make sure moths haven't move in.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—While unusually cold temperatures still have most people wrapped in wool sweaters, it's not a bad time of year to start prepping your closet for spring. Clothes moths, those foes of winter clothing, love to nestle down in your warm closets, where they'll continue to grow throughout the winter and lay eggs come summertime. (Clothing made from wool or other types of animal hair are their favorite targets.) But when you consider your options for clothes moth repellents, you have toxic chemicals and a few all-natural methods that may or may not be very effective. So, how should you proceed?

This: Cedar

Pros: Cedar smells good and doesn't have any of the accompanying detrimental health effects of mothballs, which contain the carcinogenic chemicals naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene. Cedar contains an oil that is toxic to small moth larvae and can kill them before they grow into the more damaging large moth larvae, which do the most damage.

Cons: Most cedar chips, chests, or oils don't emit the moth-toxic cedar fumes at high enough concentrations for moth larvae to fall prey to its effects. Cedar is also ineffective at repelling the adult moths that lay the eggs, or at repelling other insects that could damage your clothing, such as carpet beetles.

That: Your Freezer

Pros: Freezing clothing for up to two weeks will kill all stages of moth larvae, as well as any other bugs that could be making a meal of your winter woolens.

Cons: It might not be practical, depending on the size of your freezer and the amount of food in it. And it may not fully solve your moth problem, since moth larvae and eggs may be hiding in your closet, only to reinfest your clothes once you put them back.

This or that? Read on for the answer.