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How to protect wine from damage by the cork moth?
There is a not so rare, but nevertheless relatively unknown pest in the wine cellar: the cork moth (with scientific name "Nemapogon cloacellus"). The caterpillar of this moth is also called cork worm. The resulting moth grows to about 7.5 mm long and has a wingspan of 10 to 14 mm.
The cork moth likes to lay its eggs in damp places in the wine cellar, especially directly on the cork of the wine bottle. The cork then serves as food for the caterpillars. However, due to cork decay, the corks become leaky over time, which leads to a rapid loss of quality of the wine because it oxidises. It is also possible that the taste is impaired by moulds, bacteria and mites that settle on the cork crumb webs interspersed with faeces.
Wine bottles infested by the cork moth can be recognised by the eaten corks or cork crumbs under the capsule or on the shelf or cellar floor. Sometimes the caterpillars of the moth itself can be found on the cork. If you discover that the cork moth has taken up residence in the wine cellar, an insecticide, such as the product Blattanex from Bayer, can help. Of course, there are also biological moth traps (e.g. from Aries), but these are primarily developed against food or clothing moths; their effectiveness against cork moths is not guaranteed. The most favourable time for controlling the cork moth is in any case the flight period from July to August.
Uninfested bottles can be protected quite reliably against cork moth infestation by covering them with sealing wax. The capsules above the bottle neck and opening are only really tight in rare cases. Spiders in the wine cellar are also helpful; as insectivores, they offer some protection against the pests. The most effective protection is provided by bottles with screw caps, glass stoppers or crown corks, which are not made of organic material and are therefore not attacked by the cork moth at all