Attack of the carpet moth

So you’ve invested in your lovely natural fibre carpet and you’re starting to see small areas in the edges that are balding, sadly you might have a moth problem.
You may be thinking I haven’t seen a moth but these aren’t your normal moths. They are tiny little brown creatures that are smaller than a centimetre and very rarely using their wings. They are also the complete opposite to other moth species in that they prefer the dark and warm habitats; this makes carpets an ideal choice for them.

Finding their way from the outdoors into your home is the main challenge and usually they do this by attaching themselves to your clothing or a pet.
Once they are inside your home their mission is to lay eggs. Their area of choice is dark areas like skirting boards, under cupboards and any other furniture.

So why do they choose carpet you ask? Well it’s their protein and space giving them somewhere to be warm, safe, be fed and reproduce. But can you kill the moth when you see it and have the job done? Afraid not, the adult moth has laid eggs and it’s the larvae that feed on the carpet. Moths love humidity, so now due to central heating it’s an ideal time of year all year round for them to breed. Moth pupae do not like UV light and that is why the adult moth will lay up to 300 eggs under furniture and dark areas in a room. This means for each moth you see you can have up to 300 little pupae that will be munching away at your carpet.

So what can you do to prevent it?

Hoping it will go away is the worst thing that you can do! As not only will they be munching on your carpets, they also have a taste for your favourite cashmeres and wools. It’s in your best interest to deal with it straightaway, as replacing everything gets costly.

You will read many home remedy websites saying to put these items in the freezer, but who has a freezer big enough to store a carpet?! Or how about using bay leaves and bay oil? But again, it’s not ideal. I really wouldn’t waste your time or money. The best way to deal with a moth infestation is to get it dealt with by a professional.

We attended an interesting training session from Julie from Modular Training Solution in Waterbeach Cambridge, teaching us all about Insect infestation in Carpets and furnishings in Cambridge.

Below are few highlight of the training course:

1- Common clothes case bearing moth: Tinea Pellionella.

These tiny but incredibly destructive and hard to exterminate native species can munch their way through wool carpets at remarkable speed and render them bald.

Their original habitat is outdoors, where they live in bird’s nests or on discarded fur or animal skin, and are so small and dull they would escape almost everyone’s attention in the wild... Read more

2- Fleas:
Also did you know that fleas lay their eggs in their faces that contains the blood they drank from the host?

Once the eggs hatch the babies/larvae eat the faces that contain the blood and this acts as the food source...

3- Woolley Bear:

A wholly bear is the larva stage of a carpet beetle

The wholly bear sheds it's case as it grows and the cases can cause a allergic reaction to some humans

Top Tips to prevent your carpets getting damage by insect infestations like Moths and Beetles:

Get your carpet clean - Moths or their pupae are attracted and eat to dirt damp and mouldy wool or silk carpet
Vacuum your carpet regularly and move all furniture. - Moth pupae do not like UV light and being disturbed.
For each flying moth you see there are up to 300 eggs hatching in your carpet. If you see moths call a professional
Get Rugs professionally cleaned before storing them. - Here is a rug that was not cleaned or stored correctly -

For a professional rug cleaning service in Cambridge www.persianrugcleaningcambridge.co.uk

or for more info call us on 012238 63632

Call a certified company that is also member of the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) and they will advise you with the best course of attention. Call us nowon 01223 863 632