Moths in My Rug?

Have you noticed moths flying around?  What about bare patches on your beautiful area rug?  You may have a carpet moth infestation.  If you see this, you want to address it as soon as possible. They can cause a lot of damage within a short period of time.  Let’s take a look at some Moth information 101.

What are they?

There are generally two types of moths that are seen, one is a Webbing moth. As adults they are a yellowish-brown color in appearance and approximately a half an inch long.   There is also the Casemaking moth.   The Casemaking moth is approximately the same size as the Webbing moth but is more of a brown color in appearance and has 3 dark spots on their wings.  The adults are really just the sign that you have a problem.  It is the larvae that are the real damage causers.  The actually eat the wool in your beautiful rug.  This can be especially problematic if the backing (or foundation) of your rug is also wool, they will even eat that!  However, they may avoid any cotton foundations.   Their life cycle can last from 2 months to 2 ½ years!  They can produce up to 150 eggs and they hatch in an astounding 5 days!  As you can imagine, this can go from 1 or 2 to a massive problem in a short time.   They like undisturbed areas of rugs that may not be vacuumed as often and have little to no traffic on them.  They are also highly attracted to pet hair, due to the keratin found in the core of pet hair.

Adults flying around, that is a sign of concern.  If you see bare patches of carpet with the backing visible or just eaten all the way through, you can have a serious problem. It can also look like someone came in and shaved a part of the rug, leaving a divot in the rug, there may or may not be loose strands laying on the top of it.  Flip the rug over and look for spiderweb looking lint or other lint-like objects that are sticky.

What to do.

First call a certified professional pest removal company.  You need to not only treat the rugs, but your entire home.  You should ask them about Pyrethrum.  It is made from Chrysanthemums.  It is the best and safest way to rid the home of bugs.  It is also safer for your pets as a lot of pet shampoos actually contain pyrethrin’s. As always, use caution with your furry family members. 

Then you need to have the rug professionally cleaned by a rug specialist. Be sure to let them know you have had problems.  They are not mind readers and can’t fix what they are not aware of.  A good Specialists can get the rug cleaned, repaired and give you information to help prevent future infestations.

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