Carpet moth infest very quickly, the love natural fibres. In these images, the larvae were found under a bed fame. You can see how they have no issue getting under the frame (where the carpet is compressed). Additionally, also love nesting in the natural wood of the bed frame - see the cocoons nesting and new larvae making their way into the holes in the bed frame.
Carpet moths can be a consistently annoying pest for many households. With the world's ongoing love of carpet and warm summer temperatures, these moths multiply like crazy this time of year. When it comes to carpet moths it is not the adult moths you need to worry about, they tend to be harmless, it is in fact the larvae who will cause damage by eating their way through natural fibers.
Fortunately, carpet moths are preventable and there are a lot of great solutions available to help you eliminate them from your home. If you have found carpet moths in your home here are 8 steps you should follow to get rid of them and prevent them from coming back.
1. Identification
There are a few different types of moths that may cause damage to your carpets. The most common type of moth is the common clothes moth. These are the types of moths that attack clothes and carpets. Other moths you may encounter are brown house moths, White-shouldered moths, and pantry moths. Pantry moth larvae will not eat your carpets and will tend to hang around kitchen areas, close to dried food.
Generally, you will find moths attaching themselves to walls nearby to their source of food, your carpets. They could be in your carpeted cupboards, behind furniture, or under your bed or sofa. Their larvae may be found in your carpets. The larvae will be between 5mm to 1cm, cream coloured with a darker head.
2. Asses the intensity
The best way to find and see the intensity of carpet moths is to use a combination of moth traps and visual inspection. Start by laying out carpet moth traps in darker, undisturbed places. These will then allow you to assess how big of a problem you may have.
Next, begin inspecting the places they like to hide. Usually, this is along the edges of rooms, under furniture, behind floor-length curtains, and other areas which are usually undisturbed. In these places look for damage spots. These spots will have irregular holes, thinner textiles, reduced carpet pile, or in bad cases the carpet may be threadbare.
3. Clean
Give your carpets a good clean. Carpet moths love dusty areas, so vacuuming these areas out will reduce where they can hide and multiply. Get under your furniture, rearrange things around temporarily, so you can get a real thorough clean in. When emptying the vacuum cleaner, make sure this is done outside into a bag to avoid any eggs remaining in your home.
4. Reduce breeding
Moth traps are the perfect way to reduce breeding, this is because moth traps target male moths. A female moth can lay thousands of eggs across her lifetime. By eliminating the males you remove the ability for them to reproduce. Remember the adult moths aren’t the ones you need to worry about eating your carpets. It’s the larvae that do all the damage. So eliminating the moths' abilities to reproduce and you remove the larvae.
5. Eliminate eggs and larvae
Killing off the remaining eggs and larvae can be difficult. This is because the eggs are almost impossible to spot. You may spot some larvae as they begin to pupate and turn into adult moths. The best way to eliminate eggs and larvae is to have a professional pest control service clear out your carpets. They will use specialised sprays and powders which kill off any eggs and larvae while leaving residual protection for two weeks.
6. Make carpet cleaning a routine
Ongoing build-up of dust will continue to attract moths in the long term. So, to avoid this you need to develop a good cleaning routine. You should periodically deep clean your carpets, curtains, and furniture. Clean under your sofa and bed, remove all cushions, and clean underneath them. Move furniture around to provide the space to vacuum, and apply specialist treatments to the area. This will give you a good head start in reducing future moth infestations.
7. Continue to monitor for carpet moths
Beyond cleaning at-risk areas, ongoing monitoring for the signs of carpet moths is important. There are many factors that can cause them to come back. By being vigilant and keeping an eye out for the signs of carpet moths you can stop them before they become a major problem. Continue watching out for moths hanging around your carpets, and new patches in your carpets with reduced pile and thinner textiles.
8. Seek assistance
If you are stressing out about dealing with carpet moths the best thing you can do is seek the help of a professional pest control service. They will be able to analyse the scale of the problem and provide cost-effective solutions to help stop the infestation. With an expert's help, you will be able to discuss prevention methods to have more personalised advice as to how you can reduce carpet moths in your home. Pest Gone Pest Control will treat your home for carpet moths, then return again in 10 days to retreat carpeted areas to ensure the breeding cycle has been beaten. If you have any questions or would like help beating a carpet moth infestation give us a call on 1300 13 7378 or book here.
You can learn more here about Carpet Moth and "How to get rid of them".