Do Moths Eat Man Made Carpets

We get plenty of phone calls form customers who are planning on replacing their moth eaten carpets and want to know what s best to avoid a repeat infestation we thought a blog post would help those in research mode so here goes.

Do moths eat man made carpets.

Firstly you can choose a man made pile carpet such as nylon of polypropylene the moths are unable to eat much of this and will then die out due to starvation. While dusty any corner can attract moths without carpets there s nowhere for the moths to lodge their eggs. Carpet moths are mostly attracted to natural fibres and can destroy carpets all around your home. Cheap safe and effective.

Carpet moths can eat their way through thick wool carpets and even manmade fibre carpets at incredible speed leaving your flooring with unattractive patches. Carpet moth larvae feed predominately on keratin found in natural fibres such as wool and so can live on any carpet with some wool content. Moths are gone from carpet forever as salt just sits there on fibres and will kill any new attack. How to recognise them.

At this point the carpet has to be destroyed as removing the infestation would be nearly impossible. The eggs are only 1mm long but once hatched into larvae search for food immediately and along with wool can consume cotton linen and silk. Cloths moths these still remained after dealing with carpet so i went industrial and ordered 100 of cedar of lebanon planks and put them everywhere we had clothes and under furniture in rooms we had not treated with. Identifying clothes carpet moths webbing clothes moth case bearing clothes moth.

So they have a strong attraction to fur silk wool and other high quality and natural materials. Synthetics aren t so much at risk. Adult carpet moths are light brown or beige in colour with a 2 cm wingspan and once fully formed don t need to eat. We ve uncovered carpets in such locations that are exploding with moths.

The grim reality of a carpet moth problem. The most common clothes moths are the webbing clothes moth easily identified with a golden colour and around half an inch in length and the case bearing moth which can be identified about inch long and their forewings are mottled brown with one large and a few. Many manufacturers offer this and the carpets will be labeled to that effect. Replacing your moth eaten carpets.

Some will even attack man made fibres. A carpet moth infestation can be a costly problem as it can cause serious and often irreperable damage to carpets rugs and other soft furnishings in the home. Rather confusingly most of these moth species will sometimes switch from carpets to clothes and chew any natural fabrics like cotton wool and silk. Of course the best thing you can do is not have carpets.

The carpet moth is a common household textile pest.