Caraselle Direct is online store for home care solutions and offers Clothes Rails, hangers, lint rollers, clothes covers, moth repellent and many more products.

Tell-Tale Signs You Have a Moth Infestation

If your carpets and rugs have holes or threadbare areas, there’s a very good chance that you have an infestation of carpet moths.

The first time you notice that moths have invaded your home, irreparable damage may have already been done to your clothes, carpets and food. That’s because moth larvae (the ones that do the damage) are so small, you may not see them in time to stop them chewing through your clothes, carpet and rugs, or food.

What you will notice is the small holes they leave in your clothes and carpets or the webs they leave in your food cupboards.

As if that’s not enough... It gets worse... you may have more than one type of moth in your home - one eating your food,and another type feasting on your clothes, carpets and rugs!

Clothes moths like webbing clothes moths and casemaking clothes moths feed on fabrics while pantry moths like Indian meal moths feed on grains and other dry foods in your pantry or food cupboards.

The Sign That Clothes Moths Are Eating Your Clothes...

Like clothes moths, carpet moths feed mostly on keratin, a substance that’s found in natural fibres – and they generally like dark areas (behind furniture).

TINY HOLES: Ever put on a woollen jumper or jacket before noticing one or two tiny holes in the fabric? Often, the holes are in the front of your jumper, under the arms or along the neckline. They’re usually in such obvious places on your clothes that they’re impossible to hide. Fixing them is also very diffcult.

You might think you’ve snagged the fabric on something sharp but more often than not, the holes are caused by ravenous clothing moths.

Moth eggs are very diffcult to see because they’re so tiny but other signs your wardrobe or cupboards have these unwelcome visitors are webbing, cocoons, cases, lots of very small pellets, and even dead moths clumped into the webbing. Their droppings may be the same colour as the fabric they’re feeding on, which will make them hard to see.

The moment you spot a food moth flying around, immediately look in your cupboards or pantry for worm-like moth larvae or cocoon webbing.

WHAT ATTRACTS THEM?
Moths seek food and urine stains, sweat or dead skin to feed on which is why we recommend you never put clothes you’ve worn even once back in your wardrobe.

Instead, you should wash them or send them to be dry- cleaned. This is especially important if you’re about to store winter clothes for the summer months.

WHAT FABRICS DO THEY FEED ON?
Moths will feed on any fabrics containing natural, cellulose, or animal fibres, including blends of wool and synthetics and blends of cotton and wool; wool; mohair; silk; cotton; leather; natural bristles; fur; feathers; down; and natural bristle brushes.
They particularly enjoy feeding on fibres made from cashmere, alpaca, camel hair and llama. They also go for synthetic blends, even with as little as 10% natural fibres.

WHERE DO THEY LIVE?
Adult clothes moths prefer to live in dark, relatively undisturbed areas of your house, particularly at the back of your wardrobes and cupboards. The amount of damage they do is in direct proportion to the temperature and humidity in your wardrobe or cupboards. Warm, moist areas provide ideal growing conditions for moths.

The Sign That Clothes Moths Are Eating Your Carpets and Rugs...

The most obvious sign that food moths have invaded your pantry or food cupboard is an adult pantry moth flying around your kitchen at night.

SMALL HOLES OR THREADBARE AREAS: If your carpets and rugs have holes or threadbare areas, there’s a very good chance that you have an infestation of carpet moths. You may even see carpet moths scuttling across your carpet and rugs to get away from direct light. You might also see the cases they shed during their life cycle, which look like grains of rice.

WHAT FABRICS DO THEY FEED ON?
Like clothes moths, carpet moths feed mostly on keratin, a substance that’s found in natural fibres. They will feast on wool, silk, cashmere, viscose, feathers and hides.

WHERE DO THEY LIVE?
They most like dark areas, which is why you’ll probably see their damage underneath or behind heavy furniture.

The Clues That Moths Are Munching Through Your Food...

Check out our Moth Spread Map to see the degree of infestations that are affecting areas throughout the UK.

ADULTS MOTHS IN YOUR KITCHEN: The most obvious sign that food moths have invaded your pantry or food cupboard is an adult pantry moth flying around your kitchen at night (the time they’re most likely to fly).

By that time, the pantry moth has moved through the egg, larvae and pupae stages and already fed off your food and contaminated it. The adult in flight is looking for a mate so she can lay eggs.

The moment you spot a food moth flying around, look in your cupboards or pantry for cocoon webbing or worm-like moth larvae. They can often be found in old dry food packets (like flour, corn meal, oatmeal, or cereal) but can also be found on the edges of canned food as well as the underside of screw-on lids. They can’t affect canned food but they can lay eggs along the edges.

Check around the edges of your pantry or food cupboards for webbing. Also open plastic containers, cereal boxes and packets of flour to see if any adult moths fly out.

WHAT FOOD DO THEY EAT?
The moth larvae (which is the stage at which the moth eats your food) eats grain, dried fruit and nuts, cereal products, rice, bread, pasta, couscous, spices, flower wreaths with seeds, bird seed, cat biscuits, dog biscuits, chocolate, sweets, dried fruit, and dehydrated vegetables. Moths have also been known to eat cocoa beans, biscuits, and coffee substitute.

WHERE DO THEY LIVE?
The moths live in dark food cupboards. They can lay their eggs directly onto food, inside cupboard hinges, inside cracks in the wood, on top of cans, on the underside of screw-top lids, and on the inside and outside of food packaging, etc. Mature larvae may travel some distance away from the food cupboard to pupate so can be found throughout your house.