Moths don’t normally eat fabric; their primary purpose is to reproduce and ‘moth’ damage is actually done by their larvae. The first thing most people notice is the damage caused to clothes, fabrics or carpets.
Once inside your home or business, moths can severely damage natural fibres in carpets, clothes, fabrics, fur and even leather. Moth caterpillars cause the damage by eating the protein (keratin) found in natural materials like wool, cotton and silk.
Common clothes moth larvae: irregular shaped holes in clothing and fabrics
Case bearing clothes moth larvae: small and regular shaped holes
Brown house moth larvae: prefers leather, feathers and animal based materials
White shouldered house moth larvae: which usually cause little damage to textiles as their diet is more varied
Other signs include small maggot like larvae (moth caterpillars), silk tubes or cases, which the moth larvae live in, pupae (silk cocoons) from which larvae emerge as moths as well as actually seeing fully grown moths.
Before calling in a pest control company (and spending money) to address your moth or textile pest problem, firstly find out where the heart of the problem is, the source. This might be in a wardrobe, chest of drawers or cupboard. It should be fairly obvious because you’ll see the most signs of damage in that particular area.
Vacuuming regularly in the affected area will remove the larvae and eggs. Dry clean or wash your clothes and other fabrics from the infected area including bed sheets, linen and blankets.
