I seem to have lots of small moths in my house. Anyone else?

[MrsMuddle]

Well, the title says it all really. They're about 1.5cm long, and they're in every room. I hate the smell of mothballs, but I would like to get rid of them. Are they coming in from outside or is there a nest or something somewhere? How do I find out, and how do I get rid of them? TIA

[AlistairSim]

Do you have any woolen carpets?
We had a similar problem and found out they were clothe moths, feeding/laying/hatching under a wool carpet.
Was hideous.
Had to buy a special spray online to kill the irritating little buggers.

[sparklygirl]

Just that time of year........

[mumemma]

MrsMuddle, we had the same as AlistairSim - you need to get some spray asap - our carpet started to disintegrate. Good luck getting rid of the little buggers.

[FrannyandZooey]

if they are clothes moths you need to find the nest (will be larvae, ugh, sorry) which is usually on old clothes / wool / coats / carpet / old furniture

sorry but they nest in things that are not very clean if that gives you a clue where they may be (we have had them twice so I am not trying to be rude)

get rid of the source and give everything a good spring clean and you should be ok

[FrannyandZooey]

when I say old furniture I mean sofas, armchairs, bedding, throws, rugs etc

[MrsMuddle]

OK, I have a lovely big woollen rug, but now I'm too scared too look underneath! DH is away overnight, so I'll leave that for him to do tomorrow. Not sure where else to look - furniture is leather, and we don't have old clothes / wool or many carpets.
F&Z - looking in the places that aren't very clean doesn't narrow it down much in this house! I think I really will need to spring clean. Could they nest in books, or is it always textiles?

[FrannyandZooey]

MrsM the rug sounds pretty likely I am afraid

no don't try it yourself if you are nervy about such things

I think it is always textiles, yes, will look for a link

[FrannyandZooey]

clothes moths with photos

[MrsMuddle]

Yuk yuk yuk! That's definitely what they are. Well, I can rule out "stuffed birds, animal heads or antique feather beds" as a source, but I do have 3 old wasp nests in the eaves cupboards, so the rug and the old nests are possibilities. Shudder!

[tangarine]

I have been battling these little so and sos for a few weeks now - we had them for ages before I noticed they had chewed holes in a bathroom carpet (lurking behind the U bend) and in a bedroom (under some wicker shelves). I tried moth balls and a thorough spring clean to no avail. I'm now working my way through a bumper pack of products from pestcontrolproducts.co.uk (spray, traps and fumigators). The numbers are definitely decreasing. Good luck!

[Georgina12343]

My loft hatch is in the kitchen and I have seen moths coming through.The loft is insulated so they probably have a nest there.
Anne

[Sunnysidegold]

Eek I have been treating with moth sprays and things regular hoovering etc as we have holes in the carpets in my bedroom from moths,I really don't like the sound of having to lift the carpet to find a load of them!

[Ellie17jodie]

Well I have been seeing some little moths in my house here ther bout 3 or 4 in couple rooms is mine just the weather or do you think I have a nest lol 🤔

[ladybird69]

Wow just googled to find out how to get rid of moths and this thread came up. Is it a bumper year for them I've never had them before but they are everywhere i need a blow torch I think. What is the heavy duty killer called? Tia

[mnistooaddictive]

We discovered we had them at Easter and although mostly all gone, still occasionally find one. Look under all your beds and furniture- they love dark corners.

[Run4Fun]

I read somewhere that steaming curtains & carpets can kill moths. We usually see a couple at night and zap them with a fly swatter but more always appear. I hoovered the bottom of the sofa yesterday and caught a lot of them.

[Run4Fun]

I read somewhere that steaming curtains & carpets can kill moths. We usually see a couple at night and zap them with a fly swatter but more always appear. I hoovered the bottom of the sofa yesterday and caught a lot of them.

[ladybird69]

Gonna get a steamer then. Killed another handful tonight ☹️ They're everywhere

[TupperwareTat]

Are the ones peiple are seeing indoors the silver ones or brown?

I had this years ago, it was the worst time. Airing cupboard, loft & carpets.

[Nandocushion]

Check your closets and cupboards really carefully - they are not just randomly flying around. My parents had these for a few years and they finally found an old, drycleaned, plastic-covered rug out in a storage closet and it was infested. They took it out to the drive and set fire to it !

[AutumnalLeaves38]

Oh, God, they're little buggers to get rid of, aren't they? Mine are brown.

Check any tab tops of curtains, folks...I found a load hiding in them.

Also, a few flew out of a storage heater grill vent. It hadn't been used for over 18 months, and obviously a nice dark place (don't understand how they're breeding on metal though?).

A couple had eaten through a few books at top of bookcase. The casings were stuck to the pages. Grim.

Watching this thread with interest. I have a cat and really don't want to go down insecticide/ fumigating route, if avoidable.

[Ledkr]

.

[AStickInTime]

DH has bought some of these pheromones moth catchers. It only kills the males so we still have females flying about, by the idea is they will cease to exist if they can't mate.

[AStickInTime]

Wow! Just realised this thread is 10 years old!

[AutumnalLeaves38]

Oh, damn, so it is. Well spotted, AStick!

Hope the poor OP sorted her moth problem in the end: 10 yrs of them breeding is too dreadful to contemplate

Mind you, it's a useful thread, so please everyone keep offering tips and suggestions.
I'd not heard of pheromone catchers. Will definitely try those next. Thanks.