Has anyone got rid of carpet moths successfully, and if so how?!

[neptunesdaughter]

We are infested with carpet moths - they are horrible! We moved into the flat about 8 months ago and obviously inherited them. Didn't notice them much over the winter (too busy giving birth...) but since the spring they are everywhere.

We have killed as many as we can see, have done a massive clean out (still going on) and found patches of eaten carpet in both bedrooms and hall/stairs. Living room and kitchen are bare boards, but we have seen plenty in both rooms too. I haven't noticed any on our clothes yet but we have not had a proper go through. Luckily I have a penchant for Primark/H&M so most of my stuff isn't natural fibres!

Weirdly I haven't actually seen the maggots but I am in no doubt they are there somewhere. The thought makes me feel sick. I have drenched the patches of bare carpet round the edges with lavender oil and also moth spray. We have 'fumigated' (using the spray) the rooms and are keeping up moving furniture, killing any we see and hoovering/cleaning like mad. They have definitely reduced but I'm sure they haven't gone.

Has anyone successfully got rid of them and if so, how?! Everything I have read makes me worried we will never get rid of them. I feel itchy all over and can't lie in bed without imagining them in my mattress or bedding. I'm also worried about my baby as I don't want her breathing in chemicals but nor do I want her playing on moth infested carpets...

Help!

I avoided the chemical route altogether with little ones in the house.

Pest Control Direct do some sticky sheet products which go in a little plastic triangular thing. You distribute them round the house and they give off a pheromone attracting the male moths. It takes a few weeks and each sheet lasts a couple of months / till it's full and then you have to change them but it breaks the breeding cycle eventually. You do need to leave them out several weeks after you think they've gone to to make sure you catch the next generation which hatches and then stop them breeding but it did seem to work. The plastic things are less than a quid each and the sticky sheets are a few quid for 10 so it's not hideously expensive. Do get enough sheets to do replacement cycles though. Oh and make sure you identify the right type of moth as the pheromones are species specific. They have a number on their website if you want to talk to them. HTH and good luck. I remember that creepy feeling but was relieved to get rid of them all without worry about the children getting chemicals all over their clothes / fingers.

Thank you! Yes I'm worried about the chemicals and DD so this sounds like a good route to go. Will get some pronto and get them set up. The moths are so horrible...

Yes we are thinking of doing this too as the patches are horrible. What kind of carpets did you go for and are you happy with them? I've heard you hav to be careful about static with manmade fibres - not sure which is best kind of carpet to go for.

We have on-off infestations of clothes moths, so I feel your pain. Keep cleaning, hoovering and check all natural fibres.
Moths need moisture, so are attracted to wool especially, but also like other natural fibres, like fur and leather - I found an old skin drum which was crawling with moth maggots - eurgh!
Keep everywhere as clean as possible and hoover all crevices and keep turning out stuff in corners and boxes that you don't use everyday.

We went for manmade fibres on carpets. Don't seem to have a static problem.. but I would prefer my hair standing on end rather than moths!!
We got rid of wool carpets as just kept finding new patches.. horrible.
Still paranoid and would also recommend the sticky traps. [Nice and cheap if you avoid wool carpets.. bonus!].

lots and lots of frequent hoovering, especially round the edges, will reduce their numbers. A carpet shampoo will pick up some of the eggs. A steam cleaner will kills moths, eggs and larvae. However they are likely to be under the carpet, behind the skirting and under the floor, as well as behind and under furniture, so I really don't believe you can be rid of them without chemicals. They can come in on the fur of pets.

You are going to have to cut up and dump your old carpets sooner or later, so do it sooner. Look in the loft for old carpets, clothes or dead birds that they can live on as well. If you are buying new carpets get them treated with mothproofer before they are fitted. Use a rubber underlay rather than natural felt.

When I had moths, I went to the websites of specialist suppliers to find out what the chemical was, then searched to see what products were available. I think I found it was the same stuff as is sold as "ant and crawling insect killer" that leaves a film on hard surfaces rather than just killing then the day you spray, and is available as own-brands or Doff at low prices in places like Wilkinsons. But check for yourself. Leave bedrooms unoccupied for a couple of days after application to be on the safe side (so don't do all rooms the same day).

It will also be very expensive if you let them eat your clothes. Vac and wipe clean all wardrobes and drawers, and spray them. I now use hang-up mothproofers at the rate of one per half-cubic-metre. I'd also put clothes you are not wearing frequenty (holiday or winter clothes) in those big plastic crates, with a mothkiller in each, and the lid tightly closed. The modern mothkillers do not stink of camphor. mine have a slight lavender scent. Write the expriry date on them so you replace them on time.

Washing and tumbledrying kills the eggs, so do that before putting clothes away in their crates. You can tumbledry non-washable clothes and even furs if you have them.

Once you have an infestation, you have to work hard to clear it. Once you think it is gone, you can ease off and just put mothkillers in your drawers and wardrobes to prevent a recurrence.

They like soiled clothes better than clean ones, especially if they have been worn by women. I've heard single men living alone don't get moths.

I tried everything, the

Only thing that worked was getting rid of the carpets.

Sorry to bump an old thread but just wanted to ask about this. We have recently discovered carpet moth infestation in our flat. My flatmate got someone to come and check it out and quote for chemically treating it. The carpets are quite old and mangy as we inherited them from the previous people and we would be more than happy to get them ripped out, however if we just remove the carpets and get some other non carpet flooring e.g. get the wood floorboards polished up or somethng is that enough or do we still need some kind of chemical treatment too?!

Thanks!

the company we got in just treated the rooms where we had infestations. in the downstairs where the carpets were ripped up and replaced with hard wood floors they didn't bother doing anything. i guess you will need to watch your clothes though....i thought carpet moths just attacked carpets.....but i could be entirely wrong. i was told you couldn't see them fly, you just see the outer skins they shed.....look a bit like tiny grains of rice or scrunched up tissue

Would something like indorex spray work? It's marketed for fleas (we use it as preventative for house cats) but kills other insects too, and we don't even get spiders in the house now.

We had carpet beetle and sprayed with Mortein along the edges of every affected room. (Sure there's a UK version of this spray).

The we set off the bug bombs and ran out - think a slo-mo scene from "The Hurt Locker". :o

Should say the house was entirely empty of folk and furniture. No beetles back.

Nobody in this day and age has to be limited to chemicals there are organic alternatives.

Tinea pellionella are carpet moth lavea in a cocoon case they look like tiny bullet shaped cotton bud tips with open ends and the creature sticks its head out and can move the cocoon usually up walls and are often found in the bases of divan beds.

They live on natural fibres, and often mattresses are filled with horsehair and wool, especially the more expensive ones, which is ironic. These creatures can live for up to two years in that state eating the inside of your mattress rather than the content of the wardrobe because of the supply of natural fibres in the mattress. Also the carpet moth as it is commonly called does not fly about it moves on the floor and therefore woollen carpets or part wool carpets are at risk as well.

These creatures live in dark places usually where furniture is not moved. Hence bedrooms suffer with this type of infestation more than other rooms, because divan beds even if they are moved are never turned upside down to check the base where I found hundreds of these things inserted into the base hessian cover.

We had been searching for the source for ages, hoovering and cleaning the carpet washing down walls and cleaning out the wardrobe on almost a monthly basis to check. It never occurred to us to turn the base of the divan over.

We also found that these things live under the carpet as well, so pull the carpet back and treat under both the carpet and the underlay, and if you can afford it throw it out if you find some.

Steam cleaning the bed base after hoovering out the cocoons and then spraying with a good quality moth spray is the only way. It is nice to use non chemical products but sadly if you want to rid your home of these creatures and save your carpets, clothing and sleep on an un infested mattress then this really is the only way. It is difficult if you have children and animals to know what is best, but there are fumigation 'bombs' that can be used after cleaning out if that is a better option for some people, that means your chemicals will have done the job and dispersed in a given time, rather than a spray or powder that remains.

The mattress although looking perfectly OK had to go and we cut it open really to justify what we were doing and sure enough there were thousands of these cotton wool type cocoons in the horsehair and lambs wool filling of the bed. Horrifying. The mattress cost a fortune, because of these natural fibres. We now have a completely man made fibre one. No wool in the carpet, and my clothing in the wardrobe is all bagged, its really inconvenient but until we are sure that there is not one single pair left to develop into a breeding pair we are willing to put up with the inconvenience. I can hardly believe that the bed that I so loved to sleep in was a hive.....makes me shiver.
I hope this helps if your searching for the source of your disappearing natural fibre furnishings. Also don't forget to check out the underside of the couch and armchairs.. the same thing applies if they are filled with natural fibres.

I also use to sleep with the window open, but after reading that these breeding moths can get in at night and start the cocoon process off again, I sleep with the bedroom door ajar to let some air circulate instead.

There has been some suggestion on one website that these moth lavea can be already in the mattress and divan base when they come from the factory. The raw materials of wool and horsehair being open in the factories prior to being inserted into the mattress...it could be. We had so many that I think that could be one explanation. Makes me shiver to think about it.

We seem to be all clear now, but I am constantly checking, and steam the carpets and beds frequently, including the underside of the divan base to be sure and check that nothing is in the new bed base. Mattress of course now natural fibre free so no worry there.

Good luck if your still having these issues. I know the thread is quite old, but you may still be watching.

We had an real problem with clothes and carpets being attacked. Tried cedar balls, lavender pouches, pheromone traps, crawling insect powder and sprays, all helped a little but problem remained so decided to go a little more heavyweight.

Carpets I had used a salt spray to prevent insect damage on a DIY job and had some left over. It's a salt and harmless to humans but insects don't like salt added to their food in this case it stops them digesting their food and they starve to death. I used Boron Ultra 12 I dissolved it in water popped it into a hand sprayer, turn my carpet over dampened bottom and edges, left to dry overnight then repeated treatment for other end of carpet. Moths are gone from carpet forever as salt just sits there on fibres and will kill any new attack. Cheap safe and effective.

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 Boron . The 20 four foot long and 4 inch wide planks was the equivalent to hundreds of packs of cedar balls and I've not seen a month since . The pleasant smell of the wood kills moths. If the smell ever lowers you only need to lightly sand the wood to expose fresh aromatic layers

Coulinmoull your remedies sound great, presumably you could also spray the stuff over curtains and armchairs? I have some crushed velvet curtains that they seem to be chomping through. is boron ultra a treatment for woodworm? I have tried to find it and would be very grateful if you could give me a brand name?

Many thanks

Pet flea spray kills them and will last 6 months before needing another spray, a proper one, not Bob Martins or cheap supermarket stuff, Frontline, Acclaim or one with similar ingredients. Try not to be in the room you have sprayed and leave windows open.

I put fine nets on the windows, attached with adhesive hook & loop tape but only buy the hook side, in rolls. It reduces the amount that fly in, and as a bonus keeps mosquitos out too.

All clothing is in sealed plastic bags, in boxes if not in use, along with clean bedding, and any other fabric items, I also put lavender in little bags in the boxes, in cupboards and on windowsills.

I also hang moth killer sachets in wardrobes. I spray inside the wardrobes and in drawers where fabrics are kept. We have a weak spot, the bathroom fan. I assume there is a birds nest or something outside and I find little maggots in the bath below so am extra vigilant, although I have removed the plastic cover and am going to put net over the holes. Also have it over the vents from airbricks.

If you have hard floors you could use diatomaceous earth which is natural and kills insects but it is dusty.

thank you for pet flea spray tip I have bought some beaphar flea tec 600ml £11.99 hopefully will work sprayed room rentakill moth killer no good tried for 4 weeks spent £20 on cans and not worked at all sprayed behind radiators the lot thank you so much for tip hope it works praying

beaphar flea spray from pet shop 6ooml £11.99 best money ever spent it brings the rice grin larvae on top of carpets crawled out dying, after that vacuumed carpet with nozel end not upright position real deep into carpet then give t a good all over steam clean the hot steam kills deep down, plus velcro net oer windows you have open sticks easy to upvc and get the none stick for net curtain cut to size and machine you can peel back easy to get to openers keeps them and flies out awful things got rid of the critters bye bye :)