Aaagghhh! Spring clean under the bed and....

[AllyH]

At the weekend we decided to move our Pine King size bed out to hoover underneath (so we could store more bits) and found lots of dust but also bits of what look liked fluff, turned out there were also a couple of bare patches about the size of a 2p piece. These are only on the bits right under the bed where nothing gets put and doesn't get hoovered that often, but think
It looks like we've got carpet moths - yuk!! Gives me goosebumps just thinking, spent the rest of the day hoovering every patch, but not sure what to do next - just keep hoovering to make sure we've got them all or treat the carpet (mainly wool)??? Any advice greatly received!!!

You can get powders and sprays which should get rid of them totally. If you google house moth pesticides it brings you up a few different brands. HTH.

AllyH,

I was about to post a similar cry for help, having found the little so and sos in our bathroom. They are tiny and light brown in colour. I've seen them for a while but didn't put 2 and 2 together until I moved some furniture and found the holes (needed an excuse to replace the carpet we inherited with the house ). I also found some in our bedroom and fitted wardrobe. I have been hoovering furiously ever since! What did you do with yours? Did you treat them and if so what did you use?

TIA

We had these last summer. Apparently they are getting more common.

It depends how many you have got. If they are very widespread, then a full spring clean is a good idea, to get rid of as many as possible. Then a spray round bits that don't get cleaned or moved very often - like under beds etc.

We ended up sealing all our clothes in vacuum packed bags and hoovering literally every single part of the house.

Despite all this, the other day I saw one....

Oh dear...I know what I'll be doing for the next few days!

What did you spray with?

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Sorry - can't remember - some kind of special moth killing spray that we procured on the internet. The internet also has lots of advice sites for moths - they are on the increase apparently.

As for those beetles - they sound familiar but I can't remember the name of them.

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I would be the expert in that respect.

Now I feel better about only having moths instead of beetles. Eek!

Have been googling moth killing stuff and will get some tomorrow.

It could be carpet beetles.

They have larvae which look like little tiny grubs, and the beetles are small browny black things.

We had them in our wardrobes in our old house - DH only discovered them when they had chomped through two of his wool suits. Luckily my clothes were in anotehr room

Anyway we had to use an insecticide to get rid of them, but only inside the cupboards.

We thought they came from our loft which had a gap somehwere where birds had got in & been nesting - they love birds nests.

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Hi
We have these too. Every Spring, about this time, we find them on windowsills on sunny days. Have found a few of the larvae skins too. Have never found where they come from and have seen just the odd one on windowsill in every single room! No bare patches on carpets (we have mainly laminate and leather sofas) and none in Wardrobes so goodness knows what they eat.

They are carpet beetles, a bit like ladybirds but brown. Have got used to them now and just splat them as I see them! Did freak me out at first though....

I have even more moths than I first thought now that I have started on a good spring clean of upstairs. Dead ones in every room and holes in the spare bedroom carpet as well as the bathroom. Goodness knows what my so-called cleaner has been doing for the last year - certainly not hoovering very well . I have emptied my Dyson more times than I care to think about today . But now feeling quite virtuous about having a clean(er) house.

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well palazzo peahead is FULL of F*ing carpet moths as well. they are HORRIBLE! Honestly, I dread pulling back a piece of furniture or lifting a rug. I'm just hoovering furiously (they are still eating holes in all my carpets though) - SO revolting. Will hoovering get rid of them or do I have to resort to toxic sprays? I'm so depressed...

Good to hear that royalty have the same problems as us commoners...

I googled carpet moths the other day and was horrified to find that it's the grubs who are eating the carpet - the moths just procreate and lay eggs. Somehow the thought of grubs is a lot yukkier than moths. I've hoovered everywhere, laid mothballs (v smelly) in the family bathroom where they are at their worst and tried some moth repellant paper in the wardrobes. Am reluctant to spray if I don't have to (several asthmatics in the house), and a friend told me mothballs worked when she had moths (she has since moved, so perhaps she just left them behind ).

Oooer this thread is making me itch, and quite frankly I am now too scared to tackle my much neglected under bed 'storage system' [read here: big pile of crap accumulated over months, only every vacuumed around]

I keep finding these little grey bugs around the house, particularly near the windows...they look a little bit like miniature ladybirds. Anyone know what they are?

Now, bugs I don't think I have (yet). I found some great sites when I googled carpet moths with all sorts of creatures.

Mrs W - think how good you will feel when you've done it! Dh has a similar storage system, if it's out of sight it's away tidily. No matter if you can't find anything ever again - and sometimes it's a nice surprise to discover what he has "filed" under the spare bed.

Sorry - got Mrs G and W's names mixed up .