HELP please - just found larvae under box whilst cleaning!!!

[grossproblem]

Just hoovering DD's bedroom and moved a seagrass chest to hoover underneath. There were loads of little larvae some wriggling urghhhh!! What are they ? My house is really clean and I vacuum regularly. What on earth has happened? I emptied the chest and put all the soft toys in it in a bin liner outside the backdoor to go in the wash also dressing gown which was on top of it. Have chucked the chest out to go to the tip it had lots more inside. They have eaten some holes in the carpet underneath the chest but do not seem to have spread further. Please help, what are they and what do I do? Have hoovered them up and emptied the hoover. Feel so dirty!!

Thanks butterfly. I am very particular about cleaning and feel really dirty!!

I came home from picking DDs up and some more have appeared. Am assuming they are coming up from the carpet now the chest is gone! This is awful Have left the hoover in the room and just keep hoovering them up!

Will get hold of a steam cleaner tomorrow and give it a go with that. My house is only 5 years old and is really clean and so I can not understand how it happened.

They do not look like the picture of carpet bugs so may be moths.

Hi Butterfly. Well having looked at lots of pictures on the internet I think they are moths! My carpet is wool so think that may be the problem, only had it put down 2 years ago when we moved in!

There were about 6 that have come up from the carpet in the night. So just hoovered them up. They have eaten nice holes in my carpet though. All the advice I can find recommends just hoovering them up and then steam cleaning the carpet. Sent DH out last night to buy a steam cleaner! Will get started when Dds are at school.

Have checked the wardrobe which is next to the chest but nothing in there. Even a pile of folded jumpers on the chest were fine so seems like they were only interested in the carpet! Poor DD all the soft toys that were in the chest went in the washing machine as the ones on the bottom had a few on them. Luckily all came out ok apart from a soft toy westie dog that is now more poodle like!

Thank you for responding to my post. Felt so horrible last night. My house is really clean and I am quite obsessive about it - my friend calls me Monica!!!

Moths are little bastards! We get them from time to time and although I can't even remotely claim to be a Monica (ahem) I know they are nothing to do with dirt - they just feed on natural fibres. It sounds as if it's only one specific area of the carpet, so clean that area with lots of cleaning stuff to kill any remaining larvae etc, wash everything on a hot wash and get lots of anti-moth stuff in (though it can be toxic to children so take care). I've found lavender essential oil very effective - I just put drops of it on tissues, out of reach of DS. It confuses the moths' sense of smell so they don't mate and lay eggs in your house, AFAIK.

Thank you both. All the moth killer I could find recommends not using in a child's room so no good there but lavender oil sounds good. Will try and get some tomorrow. Boots may have some.

Moths never occured to me when we bought the carpet! Most of the house has oak floors but DD's room, the guest room, study and dining room have carpet although pretty sure only DD's is wool.

Have steam cleaned the capet thoroughly this morning and a will do it again tomorrow, will be able to get DH to move the furniture at the weekend so I can go under there with the steam cleaner. Can not find any, anywhere else apart from where the seagrass chest was though. So fingers crossed I have got them. Will definately try the lavender oil.

As you can see I name changed in my original post as I was so ashamed! Have now decided to come clean horrible little devils !!

You could get Rentokil in to spray the carpets, perhaps before going away for a weekend or something? Moths are a bugger....