Odd Scrapings on Bathroom Carpet

[REP22]

Good morning - I wondered if the collective wisdom here might be able to advise me?

My mother has showed me some bizarre marks on her bathroom carpet, alongside the bath. Photo below. It looks like something is scraping away the carpet. There is no leakage (that I can see), no mould, dampness or musty smell. My first thought that it is a rodent or insect population scraping away, but there are no sounds or signs of uninvited guests.

No cats or dogs that would be doing this, just one elderly lady. It's baffling. Does anyone have any suggestion as to what it might be?

Thank you. 🙂

Carpet moths?

Yes. Carpet moths.

Very strange! Maybe carpet moth? Is it wool carpet? We had carpet moths, indicated by a buttload of tiny moths flying around 😁 didn’t know what they were till we moved a settee and found a half eaten rug. The larvae are quite cute and make little ponchos for themselves out of the fibres and you can sometimes find them looking like hollow tubes.

Does she use a cleaner on the side of the bath?

My dad had carpet moths which did look like that. This Moth spray worked really quickly.

Yes - looks like carpet moths to me too.

Thank you all, ever so much. Carpet moths makes perfect sense! @HappyCrochetHooker - it is a wool carpet and I think she does use a cleaner on the side of the bath, but I will ask her. Thank you very much for the spray suggestion @Nitgel - greatly appreciated.

It goes against the grain a bit, spraying and killing off things, even wily beasties like carpet moths, but M is elderly and it's causing anguish...

Very many thanks again - I really appreciate your time and advice. Best wishes to you.

Nothing useful to add, but bless her lovely heart, being sad about spraying the little fellas ❤️

Carpet moths. Cannot stress how prolific these little things are. Get the bath panel off and look in every nook and crevice for what looks like rice. They are the larvae that feed.
Hoover, spray and spray the hoover - daily until you are sure they are gone.

Check every room nearby behind furniture and check every drawer/ cupboard of linen and clothing.

Hehe, thank you. DM would be more than happy stomping on them all and then grilling them on toast for her supper. 😈 But my own conscience would be pricking me for their loss. I'm sorry if I inadvertently step on a worm, and bees and other pollinators are forbidden quarry for the dog, much to his dismay.

The moths/larvae' days are numbered however. I have been instructed to procure the spray as mentioned above and I shall certainly be promoting the advice of @Ilovemyshed - I'm mindful that such critters are insidious if left unchecked. The rat in the attic affair lasted longer than the saga of my late DDad's ingrowing toenail - and that's saying something. So, they are not long for this world.

May they continue to pupate on in eternal glory, and I shall await their many-winged judgement on my own soul, should I ever (unlikely) make it to the non-furnace end of whatever awaits us in the next realm. 😉

Carpet moths are buggers and can spread from room to room. You can get lavender things which stop them returning or moth balls.

To prevent them returning your mum should consider having synthetic rather than wool carpets installed.

There was something about warmer weather attracting more carpet moths than usual so there’s that too.

I would tear out this horrible carpet.

Thank you - I appreciate the advice, especially about replacing the carpet. Most helpful.