The carpet or clothes moth, or Trichophaga tapetzella in its real name, is a type of moth found in carpets that can cause serious damage to your carpet and the rest of the furniture in your home as they not only reside in the carpet but also in clothes, bedding, curtains… Unfortunately for us, to get rid of carpet moths is not easy, but not impossible either!
Tips to prevent the appearance of Moths in Carpets:
Carpet moths are very common in woollen carpets, as they prefer natural fabrics. However, although it is less common, it can also be found in other carpet fabrics. It is important to prevent the apparition of moths and if they do exist it is essential to stop them quickly as once they are formed, they leave between 30-300 eggs per adult.
At Aero Carpet, we’ve been dealing with this common problem in carpets and rugs for years, and in many cases, customers don’t even realize they are experiencing it.If you are one of those who have suffered from it or want to prevent it from happening, take note of these 5 tips to avoid moths in your carpets:
Regular vacuuming
Regular vacuuming is essential to prevent your carpet from getting moths and also to keep it free of germs, bacteria and dirt. If you are not sure whether you may have moths or larvae, it is important that after vacuuming your carpets you empty everything collected and dispose of it in a trash can outside the home.
In addition, it is recommended to have your carpet professionally cleaned at least 1-3 times a year depending on whether it is a low or high traffic area.
Discover more benefits of having your carpet professionally cleaned in our post “Benefits of having a carpet professionally cleaned“.
Natural repellents
Moths have a strong sense of smell, which they use to seek out surfaces to inhabit and feed on. Using natural repellents such as lavender, peppermint essential oils, clove, cedar, thyme or rosemary can help keep moths away from your home.
Remember to always introduce one of these before storing your rugs or clothes to keep them away from their boxes.
Wash your carpet and clothes before storing them
Moths are attracted to odours, so it is important that as well as using natural repellents in the boxes where you store your clothes and carpets, you should wash everything before storing it for a while, this will prevent moths from being attracted to your carpets and clothes.
Clean your storage boxes regularly
We recommend you to regularly clean all the boxes in which you have stored your carpets and clothes to avoid moths. They tend to prefer dark places with light traffic, so keeping them regularly cleaned and following the steps above will help you to keep them away.
Also, in case there are already moths on your carpet, the sooner you know about it, the better to prevent them from damaging all your furniture and to be able to act as soon as possible.
Check your carpets regularly
If you do not vacuum regularly and even if you do, you should check cupboards, clothes and furniture for damage or holes for moths. Remember that if it is a natural material moths are more likely to appear and you will need to pay extra attention to cleaning and inspecting your carpet. If you have unused wool, fur or feather items, we recommend you recycle them to avoid a greater chance of attracting moths.
Adult moths are easy to recognize but the larvae are not so easy to detect as they are very small, so it is essential to identify the appearance of adult moths as soon as possible and prevent them from starting to lay their eggs.
Example of a rug we received at Aero Carpet with a moth infestation.
Tips to get rid of moths in your carpets
Regular Vacuuming
Vacuum and remove dirt from all over your home to eliminate and prevent more moths from coming into your home.
Pheromone Traps
Larvae and eggs will be difficult to deal with but with adult moths using moth papers, which contain femorons that attract male moths, you can trap many of them and let them die in the moth.
Professional Moth Treatment
If you have found several moths it will probably be very difficult to get rid of them and you will have to think about asking for professional help.
How we get rid of moths from your rugs at Aero Carpet
The first thing you will need to do is contact us or visit us at our Burnaby (British Columbia, Canada) office.
Our experienced technicians will ask you for pictures to evaluate the situation and find out how damaged your rugs are and if they require repair or/and our chemical-free moth treatment. In all cases, we will let you know what the damage is and what action we will take to always give you the best possible result.
In our Burnaby plant, we have an industrial freezer at -22º in which, in the case of rugs, we use to destroy all the moths. We leave your rug in this machine for two weeks to ensure that we get rid of the moths and then proceed to clean and, if necessary, repair it.
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We have over 46 years of experience dealing with moth infestations and our technicians are highly trained to always choose the best products and solutions. If you need help with your carpet or rug, don’t hesitate to contact us now or ask for a free quote so we can take action as soon as possible. We hope you found this post useful and we invite you to follow us on our Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin to get all the tips you need for your carpets, furniture, home and office!
At Aero Carpet Services LTD we have over 46 years of experience in Greater Vancouver and the Lower Mainland and we proudly offer quality carpet, upholstery, and rug cleaning.