Wool Carpet Insects

The most common clothes moths are the webbing clothes moth easily identified with a golden colour and around half an inch in length and the case bearing moth which can be identified about inch long and their forewings are mottled brown with one large and a few.

Wool carpet insects.

Bugs living in carpets cause skin irritations such as itching and breakouts. Bugs can carry diseases cause allergies and trigger asthma attacks. The carpet moth is a common household textile pest. Damage to woolens is actually done by the larvae of two types of insects.

These are mostly brown with white or yellow markings and are covered in short bristly hairs hence their well known woolly bear moniker. Carpet beetles are oval shaped and difficult to spot as they are only 2 to 4mm long. The beetles live outside but will come inside to lay their eggs on juicy looking carpet any time of the year. Synthetic carpet is not attacked or damaged by carpet beetle grubs.

While all carpet beetles will eat anything they do have preferences the varied and furniture carpet beetles tend to focus on devouring natural fibres such as wool and leather. The larvae of the carpet beetle will eat wool carpet and wool rugs can eat lots of it and will permanently damage the carpet. They hatch more quickly in warmer weather. Identifying clothes carpet moths webbing clothes moth case bearing clothes moth.

Both insects lay eggs in secluded spots with plenty of food wool fur down shed pet dander and other animal based materials. Female carpet beetles lay around 100 soft white eggs in concealed places that hatch in eight to fifteen days. Carpet beetles like to live out of sight and feed on the natural fibers in fabrics even living off carpet fibers that are 90 percent synthetic. If possible inspect torn or low hanging fabrics.

In general they. These beetles typically produce four generations within a year. Carpet moth larvae feed predominately on keratin found in natural fibres such as wool and so can live on any carpet with some wool content. The eggs are laid on clothing furniture cracks in flooring and of course carpet.

Although carpet beetles don t pose any risk to humans beyond a potential allergic reaction the larvae do chew through fabric doing damage that s often mistaken for moths. As is so often the case it is the larva that does all the damage. When a bug takes shelter inside a carpet it causes an infestation. Others such as fleas can lay 2 000 eggs weekly.

Clothes moths and carpet beetles the latter being more prevalent than moths in most areas of the country. They tend to live inside fabric furniture or deep inside carpets so look for damage to area rugs around the edges and to carpets along base boards.