What larvae and moths are looking for
Larvae want three things: natural fibre or other keratin to eat, darkness, and a place nobody disturbs. A little warmth helps them develop faster, which is why centrally heated homes can have moths active all year. Fibres carrying hair, skin flakes or food residue are more attractive than clean ones.
Bedrooms and wardrobes
Check the floor of the wardrobe, the back of the bottom drawer, blanket boxes, and any wool or cashmere folded away for the season. Under the bed is a classic spot, particularly with a divan base or storage boxes that stay put for months. Knitwear worn once and put back unwashed is especially at risk. Wool slippers and dressing gowns left on a wardrobe floor are easy to overlook.
Living rooms
Look beneath rugs, including the underside and the rug pad, along the carpet edge behind a sofa, and at feather-filled cushions and wool throws. The underside of upholstered seating can also hold larvae. Why low furniture in particular draws them is explained in why carpet moths are often found under furniture. Pay attention to any rug edge folded under or tucked beneath a sofa leg, since a doubled-over edge traps debris and stays dark.
Rooms you rarely use
Spare bedrooms, formal dining rooms and a box room full of stored items can go weeks without a vacuum or footsteps. That quiet is exactly what larvae need. Furnished lets left empty between tenants are similar; landlords with properties in Kenton may want to check carpets before the next tenancy starts. In shared houses, such as the HMOs found in Kilburn, a bedroom left vacant between occupants can go unvacuumed for weeks.
Lofts, cupboards and storage
Suitcases of old coats, bags of wool, rolled rugs and boxes of fabric in a loft or under-stair cupboard are ideal. Interwar houses in Kingsbury often have lofts used for exactly this kind of long-term storage. Anything stored unwashed or in cardboard rather than sealed plastic is the most vulnerable. Start with bags at the far end of the loft, where they are least likely to have been moved.
Behind skirting and between floorboards
Fluff, pet hair and dust collect in the gap under skirting boards and between boards on timber floors, as found in many Willesden houses. Larvae can feed on that debris even where there is no carpet. Carpet beetle larvae use the same gaps, so if what you find is hairy rather than smooth, see where carpet beetles hide.
Spots that are easy to miss
- Felt pads under furniture feet and the felt hammers inside an old piano
- Old birds' nests in a loft or chimney, which can support moths for years
- Fur hats, feather boas, stuffed toys made with wool and taxidermy
- Pet beds and grooming brushes full of hair
- Sheep's wool insulation, if it was not treated against insects
Where the adults rest
Adults sit quietly in folds of curtains, in wardrobe corners, and low on walls in shaded rooms. They are more likely to be noticed when you pull clothes out or move a rug. They rarely circle lamps in the evening, so a moth doing that is more likely to be another species. Finding them in one of these places tells you larvae are probably close by. If it is larvae you are trying to recognise, see what the larvae look like.
Found them? Next steps
Make a list of every room where you have seen signs, because treatment is priced by the room: carpet moth control in Brent is £180 for the first room and £60 for each additional room. Read how to prepare and then book a visit. A photo of anything you find makes it easier to describe.
