Two Places Carpet Beetle Larvae Feed in Enfield
Floorboard gaps across the borough's older houses
Enfield's older housing has floorboards and skirting boards that have gapped slightly with age, and the fluff and hair that collects there over years is exactly the food source the larvae need. It's easy to mistake the resulting damage for carpet moth until a bristly larva actually turns up.
Fitted carpets along Palmers Green's Green Lanes stretch
The Victorian terraces along the Green Lanes stretch of Palmers Green often still have older fitted carpet, and it's along the skirting edges there that larvae tend to collect undisturbed. Adult beetles are usually first spotted on a windowsill in spring, having already fed through the colder months.
Signs to Look For
- Irregular holes in natural-fibre carpets, rugs, clothing or soft furnishings
- Small, bristly larvae ("woolly bears") in carpet edges, cupboards or under furniture
- Tiny shed larval skins gathering in corners or fabric folds
- Adult beetles, a few millimetres long, seen on windowsills in spring
Removing What Carpet Beetle Larvae Feed On
Storing wool clothing sealed rather than loose in a cupboard, and vacuuming skirting edges now and then, removes most of what the larvae rely on.
