What Lets Carpet Moths Settle in Enfield's Period Houses
Undisturbed rooms in Enfield Town's conservation area
The larger houses in the Enfield Town conservation area often kept their original wool carpet in a spare room or hallway that sees little daily traffic, and it's that lack of disturbance more than the carpet's age that lets larvae feed uninterrupted for months. A curtain hem or an old rug rolled up in a corner can carry the same risk as the carpet itself.
Back bedrooms around Bush Hill Park
Bush Hill Park's mix of Edwardian terraces and 1930s houses shows the same thing in whichever room gets walked through least — usually a back bedroom or landing. Small silken tubes and irregular bare patches in the pile are usually what gives it away, often well after the larvae have had time to spread.
Signs to Look For
- Irregular bare patches in wool carpets, rugs or upholstery, often under furniture
- Small cream larvae or silken tubes in carpet fibres or skirting edges
- Adult moths — small and golden-brown — seen low to the ground rather than near lights
- Damage concentrated in quiet, rarely disturbed rooms
Keeping a Treated Carpet Moth-Free
Getting a room walked through and vacuumed occasionally, even a spare one, is usually enough to stop larvae settling back in. It's the disturbance that matters, not just the cleaning.
