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.
Case bearing carpet moth.
They look like small rolled pieces of carpet but you may be able to see the brown head of the larva sticking out one end.
Alamy rather confusingly most of these moth species will sometimes switch from carpets to clothes and chew any natural fabrics like cotton wool and silk.
The most common clothes moths are the webbing clothes moth easily identified with a golden color 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 smaller indistinct black spots.
This is one of the few moth species that can damage clothing and carpets but you can deter them from households.
Carpet moths are typically found in warmer climates during the summer.
When dealing with any pest it s best to understand what kind of problem you have first before anything else.
The larva makes a portable case for itself out of wool and other fibres.
Case bearing clothes moth larvae are often not recognised as being alive.
Adult case bearing carpet moth.
Sand like particles.
The adult moth is a pale silvery grey brown with dark spots and approximately 7mm long.
The case bearing clothes moths are identified by the larvae having a protective silk case which they live in while feeding.
They live outdoors in birds nests and on discarded fur or animal skin but they have become most acclimatized to our modern centrally heated homes where they will happily munch their way inconspicuously through carpets.
Tinea pellionella the case bearing clothes moth is a species of tineoid moth in the family tineidae the fungus moths it is the type species of the genus tinea which in turn is the type genus of the subfamily family as well as the superfamily tineoidea.
They are the case bearing carpet moth tineapellionella and the better known common clothes moth tineola bisselliella.
Case bearing carpet moths tinea pellionella are a common textile pest their larvae feed on keratin in natural fibres and so are a household pest due to the damage they can cause to woollen carpets and silk rugs as well as expensive clothing the larvae can also feed on cobwebs birds nests and other natural materials.
Before we can discuss where they come from and what causes carpet moths it s worth looking at how you identify them.
The adults are small brown moths similar to the pantry moth shown above that often congregate in the upper corners of rooms.
Its scientific name is derived from tinea a generic term for micromoths and the latin term for a furrier pellionellus.
Identifying clothes carpet moths webbing clothes moth case bearing clothes moth.
Signs of carpet case moth carpet beetle.
