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Moth Traps (Tineola bisselliella)

The clothes moth larvae feed on a variety of natural fibres including wool so are attracted to woollen rugs. The level of infestation varies within the UK and is becoming more prevalent with our milder winters as fewer eggs are killed by the cold.

Lifecycle: The clothes moth is about 1/2" long and silvery brown in colour. The female moth seeks out undisturbed, dark, low-lying areas that have natural fibres such as a woollen rugs and is drawn to rugs stained by food, perspiration, or urine as they have more moisture. There she will lay her eggs for the larvae to hatch and feed on the wool and these larvae can do serious damage which is expensive to repair.

Infestation: If you find on either the front or back of a rug fine silvery-looking threads about an inch long, these are the larvae cases that show moths are present. In this case you would need to have the rug cleaned, beaten to remove eggs and then sprayed to prevent further damage. See cleaning rugs for this.

Prevention: To reduce the risk of the eggs being layed in the first place:

- vacuum the rugs at least once a week;

- have the rugs professionally cleaned every 3-5 years;

- avoid if possible rolling up a rug for storage;

- if clothes moths are in your home use moth traps.

Moth traps: - The ones shown in the image have a sticky pad and emit a pheromone that attracts the male moth and once caught it cannot mate with the female. The pheremone last 6-8 weeks.

Costs: A trap with two pheremone pads costs £4 and postage is a fixed fee of £1. Once you have purchased the trap thereafter you only need to buy the pads at £1.25 each. To place an order either give me a call and pay by credit/debit card (minimum £5) or send your order and cheque by post.

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