Small brown house moths.

[Xenophon PCDGS]

My next-door neighbour and I have had a number of these clinging onto the internal walls of the house. I only moved here early this year, but my neighbour says that last year saw the problem in his house. I wonder if the recent hot dry weather has anything to do wth the problem.

Has anyone on the website had the same problem?

 

[Ashley Hill]

Mrs H says they dont like the smell of lavender apparently. Moth repellent air fresheners are available. There is also a spray that can be used on carpets especially under furniture.

 

[BrandanM]

Has anyone on the website had the same problem?

Yes, unfortunately.

They do indeed appear to be more prevalent in warmer weather. I suspect they reproduce more rapidly in such conditions. On close inspection clothes moths are a shiny, gold colour rather than brown. Given half a chance they'll drop to the carpet and rapidly scurry away when disturbed.

It's the larvae that does the damage, not the moth itself. They attack animal based fibres, mostly wool, so you'll usually notice holes on sweaters, suits and carpets etc... They prefer dark, undisturbed, places so the back of the wardrobe and underneath/behind furniture are particularly vulnerable locations.

It's far from easy to be rid of them completely

 

[SteveP29]

Yes, unfortunately.

They do indeed appear to be more prevalent in warmer weather. I suspect they reproduce more rapidly in such conditions. On close inspection clothes moths are a shiny, gold colour rather than brown. Given half a chance they'll drop to the carpet and rapidly scurry away when disturbed.

It's the larvae that does the damage, not the moth itself. They attack animal based fibres, mostly wool, so you'll usually notice holes on sweaters, suits and carpets etc... They prefer dark, undisturbed, places so the back of the wardrobe and underneath/behind furniture are particularly vulnerable locations.

It's far from easy to be rid of them completely

My parents house has been plagued with them for years.
You see them flying round in circles, clap them to death and another replaces it.

They find their cocoons, under furniture in between carpet fibres (clever little buggers use the carpet fibres for the cocoon, so they're difficult to spot) and between the edges of carpets and skirting boards.

It helped immensely when my parents got their carpets lifted and had laminate installed

 

[BrandanM]

I'd never have a wool-mix carpet again. Were it not for that I reckon I'd eradicate them purely by cutting-off their food source. Asides from a few items of clothing which are easily stored in moth-proof bags, I can see little else in the house to sustain them.

 

[SargeNpton]

We've had an influx of them as well this spring. Two or three appear each night from who knows where.

 

[bleeder4]

I returned from a weekend away to find several in my flat. Windows had all been left closed whilst I was away, so no idea how they got in. Even woke up in the morning to find a couple of dead ones floating in a glass of water I'd left on my bedside cabinet, so that might actually be a good way to kill off a few of the buggers!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Last evening whilst I was online, one had the temerity to land right in the centre of my large computer monitor screen. Its time in the world was very soon brought to an and.

 

[Russel]

Must be the warm weather, I've noticed a lot more of them recently.

 

[FOH]

I returned from a weekend away to find several in my flat. Windows had all been left closed whilst I was away, so no idea how they got in. Even woke up in the morning to find a couple of dead ones floating in a glass of water I'd left on my bedside cabinet, so that might actually be a good way to kill off a few of the buggers!

More likely they've emerged from your carpet or drawers than flew in the window. They don't really fly much at all

 

[Harpers Tate]

Yes, I believe that, by the time you eee them flying around, it's "too late". As in: they have been there since last season as eggs, then grubs (muching their way through your natural fibres), later chrysalis, and only lastly actual moths - which, by the time you see them, have already laid their eggs ready for next year. They didn't "get in" while the windows were closed - they just metamorphosed.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I must confess that the elderly lady from whom I bought this property earlier this year was very proud of her very good quality carpets which were sold with the house and had been bought in 2022 from the John Lewis store at Cheadle Royal, I had a visit from one of their staff who confirmed that wool was incorporated in the weave in all the carpets.

I have booked a visit from a specialist treatment company to fully clean and put certain insecticides in the carpets, which should kill off any laid eggs. The carpets will be treated in the winter months of future years on an annual basis.