Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (2024)

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (1)

From £260 + VAT

Inoculand can get rid of carpet moth infestation before the Common Clothes Moths start affecting your wardrobes. Moths eat clothes, or more exactly, clothes moth larvae would eat any fabric containing animal fibers such as wool and silk. To prevent having moth holes in clothes, we can spray the inside of the closet and treat the clothes inside a heat-tent.If you suffer from carpet moths and clothes moths at the same time, you can also consider the full moth heat treatment of the property. The heat will kill the eggs, the moth larvae, and adult moths instantly. It is how to get rid of moths in your house in the most efficient and speedy fashion.Moth pest control in London and the surrounding counties. Speak to us if you see small moths flying around your house.

Get a QuoteFind out more

It is important to carry out moth treatment as early as possible to keep the amount of damage caused by moths to a minimum.

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (3)

Clothes & carpet moth infestations can be eradicated using heat treatment or chemicals. Heat treatment is generally the recommended course of action against moths. Heat treatment will kill moths at every stage of life instantly, in both your clothes and your carpets.

Inoculand technicians are fully trained and use the latest technology in thermal blasting. Depending on the area to be treated, we will use either LPG-fuelled heat generators or electric heaters. As such, any fire alarm system would need to be disabled.

Need help with a Moth problem?

Different ways to deal with Moths

Heat Treatment for Clothes Moths

Instant moth control & extermination.

Our heat treatment raises the temperature of a room and is contents to over 56º C. This is well above the critical temperature at which insects of all development stages die.

Heat treatment is the best method of moth pest control as it reaches deep underneath the carpets where larvae and eggs can be found.

It will also remove moths from your clothes so you won’t have to take them to the dry cleaner. We bring spare clothes racks that allow us to spread your clothes and fully expose them to the heat for maximum effectiveness.

Heat Tent for Clothes Moths

Heat treat your clothes and other belongings.

It is possible to combine chemical treatment with a heat tent in order to kill moths that may be present within your clothes.

The dry heat will penetrate deep into your clothes and destroy whatever moths, larvae and eggs that maybe there. It is not only convenient but will save you from having to dry clean all your clothes.

Chemical Treatment

Spraying pesticides to treat moth infestations at home.

We carry out two visits over two weeks and spray HSE-approved pesticides rigorously throughout the property. Following the spraying, we also use a cold fogger (ULV) that produces an electrostatically charged pesticide mist. This reaches into every corner of a room to ensure total moth eradication.

Chemical Treatment for Moths

See a breakdown below of the steps required to successfully remove moths from your home

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (4)

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (5)

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (6)

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (7)

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (8)

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (9)

Don't ignore the problem

It is important to carry out moth treatment as early as possible in order to limit the damage caused by moths. Ignoring the presence of moth activity can lead to your carpets, rugs and garments being damaged beyond repair. As a result, landlords may have to deal with distraught tenants and pay for new carpets to be fitted.

Tidy & Vacuum

In order to make the most of our moth treatment in London, you will need to tidy and clear the floor of loose items. Then, thoroughly vacuum all of your carpets and rugs. Wherever possible, move the furniture away from the walls to allow spraying at the back.

Empty your wardrobes

You will also need to empty the contents of your wardrobes in the morning. This will allow us to spray the inside of the wardrobe during the visit. Since clothes may be contaminated, you should have them dry-cleaned or washed above 60°C to prevent any moth activity from persisting.

Chemicals & Heat

Combining the chemical treatment with a moth heat tent is very effective since it kills all life that’s present on your clothes. A heat tent is very effective against moths and extremely convenient. It holds a very large amount of clothing and will save you from having to wash/dry-clean them all.

Vacate the property

Tenants must vacate the property and won’t be able to return until the chemicals are dry – this takes approximately two hours. Fish tanks need to be covered up as fish are very sensitive to the pesticides.

Give it time

The products we use are water-based, so it should not stain fabric and surfaces. Do not vacuum clean between visits as you need to allow the pesticides time to work. We recommend that you only clean the day before we come back for the follow-up visit.

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (10)

How to get rid of moths

Adult moths do not cause damage, they just look for a suitable spot to lay their eggs on. It is the larvae that eat the natural fabrics. Once they’ve developed enough, they will migrate away and go into the pupal stage and form a cocoon. After 8-10 days, new adult moths will emerge and the whole cycle will be repeated. If the moth infestation is well established, it will require professional help. In order to get rid of moths, you need to kill all stages of the moth’s life cycle.

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (11)

The initial moth treatment will kill off all the adults and larvae upon contact but not the eggs or pupae. However, as they hatch they will have contact with the residual insecticide. Our homes offer favourable conditions to moths and an entire life cycle can be completed in just one month.

If the moth infestation is limited and minor, it is possible to deal with it using DIY products. If you are going to use commercial products, you should use them frequently (at least once a week) for a minimum of 4-5 weeks for the best results.

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (12)

It is possible to tackle larvae by thoroughly vacuum cleaning the affected areas and disposing of the bag afterwards. Doing this will also reveal the extent of the damage done by moths and help you monitor the situation.

Washing all affected items (clothes, cushions, curtains) thoroughly and at 60°C can also be effective against moths. Similarly, extreme cold can also be effective at tackling a moth pest problem – storing your infested items below 18°C for three days will kill moths too.

You cannot get rid of an established moth infestation using only traps and deterrents. That being said, moths traps are very useful for monitoring the presence and activity of moths. You may even wish to use deterrents, such as odour diffusers, to help keep moths away from a specific area.

What is the cost of moth fumigation?

Inoculand offers a moth control fumigation service for £260+VAT to treat a typical one-bedroom flat.

Chemical treatments can be carried out using either pesticides (synthetic pyrethroids) or an organic solution (100% natural).

What is the cost of heat treatment?

The cost of heat treatment will depend on how large the job is.

Our entry-level heat treatment is the heat tent service with a capacity for 100 clothes items on hangers for £250+VAT. You can use a heat tent for clothes, furniture, rugs, curtains or any other type of contaminated items.

The cost of carrying out a full heat treatment for a property will also depend on how many rooms need to be heat treated. The larger the property, the cheaper it becomes per room. Carrying out moth heat treatment in only 1 bedroom room would cost £400+VAT. And to carry out the full heat treatment throughout a five-bedroom house it would normally cost £1400+VAT.

Types of moths we control

Carpet and clothes moth control

Our London-based clothes moth control technicians will pay special attention to spray all floor areas, the inside of the wardrobes, the curtains and the walls. This way, moths have no way to escape. Moths will eat fabrics or materials containing natural fibres, causing considerable damage in the process. Wool, silk and fur are the most at risk. Most moth activity happens in dark, secluded areas that are out of sight.

We carry out moth treatment in London for residential and commercial clients. In most cases, the clients report moth-related damage or activity happening in one specific area. However, moths can easily spread to other rooms without you noticing. As we spray, we often see moths falling off from the walls in areas the client thought were moth-free. Therefore, normally advise treating the entire property instead of just one room.

Food and pantry moth control

Food moth infestations usually happen in the kitchen and pantry. They are usually attracted by dry food items that are kept in one of the cupboards. Typically, it’s an old pack of flour, breadcrumbs, cereals or seeds. As such, the first step is to get rid of the infested foodstuff. The second step is to spray the inside of the cupboards and areas around them. A one-off spray in the kitchen is normally enough to take care of the moth infestation, and the charge for this is £129+VAT.

Other common moths species considered as pests

Most moths species can be treated using the same pest control approach as described above. These include the case-bearing clothes moth, the White-shouldered house moth, and the brown house moth. That being said, these moths are far rarer than carpet and clothes moths and are far less likely to cause any problems for you.

Biology of moths

The common clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella) grows to approximately 7 mm as an adult and is a pale yellow-brown. The female will lay eggs in clusters of 30-200 that will hatch after 4-10 days. At first, they are too small for the naked eye, and the caterpillars will eventually eat their way through your organic fabrics and grow up to 1 cm long in as little as one month under favourable conditions. From there they will spin cocoons and spend at least a further 10 days developing into adults. The adults’ life span is 15-30 days (death after mating for males, after laying eggs for female). In other words, their life cycle can be completed within one month, meaning colonies can grow exponentially in a short space of time.

In our heated flats, moths will breed year-round. They will mostly target clothes that have been worn previously, that contain sweat or other organic liquids. They will eat cotton, linen, silk, wool, feathers, hair, flour, biscuits, and more. Both adults and larvae will favour dark places, such as underneath low-rise furniture.

The Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella) has an adult size of 8-10 mm and the outer part of their wing is a dark grey-bronze-copper and the inner part is yellow-grey. Its larvae are about 12 mm long with an off-white body and brown head. The female will lay 60-400 eggs on dry foodstuffs, such as cereal, nuts and seeds, that can hatch within 2-14 days. The larvae may mature for 2-41 weeks before pupating and becoming adult moths. In optimal conditions, its life cycle can be completed within six weeks, so the infestation can easily spread from one packaging to another.

See all of our services

Our Services

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths (2024)

FAQs

Food, Clothes and Carpet Moths? ›

They feed exclusively on animal fibers, especially wool, fur, silk, feathers, felt, and leather. These materials contain keratin, a fibrous protein that the worm-like larvae of the clothes moth can digest. (In nature, the larvae feed on the nesting materials or carcasses of birds and mammals.)

How to tell if you have clothes or Pantry Moths? ›

A: These two types of pests can be difficult to distinguish, because the moths are all about ½ inch long. Pantry pests have wings with sections that are different colors, while closet moths are a single color (beige or tan), and their wings end with furry-looking hairs.

Can Pantry Moths live in carpet? ›

TYPES OF PANTRY MOTHS

The Brown House Moth and White Shouldered House Moth, while they do enjoy the grains, cereals, and other pantry goods, they may seek out carpet-like materials or animal-based fabrics as another place to live.

How do I get rid of carpet and clothes moths? ›

The fastest way to get rid of Carpet Moths involves thoroughly cleaning an area, treating it with a moth-killing spray solution or steam cleaning, and then vacuuming up any dead larvae and eggs. Then, use Moth Traps to keep any future issues at bay.

Why do I suddenly have pantry moths? ›

A pantry moth infestation is usually brought inside from products purchased at the store. They can hitchhike inside your home from the food processing plant, packaging plant, or grocery store.

How long does a pantry moth infestation last? ›

Taking the above information into consideration, it can take anywhere from a week or two to six months to get rid of a pantry moth infestation.

Do I have to throw everything away if I have pantry moths? ›

The most important thing to do when removing Pantry Moths from cupboard spaces is to clean thoroughly. Get some large trash bags and toss out anything that has become heavily infested.

How do I find the source of pantry moths? ›

How do you find a pantry moth nest? According to 'The Old Farmer's Almanac,' "You may find larvae and pupae tucked away in door hinges, backs of door knobs, and corners of wire baskets; underneath shelves, and around the edges of jar lids, cans, and non-food items also stored in your pantry or cupboard.

Do pantry moths go into bedrooms? ›

If you have Pantry Moths in your bedroom, there is a good chance that the infestation originated in your pantry and has now started spreading to the rest of your house. Keep in mind that you may actually be finding Clothes Moths in your bedroom.

What smells do carpet moths hate? ›

Carpet moths do not like the smell of lavender or cedar wood – so soaps or scented sachets can effectively deter moths from settling in your carpet.

Why do I keep getting carpet moths? ›

If you don't vacuum or clean your carpets regularly, they can become a breeding ground for moths and other insects. This is especially true if you have pets since their hair and skin can attract moths.

What do pantry moths hate? ›

Pantry moths will also avoid certain scents so placing sachets of dried lavender, bay leaves, mint or cedar chips in your cabinets can also discourage them.

Will vacuuming get rid of carpet moths? ›

Experts agree that the easiest and most effective way of preventing issues with carpet moths is to stay on top of your cleaning. Vacuuming the carpet regularly can remove the eggs and larvae of the insects before they become a problem.

What kills moths instantly? ›

For an instant kill, cleaning containers using a solution of hot soapy water will instantly kill Pantry Moth Eggs. Additionally, freezing items will kill eggs and larvae, although you must wait 72 hours for this method to be effective.

What naturally kills carpet moths? ›

The natural cedar will kill the moths and beetles and the lavender will act as a natural repellent - providing protection from moths and beetles for up to 3 months. Just a few sprays will do the trick.

Can pantry moths be exterminated? ›

Pantry moth infestations typically require the services of pest control professionals; it is not advisable that homeowners utilize pesticides to treat an infestation on their own. However, after identifying an infestation, it can be helpful to clean the affected area.

Can you ever get rid of clothes moths? ›

These are the “cases” that casemaking clothes moth larvae create and live inside. Launder All Clothes – To eliminate most of the larvae and moths lingering in your home, put all your clothes through the laundry on high heat. Those high temperatures will kill any moths and their young.

What scent do pantry moths hate? ›

Peppermint oil has been known to effectively repel Pantry Moths. So, you may want to wipe down your shelves with this fragrant oil. Rosemary, clove, lavender, thyme, and Eucalyptus may also be helpful. Each of these natural repellents for pantry moths is safe to use around food items!

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Cheryll Lueilwitz

Last Updated:

Views: 6280

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (54 voted)

Reviews: 85% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Cheryll Lueilwitz

Birthday: 1997-12-23

Address: 4653 O'Kon Hill, Lake Juanstad, AR 65469

Phone: +494124489301

Job: Marketing Representative

Hobby: Reading, Ice skating, Foraging, BASE jumping, Hiking, Skateboarding, Kayaking

Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.