Aargh! One million moths just appeared!

Snakey

I have a spare room which is empty apart from an old sofa and a table. My sister stayed at the weekend and shoved the sofa against the wall/corner to fit the airbed in. I just moved it back again now that she's gone, since I'm vaguely concerned about black mould, and saw... one million* moths. Walking on the wall, on the carpet, on the back of the sofa.

I can't tell whether they came from the carpet or the sofa, or indeed just flew in from nowhere. They look like normal moths, the sort you see from time to time inside the house - little grey/beige things, narrow, about 1cm long.

I've squished them all with a paper towel, which fortunately was easy as they were slow-moving, but - eeeuw! I suppose I shouldn't mind because it's not like they were biting or stinging me, but I'm worried about my clothes, the other carpets, the curtains, and just I generally don't like the idea that I might wake up in the morning covered in moths.

What do I do now? Throw the sofa out, throw the carpet out? Both? Neither?

Will they keep appearing - am I going to be on squish duty every day all summer? Will I get them next year?

What caused it - I mean, why today? Have they been lying dormant for years and it was the "damp" of somebody sleeping in the room (with door shut etc) when normally it's empty, or the darkness/confined space of having the sofa right against the wall/above that bit of the carpet, that made them suddenly hatch? Did she bring them in on her shoes ?? Or just coincidence?

Help, please!

*About 40, if we're being boring and accurate.

Lorian

Any cases hanging on ceiling? anything that look like grains of rice in the carpet pile along the skirting boards?

Your visitor didn't bring them.

Don't throw anything out.

You should be concerned for you carpet if they are case moths.

Can you post a close up/macro photo of one? or see if they look like this, noting these are quite *small* moths, smaller than show here:

Snakey

I can't see any cocoons, rice grains, caterpillars or anything, just adult moths. I took a photo but I hate hate hate my computer which is crashing every time I try to do anything with it - I've no idea how to shrink it small enough to upload (last time I did this was on my old computer, which was not Windows 10 and did not have all this Lenovo stuff on it).

They have got dark-coloured heads, a lighter patch on the bit where a neck would be if it had a neck, and more feelers than the ones in your picture (shorter ones pointing forwards as well as the longer ones pointing backwards). There, and they said I would never use my GCSE Biology for anything!

The carpets are old ones that were here when I moved in. I would gladly throw it out if it's that or risk my stuff in the other rooms (sofa, bed, clothes etc) getting mothed in the future. I assume these things are looking for somewhere safe to create new moths.

DRP

While you're looking for the source of this mini-invasion, I would start treating the place.

You can buy moth paper or balls to put in your drawers and wardrobes (e.g. Amazon).

If you don't do this , you may find you have many more next year.

Gloomendoom

They only eat decent carpets.

anotheruser

Moth balls didn't work for me.

I find fly paper didn't either - but I also think that's really cruel to use.

Snakey

Well I've spent a few minutes every night this last week squashing every one that I can find, and they seem to have stopped appearing. I've kept the door to the room shut, but I've no idea if any would have got out into the rest of the flat before I first realised they were there. They didn't seem to be moving very fast - or even flying, particularly, just little flutters that would move them a few inches at a time.

Maybe they all just laid their eggs in the same place again? What do you reckon?

If I rip up the carpet and throw it out, in case there are more eggs (or larvae or whatever) in there, do you think that will be the end of it?

When will I know for sure?

That room's been unoccupied for just over three years and surely in that time there can't have been any moisture there (I am a fresh air freak so the window in that room is often open). The last tenant didn't take care of the property, so I wouldn't have been surprised if the carpet in that room was a little damp when she was living here (when I moved in there were stains of previous black mould on the wall near where the moths have come out)... but do they really have a three-year growing cycle?

DRP

i don't think it has to be damp.

My elderly grandad moved his bed downstairs after he had a fall, leaving his bedroom unoccupied. One day a few months later, I went upstairs and moved a rug and it almost fell apart in my hands - thousand of the little blighters underneath it.

No damp, and fierce OAP central heating on almost permanently.

They just need an undisturbed spot with the appropriate food. Have you got the moth sprays/balls/paper to put in the affected room? (& possibly rest of the house?)

Lorian

first off a disclaimer. I am not a professional moth killer. if in doubt consult an expert.

If you can see the moths, or their cases the best thing to do is hoover up what you can see and treat carpets with a permethrin spray, or dust (you can see the dust of course, but its quite effective along skirting boards for longer than spray. Read the important warnings on the packets (do, really).

If you can't see them and you want to be sure none remain then a smoke fumigation is probably best.

You can do this two ways. pay someone professional a lot of money to come and do it.

Or buy a permethrin fumigator/smoker online (ebay/amazon) shut all the windows and vents in the room. open all cupboards and expose as much carpet as you can. remove anything that might be affected by smoke (paying particular attention to removing things like goldfish and cats). put a metal tray in the centre of the room and place the fumigator on it. light it. it will smoke for a few seconds and go out, this is normal. it will generate a lot of smoke. Retire quickly and close the door. personally I seal the door around with masking tape then because I hate the smell of smoke and it saves disabling the smoke alarm.

leave it for how long it says on the fumigator and no longer, and then vent the room to the outside. it's already going to make everything smell smokey, and the longer you leave it the smokier things get. it takes about a week in my experience before the smell goes away.

At this point you can be reasonable sure anything insect like in the room is dead. if you want to be really sure do it again a few weeks later.

Usually there is a seller on amazon that sells a kit with spray, dust and a fumigator or two for quite a reasonable price.

As someone said, if you have cheap carpet you usually never get this problem, they like wool.