A Quick Guide To Fabric Pests

Fabric pets can cause major damage in the home, to clothes, carpets, curtains and any other textiles in soft furnishings. Preventing moths and beetles from damaging fabrics such as wool, silk, and fur is simple once you learn how to recognize them and the steps you can take to protect your home.

Carpet Beetle Larvae

While adult carpet beetles feed on flower pollen and nectar rather than fabric, carpet beetle larvae feed on natural textiles that contain a protein called keratin. This includes textiles such as wool, fur, silk, and leather, and these larvae will also feed on human hair, feathers, book bindings, bone, and other dead insects. Plant-based fabrics such as linen and cotton are typically safe from carpet beetle larvae, as long as they are clean.

Carpet beetle larvae typically chew holes through textiles and fabric. Their preferred habitat is dark, undisturbed areas; however they will often travel slowly between different rooms in a house, causing major damage to fabrics in different rooms over several years if they are not detected.

Clothes Moth Larvae

Clothes moth larvae feed on hair, fur, wool and feathers. Occasionally they will also feed on leather, mohair, silk and similar textiles. As with carpet beetle larvae, these pests feed on the keratin protein that these fabrics contain. Unlike carpet beetle larvae, moth larvae do not relocate to new areas; instead they feed in the area where eggs hatch until they spin cocoons for incubation to the adult stage.

Clothes moth larvae prefer to feed in areas where they are left undisturbed for long periods of time, such as in sections of carpet located under furniture, or in containers that are used to store clothing. Adult clothes moths do not feed on textiles; however they will lay between 100 and 300 eggs in locations where the larvae that hatch will have access to plenty of food.

Other Fabric Pests

More rarely, insects such as silverfish, crickets, cockroaches and termites may feed on fabrics.

Silverfish feed on materials containing starches, and may feed on starched fabric.

Crickets feed on vegetable material, and may damage fabrics if they are stained with perspiration or food.
Cockroaches eat an enormous variety of foods, and may feed on wool and hair, particularly if they are stained with food.

Termites feed on materials containing cellulose, and may feed on fabrics such as cotton and linen that are of plant origin.

Treating and Preventing Infestations

The most difficult aspect of treating fabric pest infestations is locating the infested area. Often, the first signs of infestation are noticed only when adult carpet beetles or clothes moths emerge from their larval nests. Adult carpet beetles are very small-around one sixteenth of an inch long-and are typically black or mottled with red, white or gray. Adult clothes moths are around half an inch long, and buff-colored with four wings. They are very weak flyers, and avoid light.

In the case of both carpet beetles and clothes moths, the appearance of adults typically means that at least one infestation is present. Locating infestations requires thoroughly checking areas where fabrics are stored-in closets and drawers, under furniture that has not been moved for several months or years, and underneath carpets and rugs.

Once the infestation has been located (bear in mind there may be more than one infestation, and all sources must be found to protect against future infestations) the next step is removal of the damaged material. All fabrics in the location should be washed according to manufacturer’s instructions, or thrown away. Both carpet beetle and clothes moth larvae can be killed with washing in hot water, or drycleaning.

Pesticides can be used to treat crevices and cracks to prevent future infestations. However, most household pesticides that are safe to use on fabrics will not provide more than approximately six months’ protection from pests.

Regular vacuuming will go a long way towards preventing reinfestation with both carpet beetle and clothes moth larvae. Area rugs should be vacuumed on both sides, and rotated or rearranged periodically. Heavy items of furniture should also be rearranged from time to time, so as to expose new areas of carpet and prevent the creation of the dark and undisturbed habitats that fabric pests favor.

Clothing and other textiles should be stored in airtight, well-sealed containers. Mothballs and other insect repellents can be added to containers; however take care that these are not allowed to touch any items made of plastic, as mothballs may soften and melt plastics, causing them to stick to fabrics.

Small items such as toys and ornaments that cannot be washed can be placed in the freezer to kill both larvae and eggs. These should be stored in the freezer for one week to ensure all eggs are killed.