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Getting Rid of Rug Moths

Getting Rid of Rug Moths: Does Freezing Kill Carpet Moths?

Do you have small worn circles on your rugs? This could be a sign of pesky moths. These especially troublesome in the spring when new leaves start budding, so are moth larvae being born and feeding off your plants – or worse, your rugs.

Household dirt attracts moths for a good reason. It’s practically their best source of food. Remember the food spills you forgot to clean up? This is considered a feast for moth larvae.

What Does Moth Damage on Oriental Rugs Look Like?

Below are examples of places where carpet moths have damage fine rugs:

oriental rug chewed by moths
moth damage on oriental rug
moth hole chewed in fine rug
heirloom rugs with moth damage

And since moths are sneaky, they can crawl under your rug to lay their eggs. Once hatched, the larvae will eat your rug slowly. Natural fibers like wool are another favorite food source. Moths predominantly feed on the keratin found in wool and other similar materials.

A moth infestation can become costly and can cause irreparable damage to your rugs and other soft furnishings in the home. This is bad news, especially for rug and carpet collectors. You wouldn’t want these critters near your collection, ever!

While moths love dirty rugs, they hate clean ones. So if you want to prevent your valuable rugs from getting damaged by these pests, make sure you keep your fine rugs clean.

How Do You Know if You Have Carpet Moths?

It’s a bit challenging for homeowners to know if you do have moth larvae. Since these are practically babies, they don’t feed off your rug in one sitting. But rather, they munch your carpets away slowly. You’ll only know they’re there once you start seeing some serious damage.

Moth infestation damage can mostly be found on the softer pile of the rug than the hard webbing. A common sign of larvae infestation is threadbare patches especially if you keep your rugs in dark areas, in an unused room, or under long-standing furniture.

Another sign is larval cases dotted around the room’s edges. This is a much more obvious sign and sometimes you can even notice some of the adult moths lurking around.

Freezing as a Moth Treatment for Rugs

At S&S Rugs, we prefer using the safest, most eco-friendly method to get rid of pests like moths and their larvae. One of the techniques we use is freezing.

Freezing is the ideal way to eradicate moths in your rugs without using toxic chemicals. It’s both good for the environment and safest approach especially if you have young children at home. Compared to commercial pesticides, freezing does not leave residue on your rugs or fumes that your family can later on breathe.

how to prevent moth damage to rugs

Also, exposure to pesticides can have several health risks. The use of these chemicals has been linked to serious illnesses including respiratory problems and even cancer.

Cold temperatures kill moths much as heat does. In our freezer solution, our experts pack the infested rugs into plastic packets and store them in the deep freezer. We don’t use ordinary freezers though. Unlike your home freezer, our freezer’s temperatures go as low as zero degrees. Zero temperatures kill larvae and make sure your rugs are free from pests.

Do you need help in getting rid of moths in your rugs? Call us today for an appointment – (404) 355-2126 or fill out this form to get a quote.

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