The Forensics of Rug Moth
One of the
biggest challenges in the rug world is the wool moth. Most rug owners have had some
sort of interaction with moth, either with their own rugs or a family member’s.
It’s an ongoing battle in the rug industry to come up with the most effective
ways of fighting the moth. As most experienced warriors say, in order to defeat
your enemy you should first study it.
Appearance and Life Cycle: Wool moths (more commonly known as
clothe or rug moths) are very small, ivory colored worms which turn into small
golden flies later in their life cycle. The moth goes through a four stage life
cycle: egg, larvae, pupa, and adult.
Egg: The egg can hatch within a month or longer.
This depends on whether the environment is favorable for egg to develop. Moth
lay their eggs in undisturbed areas. They make sure the eggs are inserted deep
inside the fiber so that it cannot be easily removed. They are very tiny white
eggs that usually are clustered together. Note that the very tiny black egg looking
particles are the waste moth leave behind, and not the actual eggs.
Larvae: In the larvae stage, the worm is
about half an inch long, cream colored, with a nine-segment body structure. The
three segments following the head have tiny arms attached to it. The next four
consist of tiny legs. Moth have a
transparent body structure therefore inside their body will reflect the color
of the fiber they have consumed.
At this point in the life cycle, the function of the moth is
to eat and obtain enough nutrients to make its cocoon casing and begin the
transition into a fly. These little worms can feed for as little as three weeks
or up to several months. When they are ready, they spin a full web casing and
close it off. They actually begin making their cocoon early in the larvae stage
and drag it along with them as they feed until they are ready to seal it off.
Pupa: This transition stage lasts from
eight to twenty-five days depending on the temperature. In warmer environments
this process is completed at a faster pace.
Adult Moth: The adult moth is a very tiny golden
colored fly. You can still see the rings under the wings; however, the upper
rings have now sprouted six legs which have smaller attachments for gripping. The fly also has two long antennas.
The adult moth is a fly which migrates from location to
location as it lays eggs. In its first day as an adult it can lay anywhere from
40 to 200 eggs. Adult moths can live about two to four weeks. In this period
they do not feed on anything and simply focus on laying thousands of eggs. The
adult female moth dies after it is done laying eggs.
Habits: While moths are known for their wool
eating habits, they can also eat other fibers such as silk, fur, feathers, felt,
and leather. Simply put, they eat hair that has protein, usually not plant
based of synthetic fibers. They might go undetected for months or even years as
they work very slow. Moths flourish in dark and undisturbed areas as they shy
away from direct light. They tend to live in garages, basements, under couches,
or even under furniture legs. The presence of moth is much more likely in humid
and moist areas.
Moth usually
don’t feed off of clean wool alone. They gain nutrients from fibers filled with
soil, food stains, cooking oil, salt, body oil, and sweat. All these items add
nutrients to fibers which then become the feeding ground for moths. While they
can only digest animal fibers, other fibers such as cotton and rayon can be
damaged by moth as they cut through them to get to the mixed wool blend or the
food particles and oil absorbed by the fibers
Detection: Detecting moth us not impossible. You
just have to pay close attention and train your eyes. If you notice areas in
your rug where wool is missing or coming off by scrubbing, that could be a sign
for moth having fed on the rug. You can also see their webbing or tiny eggs
stuck together usually on the back of the rugs, although they sometimes lay them
on the face of the rug usually deeper inside the pile. If you also see tiny
golden flies around your closet, basement, and living room, you should
definitely check your rugs for moth. This is different from seeing pantry moth
around your kitchen.
Prevention: While there is no way to prevent
moths from entering your home, you can easily prevent damages by creating an
unwelcomed environment for them. Regular vacuuming of once a week to two weeks
of the general area of the rug and about once a month under couches, beds, and
other inaccessible areas is highly recommended. Professional cleaning of your
rugs about once every year to two years and other wool products removes their
food source and doesn’t give them the opportunity to complete their life cycle.
Even unused
rugs should be professionally cleaned with specific attention paid to signs of
moth infestation. After cleaning, they should be wrapped with acid free or
breathable paper which allows for air circulation to prevent moisture build up.
Lastly, before the package is sealed off, putting several moth balls will help kill
any remaining live moths, as the vapor is lethal to them.
Rubber rug
pads with the net spacing structure can also help by providing an elevation and
bit of air circulation underneath the rug and create a possible disturbance for
moth compared to a rug without a pad that can have the eggs stick to the rugs
back and the floor and have moisture buildup under the rug.
Another good
preventative measure, especially for rugs and fabrics in continuous use, is coating
the fabric with moth repellents such as Magnesium hexafluorosilicate. These
repellents are not pesticides, but rather are designed to change the PH taste
of the fabric so that it no longer tastes like an appealing food source to the
moth.
Written by
Kash (Khashaiar) Sobhe
Certified
Master Rug Cleaner
Certified
Fiber Care Specialist
Third
generation in the rug industry
Rug Ideas
Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
Certified Rug Appraiser (CRA)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085
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