Moth damage in rugs: how to spot it and what to do

What to look for

• Bare patches where the wool pile is gone down to the foundation, usually with clean edges, often on the back of the rug first.
• Granules the color of the rug, like coarse sand, in the pile or on the floor beneath: larval droppings.
• Fine silky webbing or small tubes in the pile.
• Small cream larvae or tiny buff‑colored moths that fly weakly when disturbed.

Where it hides

Dark, undisturbed, slightly soiled wool: under a sofa or a bed, the back of the rug, a rug rolled in an attic in Plainview, folded in a basement in Massapequa, or on the floor of a Hamptons house closed from October to May. Undyed ivory wool (Beni Ourain) and wool foundations (Anatolian village rugs) are particular favorites, and larvae eat foundations as readily as pile.

Why sprays are not enough

Mothballs and sprays kill or repel adults and some surface larvae. They do not remove eggs and larvae deep in the pile, and they do not remove the droppings and webbing that attract more moths. A full immersion wash flushes all of it out physically, which is why washing is the treatment. The moth damage page covers the process.

What happens at the plant

Inspection front and back, every bare area photographed and measured; dusting, which removes a large share of larvae, eggs and droppings dry; full immersion washing; a wool‑safe repellent treatment after the rinse; flat drying; then reweaving of the bare patches knot by knot in matched wool, or rebuilding of the foundation first where the larvae ate through it. Every other wool rug from the same house should come at the same time.

Prevention

Light and disturbance. Vacuum the rug weekly, including under furniture; move furniture occasionally; rotate the rug yearly. Before storing a rug, wash it, roll it pile‑out, wrap it in cotton or Tyvek rather than plastic, and store it somewhere dry and lit. Never store a soiled rug in a dark closet; our guide to storing a rug goes through it.