How moth damage happens, and where we find it
The webbing clothes moth and the casemaking clothes moth lay eggs on wool; the larvae eat keratin, the protein in wool, silk and hair, for weeks to months before pupating. They prefer dark, undisturbed, slightly soiled wool: the back of a rug, the part under a sofa, a rolled rug in a Plainview attic, a folded rug in a Massapequa basement, an Oushak in a Hamptons house closed for the winter. The undyed ivory wool of a Beni Ourain and the wool foundation of an Anatolian village rug are particular favorites, and larvae eat foundations as readily as pile.
The damage we see most on Long Island is in rugs that were stored during a renovation or a move, rugs under furniture that was never moved, and rugs in second homes. It is almost never found on a rug that is vacuumed and walked on weekly; light and disturbance are the best moth deterrent there is.
