Same price, same treatment, different search. One of them usually has a source in your roof, and that is the reason to spend five minutes on the question.
Look at the larva. Beetle larvae are brown and densely bristly and leave shed skins. Moth larvae are smooth and cream, often with silk webbing.
Both are treated identically at £180 first room, £60 each additional. The distinction matters because beetle problems frequently have a roof-space source that must be dealt with too.
| Carpet beetle | Carpet moth | |
|---|---|---|
| Larva | Brown, bristly, up to ~5mm | Smooth, cream, up to ~10mm |
| Webbing | None | Often silk tubes or a case |
| Shed skins | Very obvious | Less obvious |
| Adult | Rounded mottled beetle, 2–4mm | Small pale moth, ~6–8mm |
| Adult flight | Flies well, drawn to light | Weak flier, avoids light |
| Where adults appear | Windowsills, often a floor above | Near the damage |
| Spread | Across a whole floor | Stays near the source |
| Hidden source | Old nests in roof spaces | Stored wool, undisturbed carpet |
Find a larva, put it on something plain, and zoom in with a phone camera.
| What you see | What it is |
|---|---|
| Brown and obviously hairy or bristly | Carpet beetle larva |
| Smooth, cream, maybe in a silk tube | Carpet moth larva |
| Bristly but empty and papery | Carpet beetle shed skin |
| Silk webbing across the damage | Carpet moth |
| Only holes and debris | Could be either — look under furniture |
See our complete service, published room prices and treatment information.
View Carpet Beetle Control Harrow →A diagnostic that costs nothing and is often easier than finding a larva.
Not the price and not the method — the search.
If it is beetles and there is a nest in your roof, treating the bedrooms without dealing with the nest means doing it again next spring.
Not conclusive on its own, but useful alongside the larvae.
Yes, and it is not rare — they eat the same materials and thrive in the same conditions. A property with a long-standing wool carpet problem can support both.
Another reason not to agonise: the treatment covers both.
Neither particularly. Beetles more often involve a hidden roof-space source, which makes them more likely to recur if that is missed.
Yes. Both feed on keratin.
Send a photograph with your enquiry. It takes seconds and saves you guessing.
An old wasp nest in a loft feeds carpet beetles — and a live one is £90 fixed cost across Harrow, guaranteed.
Beetle larvae are brown and densely bristly and leave shed skins. Moth larvae are smooth and cream, often with silk webbing.
Beetles on windowsills, often a floor above the larvae. Moths near the damage.
No. Both are £180 first room and £60 each additional.
It changes where to search. Beetle problems frequently have a roof-space source such as an old bird's nest.
Beetles produce more scattered irregular holes with no webbing; moths larger bare patches with webbing.
Yes, and it is not rare.
No. Carpet beetle larval hairs can cause an itchy rash, which is not a bite.
Send a photograph with your enquiry.
Send a photograph. Same price either way, but knowing which changes where we look.
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