Both eat wool, both hide from light, both cost the same to treat. But one of them usually has a source in your loft, and that is why the distinction is worth five minutes.
Look at the larva. Moth larvae are smooth and cream, often with silk webbing. Beetle larvae are brown, densely bristly, and leave shed skins that look like more larvae.
Treatment and price are the same — £180 first room, £60 each additional. But beetle problems often have a source in a roof space, and missing that means treating twice.
| Carpet moth | Carpet beetle | |
|---|---|---|
| Larva | Smooth, cream, up to ~10mm | Brown, bristly, up to ~5mm |
| Webbing | Often silk tubes or a case | None |
| Shed skins | Less obvious | Very obvious |
| Adult | Small pale moth, ~6–8mm | Rounded mottled beetle, 2–4mm |
| Adult behaviour | Scuttles, avoids light, weak flier | Flies well, drawn to windows |
| Where adults appear | Near the damage | Windowsills, often a floor above |
| Typical spread | Stays near the source | Distributed across a floor |
| Common hidden source | Stored wool, undisturbed carpet | Old birds' nests in roof spaces |
Not the price, which is identical. The search.
Carpet moths stay put. Adults are weak fliers, so the problem is usually where you found the damage and in directly adjoining carpet. Continuous carpet runs — hall, stairs, landing — are the classic spread.
Carpet beetles move. Adults fly properly, are drawn to light and outdoor flowers, and distribute eggs across a whole floor. And the source is frequently not the carpet at all but an old bird's nest, dead bird or disused wasp nest in a roof space, quietly producing beetles into the rooms below.
If you have a fabric-pest problem across several upstairs rooms and beetles on the windowsills, look in the loft. That is the finding that stops you paying for a second treatment.
See our complete service, published room prices and treatment information.
View Carpet Moth Control Harrow →On clothing the distinction is clearer: beetle damage is typically several small separate holes, moth damage more often larger irregular areas.
A useful diagnostic that costs nothing:
| Where you see adults | Which pest, probably |
|---|---|
| Fluttering near damaged carpet | Moth |
| Scuttling under a door or along a skirting | Moth |
| On a windowsill, trying to get out | Beetle |
| On several upstairs windowsills | Beetle, with a likely loft source |
| In spring, on windows, in numbers | Beetle |
Find a larva and look at it against a plain background, zoomed in on a phone camera:
| What you see | What it is |
|---|---|
| Smooth, cream, maybe in a silk tube | Carpet moth larva |
| Brown and obviously hairy or bristly | Carpet beetle larva |
| Bristly but empty and papery | Carpet beetle shed skin |
| Silk webbing across the damage | Carpet moth |
| Nothing but holes and debris | Could be either — look under furniture |
Yes, and it is not rare. They eat the same materials and thrive in the same conditions, so a property with a long-standing wool carpet problem can support both.
Which is another reason not to agonise over it: the treatment covers both. It matters for finding the source, not for choosing what to do.
Both treated identically at the same published rate. Tell us which you think you have, or send a photograph — it affects where we look rather than what we charge.
Neither particularly. Beetles more often involve a hidden roof-space source, which makes them slightly more likely to recur if that source is missed.
Yes. Both feed on keratin, so wool, silk, cashmere, fur and feather are at risk from either.
Not for the treatment, which is the same. It matters for where you look — and we will work that out with you.
An old wasp nest in a loft feeds carpet beetles — and a live one is £90 fixed cost across Harrow, guaranteed.
Moth larvae are smooth and cream, often with silk webbing. Beetle larvae are brown and densely bristly, and leave shed skins.
Somewhat. Moths tend to produce larger bare patches with webbing; beetles more scattered irregular holes with no webbing.
No. Both are £180 first room and £60 each additional.
It changes where to search. Beetle problems often have a roof-space source such as an old bird's nest.
Moths near the damage; beetles on windowsills, often a floor above the larvae.
Yes, and it is not rare — they eat the same materials and share the same conditions.
No. Carpet beetle larval hairs can cause an itchy rash, which is not a bite.
Send a photograph with your enquiry. It settles it quickly.
Send a photograph. Both are treated at the same price, but knowing which changes where we look.
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