Not every small moth in the house is a carpet moth, and the difference decides whether you look at the floor or the food cupboard.
If they are small, pale gold-brown, and scuttle along a skirting rather than flying about, they are carpet moths — and there are larvae in the carpet somewhere.
Moths flying out of a food cupboard are pantry moths, a different job entirely. Moths at a lit window at night are usually garden moths and harmless.
| Carpet moth | Pantry moth | Garden moth | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 6–8mm | 8–10mm | Varies, often larger |
| Colour | Pale gold-brown, plain | Two-tone, bronze outer half | Varied |
| Behaviour | Weak flier, scuttles, avoids light | Flutters near cupboards | Drawn to light |
| Where | Low, near skirtings and damage | Kitchen, around dry goods | At windows and lamps |
| Damage | Wool carpet, clothing | Dry food — flour, cereal, rice | None |
| Job | £180 + £60/room | Different treatment | None needed |
Easier than looking at markings, and it costs nothing.
A moth that flies to your lamp came in from outside. A moth running along the skirting behind the sofa lives here.
See our full carpet moth treatment service, published room prices and what treatment covers.
View Carpet Moth Control Edgware →A different problem with a different answer, and it is worth knowing before you book a carpet treatment.
A thorough cupboard clear-out resolves most pantry moth problems without treatment. Tell us if it does not.
Cheap, widely available, and genuinely useful for one specific purpose.
No. Neither the moths nor their larvae bite.
A heated property means carpet moths can breed year-round, unlike garden moths.
No. Adults die off, and the larvae keep eating.
Something larger flying about? A wasp nest is £90 fixed cost in Edgware, guaranteed.
Small, pale gold-brown, a weak flier that scuttles along skirtings and avoids light. Moths drawn to a lamp are usually garden moths.
Those are pantry moths — a different problem. Check every dry goods packet, discard what is affected, clean the cupboard and store everything sealed.
Usually not. A thorough cupboard clear-out resolves most of them.
Clothes moths, closely related to carpet moths and treated the same way. The room treatment covers both.
One or two at a window over a summer is probably nothing. Several low down near a carpeted room, or regularly in the same room, means larvae.
They catch male moths and will not control an infestation, but they are genuinely useful for confirming whether you have carpet moths and roughly where.
No. Neither the moths nor their larvae bite.
A heated property means carpet moths can breed year-round, unlike garden moths.
Watch what they do. If they scuttle along the skirting rather than flying to the lamp, look at the carpet.
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