Moth Damage
Moths are quite pesky little insects. They do all sorts of damage to everything from our beloved rugs, to our clothes and investment. Moths can do a large amount of harm to Oriental carpets but it is preventable. By taking a number of different measures, it is easy to prevent insect damage to your carpet. Fortunately, any Oriental or Persian rug that has been destructed due to insects can easily be repaired by our on-site specialists.
Moths do the most deterioration while in their larvae stage; they eat right through the wool of the rug. A carpet that is made of a wool foundation may also suffer insect damage because they will eat through the foundation as well. A tell tale sign that moths are eating your floor covering is when a web-like design appears on the rug. Moths prefer to be left undisturbed so their activity will be mostly in floor coverings that are left alone and unused.
Luckily, it is easy to prevent moth contamination. These insects prefer to inhabit rugs that are left in humid, dark places and carpets that seldom receive much traffic. Rugs that are the biggest target of moth infestation are those that are left in storage and unused by its owner. Good ways to prevent losing part of your floor covering to insect damage is to vacuum it regularly and make sure it receives some foot traffic.
For rugs that are partially covered by a piece of furniture, it should be removed from under the piece of furniture and vacuumed and exposed to sunlight for part of the day. When checking for moth damage it is important to look at the back of the rug, along with the perimeter for the webbing and larvae. At this time it is good to do the vacuuming and sweeping to prevent moth activity for another few months.
When an Oriental carpet is used as a wall covering it is commonly infested with insects. It is important to disturb the floor covering every few months and to vacuum it as a preventative measure. When putting a rug in storage there are a few different options to take when attempting to prevent moth damage. When rolling the rug you can put on moth crystals or spray it with preventative sprays. Unfortunately moth crystals are very smelly and are notorious to lose their potency quickly.
If you want to avoid using the crystals and sprays it is important to wrap the rugs in very thick heavy duty acid free paper or double wrap them. The point is to avoid any way moths can access its wool. The floor coverings may also be covered in this type of paper wrap that can also prevent any contact between insects and carpet.
Another lesser known measure taken to prevent moth damage is to store your Oriental, or Persian carpets in cedar trunks or dressers. Cedar wood has natural moth repellants, but it should be known that after many years the natural repellants lose their strength. The most important thing in preventing insect damage is to vacuum the carpet regularly and every few months expose it to a small amount of sunlight and disturbances, like walking on the rug.
In the case that an area rug is damaged by moths it is easy to take it to our rug store and having it repaired. At Los Angeles Rug Cleaning, we offer many solutions for damaged carpets and also many cleaning services. We are experts in rug cleaning and offer many services for your Oriental carpets. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to give Dr. Kay our certified Rug Specialist a call at
(310) 770-9085.
1655 South La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90035 Tel. 310-770-9085 Fax 310-860-0462
info@RugIdea.com www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
It's scary to see that kind of damage. I've been fortunate enough not to have experienced that with any of my Oriental rugs.
never realised moths could do such damage!
Most moth damaged areas can be rewoven and restored. We also recommend our Moth Treatment to avoid further infestations and costly rug repair in the future.