Fabric Pest Identification & Prevention

Fabric pests are destructive little critters that can damage your clothing, linens, bedding, and other fabrics. Some of the most common fabric pests we deal with in our area include carpet beetles and clothes moths. Read on to learn more about these pesky invaders.

Carpet beetles:

• Dwell in dark, undisturbed areas and commonly infest carpets
• Oval-shaped bodies measuring between 1/16 and 1/8 of an inch (adults beetles) 
• Black with speckles of white, yellow, orange, and brown
• Feed on keratin (a fibrous animal protein that larvae can digest), compromising items made of wool, fur, silk, feathers, felt, leather, and skin

Clothes moths:

• Prefer dark and undisturbed places like attics, basements, and closets
• Small in size (but larger than carpet beetles), measuring about 1/2 an inch long,
• A beige color with narrow wings and small hairs
• Feed exclusively on animal fibers like wool, fur, silk, feathers, felt, and leather, causing damage to scarves, coats, sweaters, rugs, pillows, blankets, comforters, toys, etc.