Moth damage takes months to develop and is found in minutes when the furniture comes out. Which is why it is so often discovered on the last day of a tenancy.
Thinning or bald patches under furniture and along edges, silken tubes, fine gritty debris, and small buff moths that run rather than fly.
Check at the start of a tenancy, not the end. Damage develops over months, so what is found at check-out very often predates a short let.
| Sign | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Live larvae — cream, 8–10mm | Active infestation now |
| Silken tubes or cases | Active or very recent |
| Fine gritty debris at the carpet base | Recent feeding |
| Bald patches under furniture | Damage — could be historic |
| Adults flying low in the room | A population somewhere in the property |
| Damage with no larvae, no tubes, no debris | Likely historic |
That last row matters. Damage without any live stage suggests a past infestation that has already ended — which is a very different conversation from an active one.
The inventory clerk photographs the middle of the floor. The damage is under the wardrobe, and nobody looks there until the wardrobe leaves.
£180 for the first room, £60 for each additional. Published, up to four rooms.
View Carpet Moth Control Rayners Lane →A carpet can sometimes be patched. A good rug can be rewoven by a specialist. Both are worth pricing before replacement.
Where the infestation predates the tenancy, the landlord. Where a tenant brought in an infested rug, that is different. Evidence decides it.
Only with a synthetic underlay too. Wool underlay under synthetic carpet is still food.
Wasps at a let property? £90 fixed cost in Rayners Lane, guaranteed for 30 days.
Live cream larvae 8 to 10mm, silken tubes, fine gritty debris at the carpet base, bald patches under furniture, and small buff moths that run rather than fly.
Live larvae, silken tubes or fresh debris mean active. Damage with none of those suggests a past infestation that has already ended.
Under the wardrobe, sofa, bed and any chest of drawers, plus the perimeter along each wall and the stair carpet edges — all dated.
Damage takes months to develop, so on a six or twelve month tenancy it often predates the let, especially where it is extensive.
Where the infestation predates the tenancy, the landlord. Where a tenant brought in an infested rug, that is different. Dated evidence decides it.
No. Treatment is a pest control cost; replacement engages fair wear and tear, the age of the carpet and betterment.
Inspect under furniture between tenancies, treat while the property is empty, and record the condition under furniture at every check-out.
Only with a synthetic underlay too. Wool underlay beneath synthetic carpet is still food.
Photograph under the furniture and report it in writing now, not at check-out.
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