Bald Patches in Carpets in Henley-on-Thames: Could Moth Larvae Be Responsible?

First, the Ordinary Test

• Wear is gradual, in a traffic path, worst at doorways, fading out at the edges into sound pile
• Furniture crush is a flat rectangle with sharp edges; the pile is compressed rather than gone
• Sun damage follows a window's footprint and thins evenly
• Moth damage is irregular and patchy, with the pile grazed away, and it appears where nobody walks

Position settles most cases. A patch in the middle of a busy room is wear; a patch under a sofa is not.

On a Hand-Knotted Rug, Specifically

The construction makes the damage legible in a way a machine-made carpet does not.

1. The foundation stands and the pile goes. Larvae take the wool pile and leave the warp and weft. You are left looking at the grid of the weave through a bald area — a clean, structural-looking pattern rather than a fuzzy worn one
2. The underside tells you first. Most rug damage starts on the face against the floor. Turn a corner over before concluding anything
3. Damage follows the covered area. The part under a sofa or a cabinet, not the part people walk on
4. Fringes and selvedges are worth checking if they are wool. On a cotton foundation the fringe is cotton and is not at risk
5. Silk highlights in a mixed rug are keratin too and are eaten alongside the wool

On a Woven or Tufted Carpet

• Irregular thinning, grazed rather than cut
• Backing showing through in patches rather than evenly
• Ragged boundary rather than a fade
• Often several separate patches near each other
• Fine webbing and a sandy debris in and around the area

On a Wool-Mix Carpet

Common, and the version most often mistaken for wear. Larvae take the wool and leave the synthetic threads, so the area looks sparse and faded rather than eaten through. If a patch looks worn where nothing walks, it is not wear.

Establishing Whether It Is Active

1. Photograph it with something for scale, and date the photograph
2. Mark the boundary — on a rug, lay a line of pins or a thread rather than marking the textile itself
3. Look again at four and eight weeks
4. Fresh webbing, loose debris and live larvae confirm activity on their own
5. Growth past the mark confirms it too

Treatment starts from £220. If a rug of any value is involved, say so on the call — what happens to the room and what happens to the rug are two different questions and they should be answered separately.