Why Are Small Moths Flying Near the Floor in My Hungerford Home?

First, Is It the Right Moth?

• Carpet and clothes moths avoid light, stay low, and run or flutter rather than fly properly
• Pantry moths are found near kitchen cupboards and dried goods and will fly to a light
• Outdoor species come to a lit window at night and tend to be larger

If it goes to a lamp, it is not this.

If You Are Viewing

Say nothing clever and look at four things. It takes two minutes and nobody will think it odd — people look at floors.

1. The carpet edge against the skirting, in any room, especially behind a door or in a corner
2. Under or behind the largest piece of furniture you can see past, without moving anything
3. The stairs, at the outer ends of the treads where nobody walks
4. Any rug, at its edge — and whether it is positioned oddly

What Moths at a Viewing Actually Mean

• Not that the house is dirty. They need stillness, not dirt
• Not a deal-breaker. This is a treatable problem with a known cost, unlike most things found at a viewing
• That it has been going a while. An adult on the wing today was an egg months ago, so it predates the marketing
• That the seller may genuinely not know. Damage lives under furniture, and a long-settled household rarely moves any

If You Have Just Moved In

1. Look under everything now, while the rooms are still relatively empty — this is the best access you will have for years
2. Check the carpet edges in every room before furniture goes against the walls
3. Look at the loft, the garage and any cupboard left with contents in it
4. Check anything the previous owner left behind, especially textiles
5. Photograph what you find, dated
6. Deal with it before you unpack rugs and soft furnishings into the affected rooms

A house between the old owner's furniture and yours is the most inspectable it will ever be. It is a short window and it is worth using.

Who To Ask, and What We Cannot Answer

We are pest controllers. We can tell you what is there, how far it has gone and what treatment costs. We cannot advise you on your legal position, what a survey should have covered, or what to do about a purchase — those are questions for your surveyor and your solicitor, and it is worth asking them rather than us.

Treatment starts from £220. If you are mid-purchase, say so — knowing the scope and the figure before you exchange is more useful than knowing it afterwards.