Why Carpet Moths Keep Appearing in Reading Homes

Where They Come From, In a Town Like This

They are brought in far more often than they arrive on their own. An adult moth flying through an open window is the route people assume and the least likely one.

• Belongings from a previous address, particularly rugs, bedding and boxed clothing
• Items out of storage, which have been dark and undisturbed for months
• Second-hand furniture — a chair, a sofa, a rug from a marketplace listing
• Items left behind by previous occupants, which in a furnished let can be years old
• The landlord's own furniture, moved between properties
• Shared or communal areas in a converted house

The Void Period Is the Multiplier

An empty property between tenancies is quiet, frequently unheated and never vacuumed. That is several undisturbed weeks in precisely the conditions larvae need, and it happens on a schedule.

It is also the only point at which the property can be treated properly, with rooms empty and every carpet edge reachable. The same window is both the risk and the opportunity, which is why treating between tenancies is by a distance the most economical thing a landlord can do about this.

Why It Looks Like a Return When It Is a New Arrival

Worth separating, because the response is different.

• A genuine return means larvae survived a treatment, or a room was never treated. It follows on from the last outbreak, usually within a couple of months, in the same or an adjacent room
• A fresh introduction follows something arriving in the property. The timing is the clue — a gap of several clear months, then a new outbreak shortly after a move-in or a delivery

If a property has been treated, was clear for six months, and has moths again a month after new tenants arrived, that is almost certainly something that came through the door rather than a treatment failure.

Furnished Lets and Inherited Furniture

Furniture that stays with a property between tenancies is the thing most likely to carry a problem across a handover. It is rarely moved, rarely inspected, and by definition it has been there longer than anyone living with it.

Upholstered items deserve particular attention: the underside, the hessian and webbing, and the space beneath where they stand. Turning a sofa over between tenancies is ten minutes and it is the single most useful inspection in a furnished let.

Breaking the Cycle

1. Treat between tenancies rather than during one, while rooms are empty
2. Check and photograph under all supplied furniture at every changeover
3. Turn upholstered items over and look at the underside
4. Ask incoming tenants not to bring rugs or second-hand upholstery straight into a carpeted room without checking them
5. Vacuum properly at changeover, including edges, and empty the vacuum outside
6. Deal with communal areas in a conversion, not just the individual units

Treatment starts from £220. If a property has had this more than once, say so when you call — a recurring problem is a different conversation from a first one.