How to Prevent Carpet Moths Returning After Treatment in Twyford

First, the Eight Weeks After Treatment

1. Some moths for two to three weeks is normal — remaining eggs hatching
2. Keep a weekly count. Date, room, number
3. Falling by week four is what you want; steady or rising is not
4. Mark the edge of any damaged patch and photograph it with the date
5. Do not vacuum until the specified period has passed, then vacuum normally including edges
6. Try not to be away for the whole of the first month — the monitoring is the part that tells you whether it worked, and it needs somebody there

The Week Before You Go

1. Vacuum properly, edges included, and empty the vacuum outside
2. Put dirty laundry through rather than leaving a full basket for a fortnight
3. Do not leave wool clothing out on a chair or a floor
4. Close wardrobe doors and, if anything wool is stored loose, seal it
5. Pull the airing cupboard contents forward and look
6. Set the heating low rather than warm — a warm empty house is better for them than a cool one

The First Day Back

1. Open the windows before you do anything else
2. Look before you vacuum — where the moths are tells you where to concentrate
3. Vacuum thoroughly, edges included, and empty outside
4. Wash the bedding that has been sitting
5. Check the monitoring traps if you have them, and note the counts
6. Note whether it is worse than last time you came back — that comparison is the most useful data a household like this can gather

Traps Do the Watching While You Are Out

Worth more here than in most households, because they are the only thing observing the house while nobody is in it.

• One per affected room, at floor level, in a corner, out of draughts and sunlight
• Numbered, with the date written on the card
• Read them the day you get back, before you clean
• Compare like with like — this September against last September, not against February
• Replace when dusty or the bait is spent, usually eight to twelve weeks

What Actually Brings It Back

1. A room that was not treated because nothing had been seen in it
2. Stored textiles out of scope — loft, garage, airing cupboard
3. Something new brought in, including things brought back from a trip
4. Old felt underlay left down beneath a treated carpet
5. Untreated items put back into a treated room

Most of those are scope questions rather than treatment failures, which is why it is worth knowing what was in the job.

Treatment starts from £220. If the house is regularly empty, say so — it changes when the visit should be, not just what it covers.