The Weeks After a Treatment
Some moths after treatment are normal. Eggs already laid continue to hatch, and adults that were on the wing when the work was done do not vanish. What matters is the direction of travel, not whether you see anything at all.
- Weeks one to two: some adults, possibly more than before as they are disturbed. Normal
- Weeks two to four: numbers falling. Normal
- Weeks four to six: occasional or none. Normal
- After six weeks: steady numbers, rising numbers, fresh webbing or new damage. Not normal — make the call
Count them. A note on a phone: date, room, how many. Three this week and one next week is a treatment working. Three every week for six weeks is not, and the count is what tells you which — memory is unreliable at exactly the point you need it.
Marking the Damage
The single most useful thing you can do, and it costs nothing.
- Find every bare or thinning patch and photograph each one
- Mark the edge of each in pencil on the carpet backing at the very edge, or place a pin at the boundary
- Write the date on the photograph
- Look again at four weeks and at eight
- If a patch has grown past its mark, something is still feeding
This turns an argument about whether it is worse into a measurement, which is the difference between knowing and guessing.
Where the Second Outbreak Usually Shows First
Rarely in the room that was treated most thoroughly. Check these at four and eight weeks.
- Rooms adjacent to the treated one, especially through a shared doorway
- Any room that was not treated because nothing had been seen in it
- Under furniture that was too heavy to move on the day
- Along the carpet edge behind fitted furniture
- The stairs and landing, which connect everything
- Wardrobes and stored textiles, if they were not part of the scope
What You Are Looking For
- Fresh silky webbing, which is bright rather than grey and dusty
- Loose sandy debris that was not there last time
- Live larvae — small, cream, often inside a case the colour of the carpet
- A marked patch that has grown
- Adults appearing in a room that was previously clear
Old webbing and old debris from the original infestation stay in the carpet until it is cleaned. Finding them is not evidence of anything; finding fresh ones is.
When to Call Rather Than Wait
- Numbers not falling by week four
- Any marked patch that has grown
- Fresh webbing or live larvae at any point after treatment
- Moths in a room that was clear before
- Anything at all if this is already the second or third round
Treatment starts from £220. If you have a count and a set of dated photographs, bring them to the call — on a recurring case that record is worth more than any description.
Carpet moths in Woodley? Pest Services Berkshire treats carpet moths from £220. Carpet Moth Control in Woodley has the full detail, or call 0118 336 1366.