Moths and bugs can damage your rugs by eating the wool fibers.
Good-quality rugs can last for hundreds of years, but moths and other pests can literally eat holes in your rugs very quickly and create massive damage, and sometimes this damage can’t be repaired.
Below are warning signs you can look for to help you protect your rugs from being eaten by bugs. If you spot either of these signs, you’ve got a problem and need to call us to schedule your rugs for a thorough washing right away.
If you have an active infestation, where bugs are literally crawling all over your rugs, call your pest control specialist to inspect the rest of your home. We can kill these bugs and add a repellant to prevent them from eating your rugs, but you should probably have the pest control company to check the rest of your home.
Moth and Bug Damage Warning Signs:
1. Look on the underside of your rug
Moth and bug damage warning signs are easy to find if you know where to look. Look on the underside of the rug for signs of moth larvae. They look like sticky lint or spider webs on the backside of the rug.
2. Look for bare spots or little divots on your rug
Look for areas where the wool pile has been eaten away leaving bare spots or little divots in the wool, and these can be small.

Cotton Foundation Rugs
If your rug has a cotton foundation, bug will eat the wool pile and will leave the cottone foundation alone. Leaving bright white areas visible in your rug.

Wool Foundation Rugs
If your rug is all wool the bugs will eat holes all the way throught the rug.

If you have any questions about your rugs or if you think you might have a problem with bugs in your rugs just give us a call or schedule a pick-up and we’ll be happy to help you out.
This artilce was written in collaboration with Lisa Wagner “The Rug Chick” and Mark Kennedy