Moths don't eat wool! Sounds incredible but is true. Only the larval form of the moths are wool eaters. The life cycle of the common clothes moth has been unmodified for thousands of years and has been a pest of mankind since the discovery of wool as a clothing material. Yet little has been done to deter moths from consuming our wool creations. Until now!

The life cycle of the clothes moth begins as an adult female moth wings about looking for a suitable place to lay her eggs. The location is critical because when her eggs hatch the larvae need an immediate food source to survive. The location needs also to be secretive so the eggs and larvae can be undisturbed. Finally, the location must be away from sunlight since the larvae can die from sunlight radiation. As the eggs hatch the larval worm burrows deep down in the fibers to escape any light source and begins to consume wool to gain strength. The first few hours of life is crucial to survival because if the food source is not immediately available the larvae will not have the strength needed to spin its cocoon.

The larvae spins its cocoon to escape totally from sunlight and can now travel about in search of richer food areas on the garment. This stage of the life cycle is the most destructive to the fabric as wool is now consumed in wider areas making scattered holes throughout the valuable garment. Curiously, the cocoon usually has remnants of the specific color of the consumed wool. Therefore if you find cocoons their color may hint as to the location of their damage.

Sometime after the larvae has consumed enough wool it begins the mutation from larvae to pupae. The pupae is a stage of the life cycle in which no wool is consumed and the creature is developing into an adult moth. Occasionally, the larvae will climb to a location on the surface of the wool or on the bottom surfaces of overhanging structures such as furniture, drawers, or shelves. It does this in order to make emergence from the cocoon easier with gravity and it accommodates the flying instinct for its adult form to escape. The adult moths now wing about in search of a mate to lay eggs on unprotected wool for another generation to begin the life cycle all over again. It is conservatively estimated that only one female moth laying eggs is responsible for 20 million eggs to be laid by successive generations in only one years time!! Now you can see why moths can ruin wool rugs, clothes, and upholstery so very quickly.

Benefits of Moth Guarding Your Valuable Rugs & Upholstery:

Peace of mind from moth infestations in valuable oriental carpets.
Inexpensive insurance against moths.
Causes adult moths to search elsewhere for food.

Source: mothguard.com.