Moths in my house, I have only seen a few but have had..?

Question

what I thought was maggots in my bathroom just a few feet from the kitchen trash but not in them when I explained them to the exterminator coming on friday he said they were not fly larvae but moth and since I have not seen them in my kitchen what kind of moth can they be where should I check for more what other things should I look for. If I keep my flour frozen what other things could be attracting them if it is clothing moths can I locate them I have not seen any upstairs and there is no carpet downstairs or much clothing. I have only seen them in my downstairs mostly in the bathroom right next to the kitchen I don't usually use the bathroom my husband showers in there. I just can't figure out what is going I clean and clean and clean and they keep coming back. I wake have woken up to them 3 times in the last two months. Once there was only four or five but today it was way more. I have seen a few medium sized moths in the house but don't know what color they were as the lights were off just the tv on. I want to get a good cleaning in tonight to get rid of anything that might be drawing them in even if I have to throw away food and clothing I just don't care they have to GO!!!!

Answer 1

Hi, we once had a really bad moth infestation, we had clothes moths, an ex-boyfriend of mine had them in his house, they were everywhere, and they are really hard to get rid of once you have an infestation, the life cycle from larvae, pupae etc is hard to break.  Apparently, the larvae can be found in seams of clothes etc and they are attracted to the smell of stale sweat and things like stale alcohol.  Are they little tiny moths? They could be food moths, they tend to be found around dried food such as pasta, flour etc, anyway... we had to get the professionals in to get rid of our infestation, but to be honest, it didn't eradicate them...... i dumped him anyway cos he was manky lol!!!   Just check in seams of clothes, and look for the pupae or larvae, the larvae is tiny, like a cream coloured carrot shaped thing, you may find them nesting in the seams of sofas etc, or in the crevices between carpet and skirting boards. good luck x

Answer 2

Wool is what is attracting them, sweaters, scarfs, suits, any garment with a wool content as well as carpet, area rugs, and upholstery with wool fiber.  They eat the fibers and you will see little holes develop.  You cannot clean them away but you can use either mothballs or cedar chips, blocks or lining in your closets which smell better than mothballs to detract and eliminate them.  You can purchase dog bedding that has cedar shavings  inside to eradicate any fears of them munching on their hair, but I have never heard of that before.

Answer 3

Both food and clothes moths will be a small moth, for the food type moths, much more common than the clothes moths, any thing that is cereal based such as pet foods can be a source along with old potpourri and dried floral arrangements. Usually something that has been around for a long time.   For clothes moths look for wool..fur...feather...silk.  Antique furniture can have animal hair padding.

In 20 years of pest control with countless calls on moths in home or damage to clothing only around 15 times have they turned out to be clothes moths. Another possibility, but I usually see this more in the Fall is beetle larvae coming out of collected acorns and other nuts.