Is something eating at your oriental rug?

Is Something Eating At Your Oriental Rug?

Oriental rugs are not precious china. They are not meant to be put away and only taken out for Christmas Dinner. They are meant to be used. In fact, new rugs are often “aged” before sale. They are thrown in the street where trucks and carts drive and camels walk over them. They are TOUGH!

But, that doesn’t mean that they are invincible. In fact, tiny little things like moths and beetles can destroy an oriental rug in short order. These little buggers (excuse the pun) can do a number on an oriental rug, literally eating it right out from under your feet.

So, how do you recognize the danger and prevent it before the damage is too great?

Carpet Moths

For the amount of damage these critters do, you would think they are HUGE, but they are not. These aren’t lunar moths. In fact, these moths are tiny. Tiny but vicious where your rug is concerned. They will eat rugs in both their larval and adult stages, but they do the most damage during the larval stage.

During this stage, they look like tiny maggots that love wool. They will eat tracks through your rugs in a matter of weeks, causing irreparable damage. If your rug has a wool foundation, they will eat all the way to the floor. In a matter of weeks, your rug can be a crumbling mess because of these tiny bugs.

So, how do you prevent carpet moths from infesting your rugs?

Fortunately, the solution is pretty simple: Use Your Rugs.

That’s right. Simply by using your rugs (walking on them, moving the furniture, vacuuming etc.). You make rugs unappealing to moths. They like quiet, dark places. So, don’t allow your rug to become a home. Even rugs hanging on walls should be touched and disturbed regularly. Just reach out and touch the rug as you walk by.

Isn’t it great that the preventative is so simple?

However, if you do discover moth damage, don’t despair. It can be repaired at Nilipour Oriental Rugs. AND, Nilipour Oriental Rugs can thoroughly clean your rug and then mothproof it to help as a preventative!

Carpet Beetles

While not a concern on the West Coast, carpet beetles are a huge concern on the East Coast. Unlike moths, beetles don’t just eat a track through the carpet. They eat the WHOLE rug down to the floor. You can identify these things quickly. They are about a quarter of an inch long, have an oval shape and colored marks on their back…and they’re eating your rug. They typically come into your home on fresh cut flowers, they love pollen and nectar even more than they love rugs.

Preventing a carpet beetle invasion isn’t as simple as stopping carpet moths. Prevent carpet beetles requires fastidious cleaning. If you are invaded, you can freeze the beetle larva out (though this is particularly difficult) or use a spray to kill them (Nilipour can help you!).

Carpet moths and carpet beetles are two big time pests that can attack your rug, but they can be stopped in their tracks before they make your oriental rug a buffet.