What Types Of Moths Eat Clothes

The tineola bisselliella or clothes moths and the tinea pellionella or casemaking clothes moth are two such species.

What types of moths eat clothes. It is important to distinguish between clothes moths and pantry moths they are. There are plenty of things in our homes for clothes moth larvae to feast on. There are only two types of moth larvae that have the ability to digest the fibers that clothing is made from. Each is less than an inch in size.

Brown house moths and white shouldered moths are less common but potentially equally damaging. The specific name is commonly misspelled biselliella for example by g. Step 1 identify the clothes moth. They then begin to eat the fibres in the material which causes holes in clothes or loss of pile in patches on carpets.

Moths themselves do not eat clothing. Unlike some other types of moths clothes moths are seldom seen because they avoid light. They prefer dark undisturbed areas such as closets basements and attics. Herrich schaeffer when he established tineola.

Adult moths lack the mouthparts needed to eat your clothing lint. Types of moths that eat clothes no moth whether they are in their adult or larval stage will eat cotton. When those eggs hatch the larvae or caterpillars of the moths devour clothing. According to blake newton an extension entomologist at the university of kentucky moths lay eggs on fabrics caterpillars hatch from those eggs and then the caterpillars munch on the clothing.

There are two types of moths that typically invade our closets the webbing clothes moth tineola bisselliella and the casemaking clothes moth tinea pellionella. The webbing clothes moth is uniform in color while the casemaking clothes moth has dark specks on its wings. Damage to woolens is actually done by the larvae of two types of insects. Instead it is the voracious appetite of the moth larvae doing the feeding.

Types of clothes eating moths. Whats more the adult moths wont do any harm. Moths are destructive no doubt but they dont actually eat your clothestheir babies do. Tineola bisselliella known as the common clothes moth webbing clothes moth or simply clothing moth is a species of fungus moth family tineidae subfamily tineinaeit is the type species of its genus tineola and was first described by arvid david hummel in 1823.

However it is widely understood that most of them will lay their eggs on a variety of different types of fabrics. Clothes moths dont like light and are so secretive that youll probably never see them. Clothes moths and carpet beetles the latter being more prevalent than moths in most areas of the country. The webbing clothes moth is prolific across the us and is the most likely clothes moth you will find followed by the case bearing clothes moth which will attack carpets and clothes.