[M.Acorn]

Had a call from a prior cuty today,she was one of my first paying cleans nearly 6 yrs ago now !!
Called today wanting a carpet cleaning,she has found some sort of insect cases,said about 1cm long,round type things,brownish ,do i know what they are ?
Nope not a clue,possibly carpet moths ?
Anyone else have any idea,not the best description in the world,but that`s all the info she gave me

[John Kelly]

Carpet moths.These are the cases left after the grubs pupate and turn into adult moths.

[Michael Smallwood]

If they were sticking straight upwards then they could be unhatched larve. Also if she finds paper like objects about the sie of a grain of rice, they could be the husks once the larve have hatched. The next sign would be tracks in the carpet that look like a thread has pulled. These would be in dark areas such as under furniture.

Good hunting.

Mike

[M.Acorn]

Oh that`s good,i told her that`s what they might be,i assume they have gone then,would there be any point treating the carpet with the Permethryn spray stuff ?

[Michael Smallwood]

I don't know how long they hang around in the carpet. A treatment could put her mind at rest, though care would be needed as permethrin is a poison.

Mike

[M.Acorn]

permethrin is a poison.

Really, i said it`s safe once it dries,i always manage to get it on myself,i get the powder that you mix up with water

[Michael Smallwood]

I use the Stapro one. The powder is the active part and is only put in water to help spray it.

It should not be removed for 14 days to allow any unhatched eggs to hatch. The warnings are for cats, dogs and children who may still be crawling. There is still risk from hand to mouth contact.

http://www.bio-productions.com/bio/msd_sheets/i.html

I usually leave a saftey data sheet with the costomer and get them to sign for it, or mention it on the bill. Maybe over the top but better safe than sorry.

Mike

[John Kelly]

No they won't have gone. The moths will have laid eggs which hatched into grubs which will now be munching through the carpet pile. They will stay there as there are obviously perfect conditions for them and a ready food source. Permethryn is discontinued.

[M.Acorn]

Oh right,i got this from John kelly last year i think,best get something else then

[John Kelly]

There is a replacement product available.

[markpowell]

Ive got some of the old stuff Mark surplus to requirments, e-mail me your address i will send 1st class in the morning.
Pethermine based
Mark

[The Great One]

Hi

Yep, sounds like carpet moth and NO they won't just go away.

They are ravenous and will eat her carpet alive, if you don't find the nest soon they will turn her carpet to dust!.

Ask to go in, lift up all the beds, sofa's chairs and sideboards, it will be in there somewhere, they like dark places where humans aren't.

Once you find the nest spray it and treat it, moths also migrate to other parts of the house so a thorogh check is required, stress to her that if she doesn't get it treated soonest she WILL have to replace all the carpet in the house.

Regards

Martin

[M.Acorn]

Sounds serious,they have loads and loads of furniture,think i might be best off telling her that it`s a job for pro pest control,she has dogs,and grand kids,i don`t want responsibility for making someone ill,her husband also gets 4 home visits a day as he is very ill.

[Amethyst]

Martin is on the ball - these little b*****s will be where it is dark and undisturbed. So look everywhere where you wouldn't normally look. I would suggest that just spraying is not enough - pull the carpet off of the grippers around the edges of the room and you will see them spring out from where the carpet goes down over the gripper to the skirting ie where the spray can't reach! Vac out any larvae, cases etc, spray the area, spray the exposed edge of the carpet, refit and vac thoroughly (another spray won't hurt). I do a lot of these and this seems to be a good method but DON'T guarantee you've cured the problem because a moth could easily fly in through the window and start the whole cycle again!

Good luck!

[M.Acorn]

The room i will be cleaning is empty,but adjacent rooms are full to the brim with furniture ! Prob hiding all sots inside it

[peter maybury]

There are several insects that this could be, moths being just one of them. There are others - amongst the most common are carpet and fir beetle. Of the 5,000 plus pest species that exist in the u.k. carpet moths do no exist but there are species that will lay their eggs in wool carpet.
The adult insects lay their eggs in a food source for the larvae, the wool carpet, so once the larvae emerge they crawl through, eating away, before spinning a cocoon to emerge as adults and take off. Damage is in corners of room around edges and under furniture. When the damage is noticed it is normally after the larvae have  developed so treating with some thing like permethrin which only has an active period of 30 days is just ripping your customers off as it will not serve any purpose. There are products that remain active for a much longer period (up to 12 months but these products are controlled and regulated.
These pests will often return to the same site in the next season and it is then that the insecticide needs to be active to break the chain.
Even with permethrin,  a product that is widely available, once you start charging for this type of work you need to comply with the legislation that covers how these products are used, applied, stored and who you expose to them.

It may be a complete surprise but  these products are dangerous things and need to be treated with respect. You need to also control your own exposure to these product as they are harmful to you. Pest control is not a closed shop and anyone  can join but training is needed  and a carpet cleaning website is not the place to be discussing this. Training is available from www.bpca.org.uk/ or the best is probably http://www.rsph.org.uk/. I have read a lot of naive, irresponsible and very stupid things said on previous posts regarding fleas and the like and cringe when I read them. If you would like to be educated in pest control then go to the people who are qualified to teach you.  You are discussing using hazardous chemicals in front of people who do not even understand the fundamentals of their own industry.  I have no teaching qualifications myself so do not take it upon myself to instruct you.

[M.Acorn]

Sounds serious,they have loads and loads of furniture,think i might be best off telling her that it`s a job for pro pest control

Much appreciated Peter,like i said i will be passing this on to an expert,did notice bare patches in here carpet 6 years ago,i should imagine when i clean it there will be a lot more evidence of them.


What is the replacement product ? I do get asked to flea treat on the odd occasion,just for letting agy,as people have had pets.
Want something that is not going to be harmful ,i do wear breathing mask,and gloves.
Course is quite deer !