Moth Prevention 101: Your Complete Guide to Protecting Your Textiles
April 2nd , 2026
If you own beautiful area rugs, wool clothing, or antique textiles, clothes moths are one of the most frustrating pests you can encounter. As Long Island’s premier third-generation cleaning experts since 1978, Around The Clock Rug Washing & Specialty Cleaning has helped countless homeowners save their treasured fabrics from moth damage.
How Do I Prevent Moths in My Home and Closet?
While it is nearly impossible to completely prevent moths from ever entering your home, following a few general rules will drastically reduce your risk of an infestation. Moths are attracted to keratin, a protein found in natural animal fibers like wool, silk, fur, and feathers.
To keep your closets and living spaces safe, follow these best practices:
- Buy new natural fiber clothing and textiles strictly from reputable dealers who actively inspect their products before sale.
- Bring any used, vintage, or antique textiles directly to a professional before putting them in your house. If you are buying used area rugs, always bring them to a reputable cleaning company like ATC Rug Washing on Long Island. We thoroughly inspect, deep clean, and treat these pieces with a specialized moth preventative spray to ensure you aren’t bringing unwanted guests into your home.
- Vacuum your home regularly, paying special attention to dark, undisturbed areas under heavy furniture and along baseboards where moths love to hide.
Why Do I Have Moths?
When homeowners discover holes in their favorite wool sweaters or area rugs, the immediate question is always about how the pests got inside. Moths typically enter your home in one of two ways:
The first pathway is through purchasing used, old, or antique textiles and failing to have them properly cleaned or treated before bringing them indoors. A single contaminated rug or coat can quickly infest an entire closet.
The second, and unfortunately more common, way an infestation occurs is shortly after treatment for a rodent problem. When exterminators use bait stations to kill mice and other rodents, the pests often die hidden inside your walls. Moths will initially enter your walls to feed on the keratin in the hair of the dead rodents. Once that food source is depleted, they seamlessly transition into your living space to feed on your rugs and clothing.
Natural vs Chemical Products
When it comes to treating your home, you will find countless options for both natural and chemical remedies on the market. Natural options like cedar blocks and lavender sachets can act as mild deterrents, but they are generally ineffective against an active, severe infestation. Chemical mothballs and sprays can be harsh and potentially dangerous if used incorrectly around pets and children.
Because the stakes are so high for your valuable textiles, speaking to a professional who is educated on moth behavior and textile care is always the best course of action. An expert can assess the situation and recommend the safest, most effective route for your specific home environment.
How Often Should You Treat for Moths?
Treatment plans vary widely based on the severity of the infestation. Once you know you have moths, the ATC Rug Washing process is incredibly straightforward and designed to eradicate the problem completely.
First, we identify exactly where the moths are nesting in your home. We then partner with a highly trusted, licensed pest control company to treat the structural environment of your entire house.
While the exterminators handle the house, we handle the textiles. Our team will carefully remove all area rugs from your home to bring them back to our state-of-the-art washing facility. We meticulously inspect them, wash them, and treat them with our specialized, non-toxic moth preventative solution. Additionally, we will treat and clean all textiles, including upholstery and drapery, in every room where we find traces of moth activity.
After the initial treatment, we follow a strict reinspection protocol. We monitor your home and textiles closely and will apply additional treatments if necessary to ensure your investment remains fully protected.
