The moth scuttles about, running away when disturbed rather than flying. Natural textiles and fabric, they sometimes enter buildings via open windows and doors and can originate from birds nests. They are sometimes imported in tapestries, fabrics and soft furnishings and furniture.

Size 1-12mm long usually 5-7mm and the adult moth is golden brown in colour.

The larvae are cream white in colour with a golden – brown head and its body is sparsely bristled.

It lives in an open ended silken tune where it feeds all the time. Sometimes sheets of silk accompany tunnels. It can reach 12mm in length. Folds and dark places are preferred; sometimes the larva will leave the tube to eek a better food source. Fibres are destroyed when the larva takes several bites from the stump
moving onto the next stump and it destroys more than it eats.

It can diapause if food is scarce. Development can be from 35 days to 2.5 years. The excreta or frass is sometimes mistaken for eggs. Areas stained with urine are favoured more than clean fabrics.

Vacuum wool carpets often enough to prevent the accumulation of hair, lint and other food materials.

Remember to vacuum under seldom-moved furniture and along floorboards. Upholstered furniture, air ducts and other lint-accumulating sites also need this cleaning.

Spray infested carpet or upholstered furniture with a light mist, to the point of dampness, or dust with an insecticide. Do not spray clothing, just the cracks and crevices of the clothing storage area.

When treating rugs that are not fastened to the floor, treat both top and bottom surfaces. These pests like undisturbed locations, so treat all carpet under furniture and the under side of upholstered chairs and couches.