Webbing Clothes Moth
Tineola bisselliella
The most common clothes and carpet moth in homes worldwide, including Australia. Its larvae eat wool, silk and fur under patches of silk webbing.
- Size
- 6–8 mm
- Colour
- Golden-buff, no spots
- Sign
- Silk webbing on fabric
- Monitor with
- Pheromone traps
Questions about the Webbing Clothes Moth
How to identify a Webbing Clothes Moth
Identification
- Adult about 6–8 mm long, uniformly golden-buff with no spots, and a tuft of reddish-gold hair on the head.
- Wings are fringed with fine hairs and held flat along the body at rest.
- Larvae are creamy-white caterpillars up to about 10 mm with a brown head, feeding under silk webbing or in silk tunnels.
Where it lives
- Wool carpets and rugs, especially under furniture and along edges.
- Wardrobes, drawers and stored woollens, furs and felt.
- Lint, hair and fluff in undisturbed corners.
Behaviour
- Adults avoid light and scuttle into folds and corners rather than fly to lamps.
- Larvae spin webbing and tunnels as they feed and leave fine droppings coloured like the fibre.
Why it matters
It causes most of the moth damage to clothes and carpets in Australian homes. Pheromone traps catch males of this species, which makes them a useful early warning. See how to get rid of carpet moths.
Commonly confused with
Case-bearing Clothes Moth
Tinea pellionella
A clothes moth whose larvae live inside a portable silk case made from the fibres they eat, so the case is often the same colour as the damaged fabric.
Indian Meal Moth
Plodia interpunctella
The most common pantry moth in Australian homes. Its caterpillars spin silk webbing through cereals, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate and pet food.
Carpet moth guides
How to Pest-Proof Your Home
A practical, room-by-room approach to reducing pests without relying on chemicals: remove what attracts them, close the ways in, and make your property less comfortable for them.
GuidePest Prevention Checklist
A printable seasonal checklist of simple, low-cost tasks that reduce pests around Australian homes, with the reason behind each step and extra lists for renters, apartment residents, pet owners and Queenslander owners.
Carpet Moths by location
More about carpet moths
Carpet Moths
Small, pale moths whose caterpillars eat wool, silk, fur and feathers. They chew holes in carpets, rugs, clothes and blankets, usually in dark, undisturbed places such as under furniture and inside wardrobes.
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Sources & further reading
- Australian Museum — insects and spiders — Australian Museum
- CSIRO — insect and pest research — CSIRO
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