In this short video, we’ll answer the question, how can you protect your rugs from moths and bugs?
Protecting your rugs from destructive pests is actually pretty easy if you remember a few key points.
The first thing you want to do is don’t give the bugs a free place to live in your home.
Bugs like dark, undisturbed places. These are places where they can grow and live their lives without being disturbed. And it’s kind of hard to imagine a more perfect place for a bug than underneath a rug, especially when that rug is underneath furniture.
Here are three tips that will help make bugs move out of your rugs.
First of all, vacuum your rugs regularly, especially under furniture and on the backside. This disturbs these areas and makes it far less likely for a bug infestation to get started.
Be sure to regularly flip the corners back and look for the telltale signs that bugs leave behind.
If you can, put your rug out in the sunlight for a few hours several times a year. Bugs that eat rugs don’t like direct sunlight. This may not be possible for larger rugs, and if it’s not, regular washing can help eliminate pests from your rug.
Finally, use a good quality pad under your rug. This eliminates air pockets and places where bugs can live and breed.
The second key point is, remove the bugs from the source.
Bugs like rugs because they eat them, so a wool rug is a giant meal for certain bugs. When they see that much food in one place, they multiply, and before you know it, you’ve got a big problem.
Thankfully, we have a moth repellent solution that makes your rug taste bad to the bugs. If your rug isn’t a food source, the bugs will move on and leave your rug alone.
If you’re storing the rug for any length of time, we strongly recommend washing and treating the rug prior to storage. Remember, bugs don’t like to be disturbed, so a rug that is in storage is an ideal target for them.
As you can see, this rug was completely ruined and it only took a few months. So treating a stored rug is very important.
Finally, you want to remove as many of the eggs from your rug as you can.
Bugs can lay eggs in your rug and they can lie dormant for years. Eggs can also be transferred to your rugs from other rugs and textiles. When conditions are right, these eggs hatch and you’ve got a problem.
These eggs are microscopic and although vacuuming helps a lot, there’s no way it can remove all of the eggs, especially from the inner foundation of the rug.
Nothing removes the eggs from the inner parts of a rug like immersion washing, which is another reason we recommend that you have your rugs washed every one to three years.
Even after washing, if your rug sits undisturbed for long enough, it’s very possible that you’ll have a problem.
Bugs can find their way into your house without you knowing about it, and it doesn’t take long for an infestation to begin.
The best thing you can do is to know what to look for and have your rugs vacuumed and washed regularly.
If you have any questions about your rugs, or if you think you might have a problem with bugs in your rugs, just give us a call and we’ll be happy to help you out.
