Field plate · Tineola / Tinea spp.
Clothes moth — webbing & case-bearing
Small, pale, light-shy moths whose larvae eat wool, fur, and feather. Closets and stored winter clothes are the habitat — and Erie winters mean a lot of stored wool.
Plate 19 of 28. Drawn in profile to the identification marks named below; the scale rule is a drawing convention — sizes are given in the text.
Identification marks
Adults only 6–8 mm, buff or golden, narrow fringed wings, and they flutter weakly and run from light rather than toward it. Damage is the field sign: irregular holes in wool, grazing on fur, and silk webbing or small portable cases on the garment.
Look-alikes it is confused with
Indianmeal moths (two-toned wings, pantry), carpet beetles (larvae with striped hairs do similar damage and are commoner — check window sills for the small, patterned adult beetles), and ordinary wear.
Where it hides in a house
Undisturbed stored textiles: closet floors, cedar chests that no longer repel anything, wool rugs' undersides, piano felts, and the winter coats put away in spring — ideally, for the moth, with food stains on them.
Health & property risk, stated plainly
Property damage to natural fibers only. Synthetics and clean cotton are not food; soiled wool, fur, feathers, and blends with natural fiber are.
What actually works
Launder or dry-clean before storage, vacuum closet floors and shelf edges, store in sealed hard containers, and inspect twice a year. Freezing small items at deep-freeze temperatures for several days kills all stages — useful for thrifted wool before it joins the closet.
What doesn't
Mothballs scattered in an open closet: the vapour only works at concentration inside a sealed space, the label restricts their use, and the smell outlasts the protection. Cedar alone, once its oils fade, is furniture, not treatment.
When to call a licensed pro
Call a pro for infested pianos, large rugs, taxidermy, or a wardrobe-wide infestation where garments are valuable and the source is in the structure.