Moths eat wool rugs from the back, under the sofa, where you never look. We treat the rug, wash out the larvae and casings, and rebuild the eaten areas by hand at our Long Island plant. Free pickup and delivery across Nassau and Suffolk.
Clothes moths do not eat the rug you walk on. They eat the rug under the piano, under the bed, the rolled rug in the closet, and the edge of the living-room rug that sits under the sofa in the dark. The adult moth is small and tan and you rarely see it. What you see, if you turn the rug over, is sand-like grit that is actually larval casings, loose pile that comes away in your fingers, bald patches where the wool is gone down to the cotton foundation, and sometimes the cream-colored larvae themselves.
If the back of the rug has a patch that looks like the pattern was erased, that is moth. If the pile sheds in one area and nowhere else, that is moth. Wool rugs that have been stored, inherited, or left under furniture for years are the usual victims, and the damage is often found when the rug is finally moved for cleaning.
Moths are the reason we tell customers never to roll a rug and put it away dirty. Food soil, pet spots and skin oils in the wool are what the larvae feed on first. A plant wash before storage is the single best protection.
The rug is treated at the plant to kill larvae and eggs through the full thickness of the pile and foundation, then dusted to remove the dead larvae, casings and loose fibers. This happens before the wash so nothing is washed back into the rug.
A full immersion wash flushes the foundation and removes the soil the moths were feeding on. A rug that has been treated and washed is no longer a food source, and the smell that often comes with moth damage goes with it.
Eaten areas are rebuilt by hand: the cotton foundation is checked and repaired if the larvae reached it, then new wool matched to the rug is knotted in and sheared level with the surrounding pile. Large areas are a reweaving job; small patches are reknotted.
Before delivery the rug can be treated with a moth repellent that does not change the feel or color of the wool. We also tell you where the rug should and should not live, because a rug that goes back under the same sofa in the same dark corner will meet the same moths.
Clothes moths like warmth, darkness, stillness and a food supply, and a Long Island house gives them all four. Rugs under heavy furniture in a heated house are warm and dark all winter. Rugs rolled in a closet or a basement after a move or a renovation are still for years. And the food is not really the wool itself; it is the skin oils, food spills, pet accidents and dust that have soaked into the wool over time. A rug that is washed regularly is a poor meal. A rug that was vacuumed on top for a decade and never washed is a feast.
This is why moth damage so often turns up at the same time as a big life event: a house being sold in Garden City, a parent's rugs being brought home from Great Neck, a basement being cleared in Massapequa. The rug comes out from under the furniture or out of the closet, and the damage has been there for years. If you are moving, selling, or clearing a house, have the rugs looked at before they are rolled.
The price of a moth repair is almost entirely the size of the eaten area, because the rebuilding is done by hand knot by knot. A patch found this month is a small job. The same patch a year from now, after the larvae have had four more generations, can be most of a rug. The treatment and wash are priced like any plant wash; the rebuilding is quoted by area at pickup, in writing, before the rug leaves your house. Pickup and delivery are free.
If you find moths in one rug, assume they are in the room. Vacuum under every piece of furniture, check other wool rugs and wool clothing, and have any rug that has been under furniture or in storage washed. Our technician can look at the other rugs in the house at the same pickup.
Moth damage on a valuable rug is also the moment to check the fringe and edges, which are usually worn on a rug that has been neglected long enough to get moths. Fringe repair and binding are done at the same bench, on the same ticket.
Moth jobs are done entirely at the plant; pickup and delivery are free in every town, and we can inspect the other rugs in the house on the same visit.
Our rug trucks are in Nassau every week: Garden City, Great Neck, Manhasset, Port Washington, Roslyn, Glen Cove, Locust Valley, Syosset, Jericho, Woodbury, Massapequa, Merrick, Rockville Centre, Long Beach, Hewlett, Valley Stream.
And across Suffolk, from the South Shore to the East End: Huntington, Dix Hills, Melville, Smithtown, Commack, Babylon, Bay Shore, Islip, Brentwood, Deer Park, Lindenhurst, Hampton Bays, Kings Park, Brookhaven.
You're not just hiring a cleaning company. You're letting someone into your home to work on furniture you spent real money on. That means trust matters more than anything else. We built Green Choice Carpet Cleaning Long Island on one simple promise — show up, do the job right, and leave your home better than we found it. No chemicals. No shortcuts. No surprises on the bill. Our team is trained, local, and accountable. Every job we do in Long Island is a job we stand behind. Call us at +1 (516) 894-2901 and let's get your rugs looking the way it should.
In most cases, yes. The larvae are killed and washed out, and the eaten pile is rebuilt by hand with matching wool. The rug is only not worth saving if the eaten area is a large part of the rug and the rug itself is not valuable; the technician tells you honestly at pickup.
The rug is treated at the plant through its full thickness before washing, then dusted and immersion-washed so larvae, eggs, casings and the soil they feed on are all removed. A repellent treatment before delivery is optional.
Reknotted patches on a hand-knotted rug are matched in wool color and pile height and are hard to find once the rug is groomed. On a rug with a complex pattern we follow the pattern. We show you photos before delivery.
Treatment and wash fit the normal 7 to 10 days. Rebuilding is hand work and depends on the area; small patches add days, large areas add weeks. You get a real date at pickup.
Keep wool rugs clean, vacuum under furniture monthly, do not store rugs dirty, and rotate rugs so no part lives in the dark for years. We can apply a moth repellent at the plant and tell you what to check at home.
Usually not; most homeowner policies exclude insect damage. We provide a written description and photos of the damage and the repair if you want to ask your insurer.
Same-day appointments across Nassau and Suffolk. Carpet from $25 per room (3-room minimum), $20 off any service when you book online, and a written price before we start.
