Wool moths, more commonly called clothes moths, are small, beige or buff-colored moths with a body length of about ¼ inch (6 mm) and a wingspan of roughly ½ inch (13 mm). They look nothing like the larger, more dramatic moths you might see fluttering around porch lights. In fact, you may never see them fly at all, because clothes moths actively avoid light and prefer to stay hidden in dark closets, basements, and attics.
The Two Species That Eat Your Clothes
Two species of clothes moth cause nearly all fabric damage in homes, and telling them apart comes down to a few small details.
The webbing clothes moth is the more common of the two. Adults are uniformly golden or yellowish with narrow, hair-fringed wings and no markings. A small tuft of reddish hairs sits on top of the head. At rest, the wings fold tent-like at an angle over the body, giving the moth a slim, elongated profile rather than a flat, triangular one.
The casemaking clothes moth is similar in size but slightly different in color. Its wings are more brownish than golden and carry faint dark-colored spots. The hairs on its head are lighter than those of the webbing moth. Its wingspan ranges from 3/8 to ½ inch (10 to 13 mm), roughly the same as its counterpart.
What the Larvae Look Like
The adult moths don’t actually eat your wool. The larvae do all the damage. Clothes moth larvae are small, creamy-white caterpillars with darker head capsules. They’re easy to overlook because they tend to stay buried in fabric folds or hidden under collars and seams.
Webbing clothes moth larvae spin irregular mats or tubes of silk as they feed, often incorporating fibers from the fabric itself. These silky tunnels blend into the material, making the larvae even harder to spot. Casemaking clothes moth larvae take a different approach: each larva builds a small portable case around itself, dragging it along as it feeds. The case picks up fibers and dyes from whatever fabric the larva is eating, so it often matches the color of the garment.
How to Tell Them Apart From Pantry Moths
If you’ve spotted a small moth flying around your kitchen or near a window, it’s probably not a clothes moth. Clothes moths are rarely seen in well-lit areas. They tend to scurry along surfaces rather than fly, and when disturbed they’ll often try to hide rather than take flight toward a light source.
Pantry moths (also called Indianmeal moths) are the ones you’ll find near food. They’re slightly larger than clothes moths and have distinctly two-toned wings: the front half is pale or grayish, and the back half is coppery bronze. Clothes moths, by contrast, are a single uniform color with no bold patterning. If the moth you’re looking at has obvious color contrast on its wings and was found near stored food, it’s almost certainly a pantry moth, not a wool moth.
Signs of an Infestation You Can See
Because the moths themselves stay hidden, the first sign of a problem is usually the damage they leave behind. Look for irregular holes in wool sweaters, blankets, scarves, or suits, particularly in areas that were soiled with sweat or food stains, since larvae are drawn to the proteins and salts in those spots. Damage tends to appear in hidden areas: under collars, along seams, in folds, and on the undersides of rugs.
Other visual clues include tiny sand-grain-sized pellets of frass (larval droppings), silky webbing matted into the fabric surface, and the small cigar-shaped cases of the casemaking moth scattered on or near damaged items. You might also find shed larval skins, which are translucent and easy to miss unless you’re looking closely.
Where to Look for Them
Clothes moths thrive in dark, undisturbed spaces. The sweater you haven’t touched since last winter, the wool blanket in the cedar chest, the vintage coat at the back of the closet: these are prime targets. They also feed on other animal-based fibers and materials, including cashmere, silk, fur, feathers, and even pet hair that accumulates under furniture.
Adult males live about 28 days on average, while females live roughly 16 days. That short lifespan means the adults you spot are just the visible tip of a longer cycle. By the time you notice a moth fluttering out of your closet, larvae may have been feeding on your fabrics for weeks or months. Checking stored woolens regularly, even just unfolding and shaking them out, is one of the simplest ways to catch an infestation before it spreads.