The two basic types of moths that are of interest to those responsible for pest control in homes, warehouses, museums or other structures are moths that feed on fabrics and moths that feed on grains.

Grain moths are in a group called Pantry Pests or Stored Product Pests. These insects have the ability to feed on and/or breed in grains and other such materials. Fabric moths are most commonly known as Clothes Moths and are included in the group of household pests known as Fabric Pests. A fabric pest has the distinguished ability to digest keratin. Simply put, they feed on and can digest skin, fur, hooves, feathers - animal parts.

When most people see moths in their homes they immediately think that they have been infested with clothes moths that might be feeding on their woolens, carpets, rugs, etc. In most cases they have misidentified their pest and actually have an infestation of a type of grain moth. This is the basic way of telling the difference between the two types of moths: rarely does one see adult clothes moths. When there are several or many moths in the home they are almost always a type of grain infesting moth.
Evidence of clothes moths is usually found by the damage they do to different fabrics in our homes.

Once you have correctly identified your pest, read about biology, habits and methods to control the pest. For clothes moth elimination, go to the Clothes Moth Elimination page. To eliminate any grain infesting moth in your home, go to the Grain Moth Elimination page. More information on these subjects can be found by reading about Pantry Pests and Fabric Pests.

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