Historic houses with their rare furnishings and fabrics including wool carpets, fine tapestries and period clothes are at risk from an increase in clothes moths, English Heritage warned today (Thursday 6 April) as it called on the public to help the charity get a better picture of the problem.

The charity, which re-opened many of its historic houses and sites to the public this week following its annual spring-clean, has revealed that its expert conservators have seen the number of clothes moths double over the past five years. For the first time, a new species, the Pale Backed Clothes Moth (Monopis crocicapitella), has also appeared on English Heritage’s clothes moth traps.

English Heritage is calling on the public to join ‘Operation Clothes Moth’ and help it to measure the scale and scope of the clothes moth threat. From today, anyone visiting a staffed English Heritage site will be able to collect a free clothes moth trap to place in their home and monitor the presence and type of clothes moths. Participants can post their results on the English Heritage website and the resulting information will map the spread of clothes moths across England and help the charity decide where and how to concentrate its conservation efforts.

Amber Xavier-Rowe, English Heritage’s Head of Collections Conservation, said: “They can eat through centuries-old carpets, tapestries and clothes in a matter of months. Clothes moths are a conservator’s worst nightmare and it’s an ongoing battle to keep them under control.

“The warmer weather has not helped and in the last five years the number of clothes moths we’ve captured on our traps has doubled. We want to know why numbers are rising so that we can continue to keep them under control.

“We need the public’s help to get a better picture of the clothes moth threat. Come to our sites, pick up a free trap, take it home and leave it for a couple of months, and then share your findings with us on our website.
“Join Operation Clothes Moth and help us to protect our unique collection for future generations.”

Clothes moths, particularly the common or webbing clothes moth (Tineola bissellella) are a common threat to interiors, as they live indoors and their larvae feed on woollen carpets, clothing, upholstery, fur and even taxidermy, resulting in the appearance of holes or patches.

English Heritage has been actively monitoring the spread of clothes moths since 1997, and now monitors at over 40 sites across the country, with the aim of preventing damage to over 500,000 historic artefacts in their care across England. English Heritage recently discovered the presence of another species of moth, the Pale Backed Clothes Moth which has previously not been found in historic houses.

For more information about Operation Clothes Moth, including where to pick up your free clothes moth trap and how to protect your own house from clothes moths, visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/operationclothesmoth