The curious case of the case-bearing carpet moth

If you have never heard of the case-bearing carpet moth, Tinea pellionella, you are lucky - they have probably not invaded your home. These tiny but incredibly destructive and hard to exterminate native species can munch their way through wool carpets at remarkable speed and render them bald.

Their original habitat is outdoors, where they live in bird's nests or on discarded fur or animal skin, and are so small and dull they would escape almost everyone's attention in the wild.