Moth & bug treatment · Birmingham, AL

Moth and bug treatment for rugs

Moths, carpet beetles and dust mites, and the eggs and larvae they leave in the foundation, washed out of the rug at our plant. The rug is sanitized, dried through and brought back to your door clear of them.

★ 5.0 · 432 Google reviews
Same-day service available
Free pickup & delivery
Satisfaction guaranteed

Book a Cleaning Call (205) 421-3993

Call or text(205) 421-3993or text the same number

The red and gold Rug Runners van in the driveway of a brick home

Who shows up

Our own technician, at your door

The person who arrives is a trained, insured Rug Runners employee, never a subcontractor booked for the day. Careful with your home from the doorway in, and happy to explain what your rug or room needs before any work starts.

Our own trained, insured employee
Respectful of your home, start to finish
Every rug and sofa handled with care
Non-toxic solutions, safe around kids and pets
A final walk-through with you before we leave

The same trained technicians and the same guarantee in all 25 towns on our pickup routes.

Stays cleaner 3× Longer between cleanings measured against traditional steam cleaning

Ever had a rug turn sticky a week after a cleaning?

That tacky feeling is detergent the machine couldn't rinse back out. It dries inside the fiber and stays put, catching whatever the next pair of shoes carries onto the rug.

✓Nothing sticky left behindOur low-moisture method puts only a little solution into the rug and takes the soil out with it, so no soapy film is left for dirt to cling to.

✓Stays cleaner about 3× longerOn average, a rug cleaned our way holds its look about three times longer between visits than a rug given a traditional steam cleaning.

✓No re-soiling a month laterThe dull path that reappears a few weeks after a cleaning is almost always residue pulling soil back. Take the residue away and it stops happening.

✓Hand-washed at our plantFree pickup and delivery, and every rug is matched to a method that suits its fiber.

Book online

Our own photos

Before and after, straight from our crews

Real jobs photographed by the technician who did the work. Before on the left, after on the right.

Blue and gray runner on a hardwood floor before and after cleaning

Straight from Google

5.0 stars across 432 Google reviews

★★★★★

Raydon was great! He was a pleasure to work with and my couch and chair look amazing!

Jennifer T. October 2026 · Google

★★★★★

We had such a good experience with Braydon Johnson. He was very fast and efficient with his work. Immediate clean results after the service.

Rozana K. October 2026 · Google

★★★★★

Braydon did a great job! Awesome service!

Amy M. October 2026 · Google

★★★★★

Braydon was very professional. He explained the process and discussed the various treatments needed. My carpet looks amazing!

Jacquelyn F. October 2026 · Google

★★★★★

Braydon was so great! Highly recommend!

Lacey R. October 2026 · Google

★★★★★

Braydon did an excellent job taking care of my carpets! Him and his team did a great job cleaning them and getting them back quickly.

Sarah C. October 2026 · Google

More about moth & bug treatment

What is eating the rug

The damage is done by the larvae you never see

A moth you spot flying near the rug is not the one eating it. It lays its eggs where the rug is dark and undisturbed: under the sofa, along the wall, in the folds of a rug rolled in a closet. The larvae hatch and feed on the wool, and they are small, pale and well hidden in the pile. What you see is the result: bare patches, a fine sandy grit on the floor under the rug, loose fuzz, and sometimes webbing. Carpet beetle larvae eat the same wool the same way.

Dust mites are different. They do no harm to the rug, but they live in the pile in numbers, and what they leave behind is what sets off the sneezing. A rug that has never been washed is carrying years of them.

Why it leaves the house

You cannot spray your way out of this

Eggs and larvae sit deep in the foundation, underneath the pile, and a spray never gets there. It stuns the adults, which looks like a win for a week, and the next batch hatches on schedule. The one thing that clears every stage at once is a wash: the rug is dusted first, which beats a surprising amount of what lives in it out of the foundation, then washed through so eggs, larvae and adults go out with the water. The rug is sanitized before the dry, and it comes back to you clear of all of it, not just the part you could see.

Larvae out, rug back

From the first bald patch to a clean rug

A look at your door

The rug gets unrolled right where it sits. The technician checks the back and the edges for larvae and grit, notes the eaten spots, measures it and writes the price down. You say yes before it leaves.

Dusting

Dry soil, grit and a good share of what is living in the foundation are beaten out before the rug ever gets wet.

The wash

Matched to the fiber, as always, and thorough: eggs, larvae and adults are flushed out with the water, along with the droppings and the dust mites' leavings.

Sanitized and dried through

The rug is sanitized, rinsed, and dried to the foundation before it is rolled.

Inspected and delivered

A last look at the back, the edges and the old patches, then home, usually within 5 to 7 business days. The technician unrolls it with you, and nothing is charged until you have seen it.

★★★★★

“Johnny was awesome with helping get our area rug cleaned up! He was timely, flexible, and professional throughout the whole process and I would definitely use the service again if ever needed.”

Corban M. · Google review, July 2025

5.0★ across 432 Google reviews · Read more reviews

Wash, sanitize, repair if needed

Clear of the bugs, and clean besides

A full rug wash

The treatment is not an extra sprayed on at the end. It is the wash itself, done fully, with the dusting and the rinse that take the eggs and larvae out of the foundation. The rug comes home washed, not just treated.

Sanitizing

After the wash the rug is sanitized to deal with what the pests leave behind, then dried through so nothing is rolled up damp.

A straight answer on the damage

Where the larvae have eaten the pile to the foundation, the technician shows you at your door and the repairer quotes moth-damage repair after the wash. The treatment clears the rug; the repair fills the holes.

Promises we can keep

A rug cleared of moths, and how it stays that way

A moth problem in a rug is one we can end. Every stage of what was living in the foundation goes out with the wash water, and the rug comes back sanitized and clear of them.

Keeping them away from then on is simple. Moths can still wander in from a closet or a stored wool coat, so use the rug, shift the furniture now and then, flip it and vacuum the back once in a while, and never put it into storage dirty. If you are storing one, we wash and wrap it first.

Booking a moth job

What to do before the van comes

Tell us when you book that you suspect moths or beetles. Roll the rug up and leave it; shaking it out in the house spreads eggs, and vacuuming cannot reach them. Check any other wool rug or blanket that was stored with it, since larvae move from one to the next. The technician looks the rug over at your door, confirms what you are dealing with, measures it and writes the price down before it goes on the van.

Pickups run Monday through Saturday, 7 AM to 5 PM. Book online or call or text (205) 421-3993, and if more than one rug is involved, say so, because they can all ride together.

Current offers

Three ways to save on this visit

Satisfaction is guaranteed on every rug we wash. Say which offer you want when you book, or mention it to your technician at the door.

$30off Rug cleaning Any rug we pick up, wash at our plant and bring back. Free pickup and delivery. One per household · Minimum charge applies Expires in two weeks

$25off Pet urine & odor treatment Backed by our 100% pet odor removal guarantee. One per household · Minimum charge applies Expires in two weeks

10%off Your first visit New customers, on any rug, carpet or upholstery job. Tell us it's your first time. One per household · Minimum charge applies Expires in two weeks

Moth and bug questions

What people ask after they lift the rug and find the grit.

What are the bare patches and the sandy grit on the back of my wool rug?

Most often moth larvae. The adult moth does no harm; it lays eggs in a quiet part of the rug, under a sofa or along the edge against the wall, and the larvae hatch and eat the wool, leaving bald patches, loose fuzz and a fine grit that is their droppings. Carpet beetle larvae do the same kind of damage. Roll the rug up and mention it when you book; the technician confirms what it is at your door.

Do you spray the rug for moths, or wash them out?

We wash them out. A spray reaches the adults and leaves the eggs and larvae down in the foundation, which is where the damage is being done. At the plant the rug is dusted, which shakes out a great deal of what is living in it, then washed through so the eggs, the larvae and the adults go out with the water, and the rug is sanitized before it is dried. It comes back clean and clear of them.

Should I vacuum or bag the rug before pickup if I think it has moths?

Just roll it up and leave it. Shaking it out indoors spreads eggs around the room, and vacuuming does not reach the foundation where they sit. Tell us when you book that you suspect moths; the technician looks it over at your door and we handle it from there. If the rug has been in storage, pull out anything else wool that was stored with it and check that too, because larvae move.

Can the eaten spots be fixed after the treatment?

Yes, as a separate job. The treatment clears the rug of what was eating it; it does not put wool back. After the wash the repairer looks at each bald patch and quotes the moth-damage repair in writing, and you decide. Smaller patches are filled and larger areas rewoven. Our rug repair page covers how that works.

Does the treatment keep moths from coming back later?

It removes every stage of them from the rug: eggs, larvae and adults. It does not fence the house, and moths can find a clean rug again from a closet or a stored sweater. What protects a rug over the years is use and light, because larvae like dark, still, soiled wool. Move the furniture now and then, turn the rug over and vacuum the back twice a year or so, and have it washed before it goes into storage.

Is dust mite treatment only for people with allergies?

No, though they are the ones who notice. Dust mites live in any rug with pile, feeding on skin flakes, and a wash takes them and what they leave behind out of the foundation. It is a quieter result than a moth job, but a rug that has not been washed in years is carrying a lot of them. If someone in the house has allergies, the rugs are a sensible place to start.

Our services