Moths in the Rugs

After work I ventured into the closet that houses extra sheets, blankets, comforters, pillows, board games, antique family linens, small heaters, our English style croquet set, a chaffing dish from days of larger gatherings gone by, and my mother’s Native American rugs.

I was editing the closet contents. ‘Tis the activity to do these days. As I was moving things around, making decisions, I noticed what looked like pupae skins on the top of the stack of rugs. Then I saw the moths. Then my blood pressure (BP) took a hike. After killing a few moths, I hit Google. After Google I called our rug guy. Yes, we are old enough now, or at least settled enough to have our own rug guy. Well, he’s a lot of people’s rug guy.

I shared my distressing discovery with Ahmad. He was reassuring in that I was far from alone. I said I’d consulted Dr. Google and was hanging the rugs up in the sun, and was planning on vacuuming them. This was met with approval. I responded that it seemed best to live with the rugs rather than store them. He said that moths and their larvae detest light, and yes of course I should live with the rugs. (This guy is like a life coach ~ knew he was a peach upon first meeting!) He asked how he could help. I said Dr. Google said to clean the rugs, but with at least 17 of them, I wondered if he could help me with the valuation/cost-of-cleaning matrix. I’ll call him on Friday to make an appointment for next week (gives me time to finish vacuuming at least 17 rugs) . He is an Oriental rug expert (each time he tells you about a rug is a history lesson!), and knows enough about Native American rugs that he can absolutely evaluate them, broadly value them, and help me decide which ones are worth are worth cleaning. He’s cleaned rugs for me before, and what is most important in all of this, is I trust him.

I lived with at least half of these rugs during my childhood., hence the BP spike reaction to fucking moths… They are old friends, they’re under attack, and they’re my mother’s treasures. She bought rugs through a dealer named Inga, who was either a friend, or became a friend. We also attended our community’s Native American Art show every year where mom bought rugs and jewelry. I still have two silver bracelets my folks bought for me at this show. In my mom’s jewelry box is a match to the larger of the two bracelet.

Never would I have anticipated such an infestation in my home, and I feel guilty that my mom’s rugs are impacted. We’ll get through it.