Woodward-Fisher has denied all claims and protested that the repair bill would likely be closer to £162,652.

Certainly such astronomical figures seem rather absurd, but this outlandish spat highlights a contemporary problem. The vogue for green housing solutions such as eco insulation might give you a virtuous glow, but you need to be canny about your choices – or you could pay a heavy price.

It’s a particular problem given that moth numbers are skyrocketing. English Heritage’s moth traps saw a 216 per cent increase in moths caught between 2012 and 2016. This year, the British Pest Control Association warned that rising temperatures could trigger a moth surge, and indeed Rentokil, in a report in Ireland, saw a 42 per cent rise in calls about house moths from February 2023 to 2024.

In another extreme case, an infestation even ruined a marriage, says buying agent Saul Empson. “One of the most spectacular divorces in Notting Hill was caused by moths. As is sometimes the way with aggressive men of finance, his wife had become very eco-conscious. They bought a house, refurbished it, and she insisted on all environmentally friendly ingredients, including natural wool for insulation instead of foam or Rockwool (which is “mineral wool”, made from recycling materials such as volcanic rock).

“Soon after they moved in they saw a moth, then they saw two moths, then 10, then a whole lot of moths. Pest control opened up one of the walls and found it absolutely infested. Moths are pernicious: it cost them millions to pull up floorboards and pull down the plaster on stud partition walls. The whole house had to be torn to pieces, and their marriage imploded.”

Valerie Cappell also fell victim to a moth invasion of “biblical proportions”, costing her nearly £10,000, as she told The Telegraph in 2017. She used sustainable wool insulation in her four-bedroom newbuild home in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and had been assured that it was treated with organic pesticide pyrethrin, which would ward off insects.

But it definitely wasn’t enough to deter the eager moth larvae. “I think our situation could be the tip of an iceberg – many more people must have installed this kind of insulation,” Cappell said.