Going buggy over miller moths
This was not supposed to be a big miller moth year.
No one told the moths.
"It is totally, totally huge. They are, like, everywhere," said Sue Stevens, a resident of Fountain Valley School southeast of Colorado Springs, where lush shrubs and trees act as a moth wildlife refuge.
The inch-long gray moths flutter frantically through the region every spring as they migrate from the plains to the mountains.
They travel at night, seeking out small, dark places to spend the day - like your garage, or the folds of your morning Gazette, or your mouth.
The next evening they emerge again.
They explode in frantic formation from car sun visors. They thump and bump against porch light bulbs. They beat their dusty wings against windows to the endless delight of house cats.
"It's bad this year," said Michael Diaz, owner of Independent Pest Control. "Worse than I've seen it for years."
It's not as bad as the infestations in 1990 and 1991, when people shuddered to turn on a light bulb, he said, but it's pretty bad considering predictions from the insect lab at Colorado State University called for a "normal" year.
"A couple of moths will likely be observed most days and there may be a spurt or two following periods when flights accelerate - usually during warm, calm nights," the lab's prediction said.
Yeah. Not so much.
"They are all over my attic, I turn on the light and they just explode," said Gretchen Witworth, who works at Good Earth Garden Center "I can deal with most insects. But moths getting in my face, that's my Kryptonite."
Locals have called Independent Pest Control to get rid of the moths.
"I tell them there is nothing we could do," Diaz said.
Even if he could gas every moth in a yard, more migrating moths would soon flap in. Besides, he said, they are really not that bad. They don't bite. They don't sting. They don't eat holes in your clothes. And, local vets say, it won't hurt if cats munch on them like Cheetos.
"If I was going to have an infestation of any insect, I would choose miller moths," Diaz said. "Sure, they mess up the windows, but it is great food for the birds and the bats. It is the cycle of life."
MOTH TIPS
When will the miller moth migration end?
Wet, overcast conditions apparently have prolonged peak migrations which are occurring at some of the latest dates of recent record. Give it a few weeks.
In the mean time, what should I do?
Turn porch lights off when not using them to keep from attracting moths. If moths are in your house, position a desk lamp about 12 inches above a broad bowl of soapy water to make a moth trap.
What attracts moths?
Miller moths congregate around flowering plants and humid areas. They are particularly attracted to lilacs, cherry trees, spirea, cotoneasters, horse chestnuts, raspberry bushes, and Russian olive trees.
