Zombie Moths

I haven’t written in a while.  I’m so sorry.

I’ve been at war.

War with an army.  An army of army cutworm moths, that is.  Otherwise known as “miller moths”.

One of the disadvantages of living in a drafty, poorly sealed 112 year old house is that it is easy for bugs to get inside.  We’ve had a few ants, some spiders, a couple crickets, but by far the worst creature that sneaks its way into our peaceful home is the miller moth.  I hate these little creatures so much that I have gone on a moth killing rampage.  A mothaccure, if you will.

My first real experience with these moths was when we lived in our first old home.  I remember screaming when one flew near me.  Shuddering at the sight of them, not being able to go to sleep if there was one in our room.  One summer, the invasion was exceptionally bad and I had to face my fear.  I remember coming home at night, turning on the ceiling fans full speed, and listening as the moths hit the fan blades.  Tink….tink….tink….  Then, we would run around slapping them again with fly swatters to kill them (the fan just stunned them), and cleaning up all the bodies.  In the morning, opening the trash can became an exercise of wills because a few of the casualties from the night before would fly out at me.  Zombie moths.

Now that I think about it, they are very zombie like.  Covered in dust, flying towards any light blindly, crashing against things over and over again, refusing to die unless their brain is destroyed.

Menace Moth – Don’t let the lace fool you. This is not a fancy moth.

Our cat is in the best shape of the year during miller moth season.  He has a constant supply of erratic toys to play with.  Play with, kill, eat, repeat.  This is great until he horks up a pile of partially digested moths on the rug.

Today, my moth phobia (mottephobia – it’s a thing) is gone.  Well, not really gone.  I will admit to screaming at least once a day because of one of these little devil bugs.

To limit the number of screams per day, I have a war plan which, if followed, does a reasonable job of controlling the invasion.  Meet my method of moth destruction…..

My method of moth destruction

That little puppy takes down 50-100 moths per day.  The **ffffttttt** sound of their little bodies being sucked into the vacuum is very rewarding.  Now the challenge is emptying the vacuum canister without screaming…..they are always ready to attack.