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Starting in May and stretching through June, miller moth season sweeps across the High Plains and into the foothills of the Rockies. It is a revolting, yet oddly fascinating spectacle that happens every spring.
I don’t know how far north, or how far south it goes, but I DO know that it DEFINITELY goes right smack-dab through the middle of the USA.
Here we are, just living our lives, enjoying spring….and then these miller moths just appear out of nowhere, trickling in by the 500’s, or sometimes, by the THOUSAND’S! And no, I am not exaggerating, nor joking!
I think even millions wouldn’t be exaggerating….! Open the door and 100’s fly out at you! Walk by the Spruce tree out front…billows of them! Going into the garage is like heading into a blizzard, and it’s even worse at night! Smack the shutters on the outside of the house and thousands of them fly out from underneath. It’s just the most nasty, captivating thing.
Miller Moth Cure: There Isn’t One!
And there’s really nothing you can DO about it! Spray’s don’t work, smashing doesn’t “get rid” of them. Well, it might get rid of THAT one, but there are millions more to take his place….
And actually, other than the surprise factor and the “spots” they leave behind, they really don’t HURT anything. They aren’t poisonous, they don’t bite, or sting…they really are harmless, unless, of course, their offspring eats your crops.
But there IS a way to get rid of the ones in a room….as long as you remember that it’s just a temporary fix….there WILL be more tomorrow! If you get a pan of water, and add dish soap to make it nice and bubbly, put it under a night-light, and turn off all the other lights, the moths will come flocking to that light, and flit around it until they land in the bubbles…..and THAT is the end of those moths, and you get to feel the thrill of victory, even if it is just for a minute!
The garage window, full of the nasty things and their “spots”.
WOE unto you if you don’t have an air tight house……which, of course, no one that I know of has. Example:
Backstory: There I was, sitting in the dark living room, enjoying my early morning coffee, when suddenly, my coffee went from smooth to chunky!!! AAACCCCKKKK!!!! Needless to say, the quiet was shattered, and my robe got coffee spewed all over it, and had to be washed that morning.
We live in an old house, and obviously there are LOTS of places where they can get in, because LOTS do! And besides getting in my coffee, they leave behind a dirty souvenir. Trust me, “miller spots” are a thing…and not a pleasant thing! I even have a special lampshade for our living room lamp, that I trade out during miller season. Because where there are millers, there WILL be spots! UGH!
Some years there are less moths and some years they are unbelievably never-ending… Until they finally do. A year or two ago they started at the end of April and they just kept on and on and on and on.
Life Cycle of the Miller Moth
Extension agents say that the moths start out here on the plains as cutworms, turn into moths and then fly to higher elevations as they look for nectar and food. They can cause considerable damage to crops and gardens before they decide to head to the mountains though! I’ve had many a seedling in my garden fall over dead, because of the naughty little buggers!
Here is an interesting article from Colorado State University about the pests…. And while we aren’t in Colorado, what plagues us, plagues them!
And while they are looking for food, they also become food! The bears, among other animals eat them! They found 7000 in one bear tummy!! That seems unbelievable, but if you’ve ever been through a bad miller season, you know that it could very easily be true!! Breeze and the cats have great fun chasing and eating them on the porch at night!
While they are out west, the moths don’t produce or lay eggs. They save them until they get back onto the plains in the fall–September, where they lay their eggs, and start the interesting life cycle again!
If we have visitors from the east, or wherever else they haven’t had the privilege to come across the moths, they are HORRIFIED to see them swarming around the dining room lights, and parked in random spots up on the walls. And rightly so…..even though we KNOW they’re going to come every year, it still isn’t something we enjoy! But it is just another part of living out here on the High Plains!
Do you get to live through miller season every year? If so, where do you live?
Thanks for coming, and do come again!
Good Thoughts
“They’re not exactly intelligent, but they’re doing the best they can.” – Maia Holmes, on the erratic flight pattern of the miller moths.
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You, forgot one area that the Miller moths love Julie, and that’s underneath the hood of your vehicles, and all throughout the the dandy little crevices, and Hidey- holes in an engine. Tyler stopped at a gas station one time, and slammed his pick up door to go in and get snacks in the convenience store. When he shut the pick-up door.. thousands of Millers flew out from under his pick up, (likely darkening the skies for several moments as only they can do)LOL, the onlookers traveling from the East stared in disbelief, and asked, “are those little bats!?!?!”😆😆😆😆😆😆
It does sort of turn into a horror film when they arrive in the spring, doesn’t it?
Now, that is hilarious!! I surely would have liked to have been there!! If you’ve never seen it, it IS hard to believe!!
The ones in the shutters are beyond plenty, thank you! I think where we were when we were little must have not been too much in their paths, because I KNOW that I would have remembered having to cope with them!!
I know! That’s not something one would forget!