We’re bracing ourselves for battle.
They could show up at any time, ready to attack, and we have to be ready.
No, I’m not talking about zombies, but it’s almost as bad.
I’m talkin’ about miller moths.
If you’re wondering what the heck is a miller moth, be glad. Because that means you’ve never had to deal with them.
Usually at the end of May/early June (or whenever it starts to get really hot), the little buggers hatch. Now, just one or two of them is no big deal.
But we don’t have just one or two.
We have thousands. And thousands.
And this year it’s supposed to be worse that usual.
Oh boy.
Thankfully? They don’t bite, and they don’t carry disease, and they don’t eat clothing.
But they like to divebomb your face. And die in your water glass. And leave little brown secretions on everything they touch. And when you’re sitting in your living room at night trying to relax and there are seventy or eighty of them flopping around, it gets kinda creepy.
Now, before anyone yells at me, I’m not calling for complete eradication of the species. I’m sure they have a valuable role in the ecosystem, but I wish they could live out their role outside of my house.
In the last seven years, I’ve tried pretty much every trick possible to fight the battle of the moths, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s nearly impossible to be completely free of them. But I have learned a few tricks along the way that I want to share with you today…
6 Tricks for Dealing with Miller Moths
1. Check those screens! This is sorta obvious, but our window screens always take a beating during the winter months and end up with plenty of little holes… Holes that are then used by the enemy (moths) to infiltrate the fortress (our house.) Stop the infiltration by replacing/patching those screens before the moths hatch.
2. Get a Bug Zapper. This was hubby’s idea (not a surprise there…) and it feels a little redneckish… But hey, it works. And it’s entertaining too. It won’t take care of all of them, but at least hang it near a door where they might be trying to get it.
3. Keep the porch lights off. Moths like light, and leaving your porch light on is akin to a giant lighthouse saying “Come hang out here!” We keep our porch lights off during miller season–especially the ones right by our doors.
4. Try the ol’ soapy bowl of water trick. This little trick is fairly common, and it sort of works. Basically, just mix some dish soap in a large mixing bowl of water, and set it under a lamp. The moths will fly towards the lamp, bounce around, and land in the water. My caveat? If you have hundreds of moths in your house, this doesn’t do much…
5. Vacuum like crazy. In all my years of miller-fighting, I’ve found the vacuum to consistently be my best weapon. Here’s my routine:
- Wait until after it’s dark
- Bring your vacuum into the room where they are known to congregate. (Try to avoid turning on the light until you’re ready)
- Turn on the light, and make a bunch of noise. (I’ve found that metal objects work the best–such as jingling keys, or banging a metal pot.)
- The moths will come out of hiding due to the light and noise (the noise really seems to drive them wild).
- Go nuts with your vacuum. (It’s almost kinda fun trying to suck them up before they get away.)
- Make sure to empty your vacuum– they get stinky if you leave them in there too long.
6. Use essential oils (still in the experimental phase). There are many oils that repel bugs, and cedarwood, lavender, peppermint, clove, and eucalyptus are specifically known to repel moths. My plan is to heavily diffuse these oils in my home during the peak of moth season when they are clamoring to get inside. My cold air diffusers (affiliate link) do an excellent job of permeating my entire house with the aroma of essential oils, and I’m hoping that the scent wafting out the door will deter them. Maybe. We’ll see. The only side effect would be my house smelling like a giant cedar chest, but I can handle that.
So, wish me luck as I head into battle.
And stay tuned– I plan on taking a video of life during moth season for those who might think I’m exaggerating. It should be good watching. 🙂
In the upcoming weeks when you are relaxing in your living room at night, think of me battling it out in my living room with my pot and vacuum… But hey, nobody ever said prairie life was glamorous.
Do you have any tips for fighting the moth war? Please share!
*Note* The moth in the photo looks slightly different than the moths we usually have–but when I was searching for a good photo, it was the best option I could find.
We get these in Colorado too. I have used the vacuum trick many times! Its quite fun when they just get to be too much. The best way I have been able to keep their numbers low is to have a house cat. She stalks the cracks of the windows and doors waiting for them to come in! I only fear that if the Miller population goes up too far this year she may not be able to keep up, or will get bored and let them live.
When I was in college in Fargo North Dakota we left an old microwave open and they all flocked in and them we nuked them. It was gross, haven’t tried it since.
That is hilarious!!!!
Arrrrgh they are awful for sure!!! The soapy water works good at night for us, but ONLY if I can get the house really chilly. They don’t like it if it’s cold, so I can get 50+ at once. If its warm, they just continue to hang out on the walls, ceilings, ect. Good luck, and just know you’re not the only one battling them lol!
So will they die if its really cold When u seen it did it fly around very fast
Cover all openings from the attic into the house. Also around all pipes coming into the house through the walls. Use hardware cloth with the smallest openings.
Every summer I get exactly 2-3 miller moths in my walk-out basement apartment. I don’t open windows, leave most time through the upstairs hallway. How are they getting in?
I live in southern New Mexico. We use a vacuum and not just any vacuum but the good ole SHOP VAC. We sucked massive moths one evening and the next evening the room was full again. New windows with new screens. They just wont stop. I have 3 rooms that are always full. When they bother me at night while watching tv, I turn on small bathroom light and shut door. They still see light and congregate in bathroom, leaving me alone. I’m going to try the essential oil trick, otherwise I spend all morning every morning vacuuming dead ones and live ones.
We live in Denver, Colorado. We have been here 5 summers. I have NEVER seen them this bad. I have bug zappers outside. They catch them by the hundreds. Every morning, I go through my ritual. I empty the zappers then vacuum. Last night I turned on our bedroom light and 6 of them attacked. LOL. I got them with an electronic zapper. I could not even sleep in our bed. I had to spend the night on the couch with my dog. THIS IS HORRIBLE. I have never been in a place with so many moths for so long. When do these awful little creatures, harmless as they are leave?
We live north of Buena Vista and this is the worst we’ve ever experienced with miller moths. It’s been at least a month now and it seems to keep getting worse! We vacuum, we put the soapy water out at night, we leave the lights off, etc etc etc…
It’s upsetting and exhausting!
I agree I have IMMENSE ANXIETY from having to deal with them! So glad they are FINALLY GONE!
OMG me too!! We live in Pueblo Colorado and this is our 3rd summer here. Our first summer was bad I mean bad, this year (2023) was 1,000 TIMES WORSE! I didn’t sleep in my bed the entire “invasion” as my bedroom widow was right next to the zapper and my window was FILLED like an aquarium!!!! I have a video that would give you nightmares for years to come! So I resorted to the couch with my dogs (sorry hubby) I completely forgot about the soapy water till damn near the end but if you have a zapper get a bucket (mop bucket sized) of soapy dishwater and place UNDER THE ZAPPER that will put a big dent in the amount congregating on your porch. Also I saw someone comment about dropping the temp in the house this also helps TREMENDOUSLY I put my a/c on 62 and they completely act stupid and move reaaaaal slooooow so they are easier to SMACK! I also turn off all lights in the house EXCEPT ONE LAMP with a soapy dishwater bowl beneath. So yeah, all of the above mentioned things combined helped enough but it still was traumatic and gave me immense anxiety, oh well! Till next year! Lol
First time dealing with them. Just moved to Colorado from Illinois, there has to be a better way. Never ever could I imagine this. When do they leave???
We are in Incline Village, NV and are currently swarmed – thousands inside and outside of our house. Contacted the Nevada Dept of Agriculture – they are Army Cutworms that hatch in the desert and then migrate to the mountains. We’ve been told not to use pesticides- supposedly they last for 2-3 weeks. We’ve had moths every year in June but nothing like this! Lots and lots of vacuuming!
Check all of your doors and windows to make sure they are sealed up. I was still getting them and decided to check my for place chimney. I put some fiber mesh on my vent up on the roof. Even with the flue closed they were getting in. Since dealing things up better I haven’t been getting and inside.
This person writes like crap….
I live in Denver, CO and this has been the worst year for miller moths. Hundreds of them (or so it seemed) were getting between the screen and glass in 3 main windows. It was like something out of a horror movie. I avoided opening any doors and turned off the lights as soon as it got dark. The bowl of soapy water trick only captured one a night. The Eucalyptus oil seemed to cut back on the number of moths trying to get in (for a day or two), but still had tons of them crashing around my house and keeping me awake at night. But then I purchased 2 bug zappers (Monster Zapper) for $40 each on Amazon. I put one outside near the front door and window that seemed to attract the most moths and one inside. I thought they were going to make that zapping sound, but they aren’t that powerful. However, THEY WORK! They don’t actually kill the moth as soon as it’s zapped but it does kill them. I witnessed a moth fly into the zapper and fly right back out — but a second later it literally dropped dead in mid air. It’s been exactly one week and I feel like I’ve got this moth problem licked. The only drawback is that the zapper I bought is big (12 x 6 x 12 inches) and they are tacky looking – but so worth it.
We live in central Nebraska and our home must be in their migration path this year. We’ve had thousands of them hiding in our bushes and behind the shutters and siding. We’ve used water from the hose and a shop vacuum to try to get rid of some. But I think they’re winning the war. We have two cats which take care of the few that make their way inside. My question is do they return from year to year in those large numbers? And how long to they stay around? We’ve been dealing with them for a week now and all our windows and some siding needs cleaning badly thanks to their messes.
OH BOY!! Going shopping for a dozen zappers!!!
Its about a week in and right now it doesnt seem as bad as you described, but it sure feels like that. Right now I’m getting at most 3 at a time and hopefully it doesnt get worse than that
My cat loves to spot a moth and play with it without the moth showing signs of giving up the game of catch and release. A phrase that raises my blood pressure every time I think of how Democrats are plotting. To take down our super POTUS Donald Trump. As Dr. Ben Carson has said it is very amazing how any man alive.can stay the course while being attacked every single day. I continue to pray for him to be re-elected to four more years for the sake of the country I love with all my heart. Captain Richard Allen Warner, USMC (ret.) (my new biography is at Barnes & Nobles as well as Amazon for $14.95. Title:: I May Smell Like Bacon But I Haven’t Oinked Yet”
Ummmm way to make a political statement while discussing moths. What???? Get a new grip, man! MOTHS, we are all talking about moths. While the POTUS is more far annoying than the moth infestation and just as useless, that is not the topic. Might want to find a new page to comment on about all that.
how would you like about 500 of them in your house???
500??? Get out!! I mean, literally! I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night!
I live in Ohio and I have never in my life dealt with this many moths in my home its like they are taking over well actually they are…the vacuum thing yes funny watching me catch these little pests kinda like zombie hunting but also very tireing….I also spray their asses down with cleaning spray and once they fall I smash them to make sure they die. I’ve also have gotten traps off Amazon and man do they attract them quick I got bomb barded by them as soon as I open them they have a sticky side to them so once they land on it they are stuck ive switched out a few which says they work for 3 months but they fill up quick to the point nomore will fit on it so I put new ones out I kill 50 to 100 seems like it anyways and turn around and it’s like 50 to 100 more just pop back up im about to lose my mind with these things they are driving me insane…Someone please send help im all alone in this war and im losing badly…
I ran an led rope light around my outside fence line, it attracts them away from the house, is cheap on electricity and very few come inside.
This is a FANTASTIC iDEA! Now that it’s over this year I will definitely be trying this next year!
Are these pantry moths! We use a pheromone based trap in our cabinet, where we find the most. I wonder if spraying the screen with the essential oils might work like your fly spray?
Our porch light is on a motion sensor. It’s actually a string of plain clear Christmas lights strung along the porch. It works well!
I always thought these laid eggs in food and multiplied that way. I put all flour and grains in glass jars. They get thru paper bags.
I threw away every thing in my cabinet. They were in the pasta, pudding mix, brownie mix ect. All dry goods went. I didn’t only see miller moths but their larva (small crawling worms) in the cupboard and in boxes for food. They are wholes in the bottom of sealed packages, even zip locks I had sealed things in. If you are having that many in your house, check your cabinets. They may feeding on something and breading.
Not quite a yr. ago I wrote a post in my blog along w/ a video “Moths of the Texas Panhandle”. I related about how many there were around drilling rigs at night, drawn to the lights (and maybe the sound and vibration, who knows?) by the thousands and thousands. You said a bug zapper was “redneckish”, but I worked with a guy who would catch one of the larger ones, take a pencil and “unroll” its “nose” and then tape it inside someone’s locker. I always thought that was cruel, but it was funny to watch the victim open up his locker in the morning and have him freak out by something fluttering right at eye level.
Funny, just as I checked my reader and saw this post, one appeared and started fluttering around my monitor and worse yet, my face. (I had the door open earlier bringing in some water bottles) I’ve been trying to keep my mouth shut b/c I’ve swallowed several before and they’ve got some sort of “dust” on their wings and just that alone makes me gag. It never bothered an old cat I used to have; he loved ’em and I’d let him in the next morning and look on the porch to find dozens of barely attached wings w/ the head, the body gone. Hey, I figured it probably saved me some bucks on cat food!
Oh my! That would be a rude awakening first thing in the morning! 🙂
We live on a small farm in Kansas and I thought we were the only ones with this problem! 🙂 We have already started our battle this year. We do have an ingenious gait my husband’s father made that we sit on top of the refrigerator when we go to bed? It is a light that sits over a long narrow pan we put soapy water in. That is usually full of the littler buggers in the morning. And then we are both adept with the vacuum! Can’t wait to hear if the essential oils are effective! Battle on!
Make sure you compost all those moths you dump out of your vacuum canister!
Ps- the old microwave trick cracked me up! Sinister!
At first I didn’t know what they were or looked like but once I saw the picture and the description I knew! We don’t get the swarms like you but as I was reading this I had to laugh because one began “banging” into me. I think you have thought about almost everything you could do but unleash the cat. You read right, my cat doesn’t bring me birds and rodents no he prefers small or shall I say hunting tiny game, yes flies and moths are more his speed!
This has been a really bad year for them in rural WY. I have worn out two fly swatters literally killing 100s in a night. I tried lavender oil, citronella and lemongrass oils but nothing worked. Hopefully cooler temps will get rid of them. One night I thought I heard rain but when I turned on a light it was 100s of moths hitting the ceiling.
Oh my goodness! That’s crazy!
I live in northern SD very near ND, I am in shock at the volume I have. Some bushes are smothered in them. I set off an insect bomb in my one garage. When I walked by the doors it sounded like a billion mini creatures trying to get out. I had to use my blower when opening the door there were so many. But they keep appearing! I keep bombing but there is no end! One help is USE YELLOW LIGHT BULBS for any near or outside your doors and windows they will not congregate there. If you have a light fixture facing up leave it on with a white bulb away from your bed or chair. They will fly in and not fly out! I am hoping the city spray for mosquitoes will also kill these awful things. Home defense spray helps but the volume I have would fill buckets
We bought our house in January of this year and have seen several each day flying around. I’ve never ever seen such a thing! I am praying that they don’t get as bad as all that you’re describing as we head into summer. If they do, I will try some of your tricks! Thanks for the tips!
I live in Cheyenne Wyoming this is the worst I have ever seen these disgusting moths. I have never ever kept outside lights on and live about 10 miles from town. The newer people on our road keep 4-5 outside lights on every night but the nearest one is 10 or more acres away from me. I can say I have never seen so many moths as this year. My wi does open out and every morning when I open the windows at the very least 50 moths drop down from the frames and I only open 4 of them I don’t want to think how many are on the other windows. This is going to be an awful year with as many as I have already.
I live on Terry Ranch Road and my house is totally infested with them I’ve probably caught thousands in a bucket with soapy water I change almost daily with no noticeable results
I would say if you have caught thousands of them, that’s a pretty good result!
I have such a problem with millers this year, been trying all the tricks: I found a chemical that seems to work at least it killed lots but took 6 hrs it on site bug spray.com it’s expensive tho and I think I used too much. So I decided to try the sprayer attached to hose and spray dawn dish soap, works pretty good I killed thousands today, will do this again tomorrow but need more Dawn. Got a light set up in driveway with bucket of soapy water under it, hoping to catch the hundreds that’s in my garage. They are driving me nuts we must be in their path to mountains. I have emptied my dyson twice today full of millers. I haven’t given up but tomorrow may be it for me, I might be heading for mountains ahead of millers.
Candie
Cats definitely keep the population low, but they (at least mine) will stop at nothing to get them, do be ready for crazy flying kitties all over the place!
haha-yes! When we used to have a house cat, she’d play with them for a while, but by the end of the season, she was totally bored with them. There were just too many! 🙂
I always put out a yellow light bulb on the front and back porches in the spring. They don’t seem to be as attracted to the yellow light as they are to the white.
Miller moths! AGH!!! I am a spinner and always have fleeces in bags and bins around my house. I also have four parrots and they love the seed bin! I’ve done everything, too, but here’s what has worked perfectly for me – fly paper! They love it!!! N more problem!
Actually, this post brought back fond (maybe?) memories of the 3 years we lived in Colorado. The best (?) was opening the mailbox outside our front door and finding it packed full of Millers.
Now we are back in the southeast corner of Minnesota and are awaiting the yearly influx of fishflies. It’s always something isn’t it?
Oh yes– the mailboxes!!!
I have the little ones and they leave larvae like things all over my kitchen ceiling that look like skinny maggots I have to suck them into vacuum any idea how to get rid of them this is the first year we’ve had them HELP please
Put any and all cereal, oatmeal, etc. in airtight containers. The little buggers were chewing through the inner bag of my grape nuts and it looked like the bag was full of cobwebs. I’d open the box and two or three adults would fly out and and I knew it was ruined. Keep vacuuming and take away their food. It’s worked for me so far. (Oklahoma)
Also: they like to lay their larvae in flour and other grains and cereals. That’s why they’re called “miller” moths. Put a dried bay leaf in the top of your flour canister to keep them out. If never tried it with oats or cereal, but it would probably work. I put mine in tight plastic containers (like Rubbermaid or Tupperware) that they can’t chew through.
This same thing just happened to me on our kitchen ceiling. Any ideas of how to get them cleaned off the ceiling besides just vacuuming and does this mean they are all over? Ahhhh!!!
Check out the swallows at the intersections all divebombing the damn things. When cars come to a stop miller’s fly out and the birds know it. They must eat thousands everyday when the hatch is on.
They absolutely LOVE the car door frames as well!!! Driving down the road and I’ll get hit in the face with the dirty pests! Oh, I clean the door frames before going anywhere, but they seem to come from everywhere. I wonder if the eucalyptus branches would work. Just put the branches in a decorative planter and place the planters around the house, especially the doors! If you’ve got screen doors only open the house door just enough to push the screen door open quickly and they’ll fly out the door. I usually see between 40 and 60 fly away! There is a product called “SLA Cedar scented spray”(Amazon and home depot) I’m going to get some and post the results a little later… if i don’t forget lol!!!
For us here in Prince Edward Island it’s the mosquitoes! I’ve never had to deal with so many in my life and they aren’t just out at night, they are out all hours of the day too. You run from the door to the car waving your arms like a maniac to keep the swarm off and they follow you into the car. Then you try to get them all but invariably you’ll be driving down the road and have one buzzing around your face nearly making you drive off the road. We had no defence last year but this year we are trying garlic oil, and tossing some of those mosquito dunks that kill the larva in the swampy areas in our woods. It’s a bacteria that harms only mosquito larva and is harmless for other insects, birds and mammals. I’m not big on pesticides including the Deet sprays, although hubby gets desperate enough to spray down his clothes with it when working in the yard. Some people here wear the full bug suit to mow their lawn!
Oh my goodness! We have a few mosquitoes here, but nothing like that!
Connie, you might want to talk to your local Govt and see if they can spray for mosquitos.
Boy do those moths bring back memories (not good ones). When we lived in Colorado the moths were so bad one year that they would dive bomb the hot water heater flame (it was in the garage) and put out the pilot light. We would hop into the shower in the morning and boy was that COLD. The only we could do to keep the numbers down in the house was to have a light on over a Big pot of soapy water and use flashlights tp get through the house after dark. Where we live now we only see maybe a dozen moths a year. Instead we are usually inundated with those black water beetles. I wish there was some oil to take care of them.
Did you ever find a way of getting rid of the black bugs in your house? If anyone knows a way, please share.
We have two rental cabins in Cloudcroft, NM and one is a moth magnet, while the other is not. Wiping the window tracks with orange or lemon essential oil every couple of weeks is the best deterrent I’ve found yet. I use a damp piece of paper towel then put some oil on it. Makes the cabin smell great and keeps the moths from climbing in under the screens.
I love that idea Lisa!
I also have a cabin in Cloudcroft, NM and the moth problem is terrible! I am going to try the orange & lemon essential oils to see if that will also help. I have used lavender, rosemary, and some others but we just have too many. I thoroughly wash the walls once or twice a year and vacuum everytime we go up for the weekend. However, I have not found a remedy yet that really gets rid of them. Thanks for all the great tips peeps.
I have a cabin in the Gila on top of a mountain and those dam moths are going to be the death of me they are everywhere. I have tried putting moths crystals in the window seals, I vacuumed them out of the window seals I have to open and close the windows a few times to get them all out ugg such a mess. I will try the essential oils to see if that helps and a bowl of soapy water by a light. Their is a drain on our window seals and think they are coming in there. I am looking for some kind of plastic or mesh to put in the hole to make it harder for them to get in but still let the window drain.
I suggest hanging the bug zapper away from the door, since the light attracts bugs.
Thanks for these tips! We moved from California to Colorado a few months ago and these little buggers have just started showing up the past few weeks. We accidentally left our car door open and our drive the next morning was literally an hour straight of a moth flying out of nowhere and almost crashing the car, shooing it out the window, then the next one would come. There were at least 15-20 of them in our car. We were truly astounded. And yes, they’re so creepy!!! They are everywhere!!
Miller moths are the wost! Thanks for your post, and I’m going to try the soapy water trick. Two other things worth noting – since we put a bat house on the south side of the house we’ve had fewer bugs in general. The bats eat mosquitos, too! Also, if you have moths in the house or garage, if you turn off all the lights and then turn on a bright light outside they will generally follow the light.
Ooooh, good idea about the bats!!
My parents put Prozap, a bug repellant that hangs, in the garage and by the front and back door of our home. I put an old one in the back of my car. It all worked amazingly well. Now that I have my own house. I’ll be searching for those today.
I just know that Miller Time is around the corner for us too. I use the vacuum every night when they come out and that works great. I’m going to try the lemon/orange oil on the windows and doors and see what happens.
One bad thing that has happened to a couple of us in my family is to have a miller crawl in your ear. It happened to me and the flapping of the wings inside your ear is excruciating. I had to have my doc fish one out of my ear. He told me, “If it happens again, be sure to put some alcohol in your ear first so it kills the miller (and stops the flapping) and then have someone take out the insect with a tweezers. I notice that the flycatcher type birds and bats are always swooping in for the millers.
ACK! I can’t imagine anything creepier–UGH!
MyGod, just that thought alone has made me vow to do everything suggested on this page!!!!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who loathes miller moths for their kamakazi style flight patterns. There was a girl here in CO who got in a car accident recently because there was a moth trapped in her car with her. I would totally do the same if I were in her shoes. If they’d just stop dive-bombing my head I’d like them just fine.
Oh my word! I can totally see myself doing that while batting at them in my car! 😉
My husband caught me fending one off with a hairbrush while I brushed my teeth the other morning, and I’m sure I’ll never hear the end of it! I don’t mind bugs whose travel is restricted by gravity, but once they’re airborne? Heck no! The worst in Santa Fe are the hawk moths. They’re HUGE (at least 3″ across), they’re everywhere in the summer, and as much as I appreciate their importance as pollinators, the haphazard flight patterns and the crashing into my head just really don’t do it for me. Blech!
Hawk moths are also known as Humming Bird Moths. I too live in Santa Fe County….here soon we will start seeing the “no see ums” !!! Best trick for those is essential oils and or a ph balancer like Basic H. Those little bugs love dark hair and dark skin (oh so sweet) for my boys in my summer camp program when we go out side it’s lavender spray and for some I wet their hair line with Basic H and water in a spray bottle…works great!
I live in southern New Mexico. We use a vacuum and not just any vacuum but the good ole SHOP VAC. We sucked massive moths one evening and the next evening the room was full again. New windows with new screens. They just wont stop. I have 3 rooms that are always full. When they bother me at night while watching tv, I turn on small bathroom light and shut door. They still see light and congregate in bathroom, leaving me alone. I’m going to try the essential oil trick, otherwise I spend all morning every morning vacuuming dead ones and live ones.
They’re in my car!! Agh! Every time I get in my car and start driving, they start appearing in the back (I have a mini SUV type car). I let them out or kill the ones that won’t leave, but once I start driving again; the cycle repeats itself.
I have absolutely no idea where they’re coming from, but I am so sick of them! They’re huge! Any ideas for keeping them out of the car?
I’m not going to lie. Two weeks ago I sat here giggling at the idea of you running around with a vacuum, sucking up each moth that was terrorizing you. Well, I’ve been paid back in the form of Miller Moths taking over my house!! Yikes, I’ve never seen anything like this, but I’m back on your post double checking what to do with my vacuum and pots to catch as many as possible. Thanks for preparing me!
Oh my! So you’ve never had them before? I’m glad you were at least semi-prepared! 🙂
Oils work!! But you have to diffuse every day. Oils I have tried so far… Rosemary, lavender, geranium, clove, marjoram, clary sage (what I had on hand). All have worked. It seems to subdue, then kill them. And it smells nice!
We have an evap cooler, and I put oils in there, which conveyed the aroma through the whole house! I also have traditional diffusers as well.
We live in Colorado on a heavily wooded lot. It seems the miller moths are drawn to pine trees, and we have lots of them. Evidently they migrate to and from the Rocky Mountains in late spring and early fall. They definitely are worse this year than normal! The moths combined with the yellow pollen everywhere, inside and out, is driving me nuts. I’ve used the vacuum, and the soapy water, and no pest strips, and there are just too many to manage. I had an influx of them in my laundry room 2 nights in a row; they just appeared and couldn’t figure out how they got in. I turned the laundry light on, turned out all the lights inside the house, opened the door into the garage and turned garage light on, then turned the laundry light off. I sprayed a small bit of insect spray near the laundry light, and the moths flocked out the door into the garage. The second night I did basically the same thing but turned the garage back door light on and opened that door so they flew outside rather than just into the garage. I then discovered they were coming in from the garage through the doggie door that goes into our laundry room. We keep our windows and doors closed most of the time during their 3 week reign, but I am going to try the essentials oils around screens and door edges… Would much rather keep them out than clean them up! Thanks for the tips.
Where I live in southern Idaho we have a huge invasion of them this year, literally in the past 2 weeks we’ve had millions of them in this area migrating through, although a fair amount stick around because we have tons of Russian Olive trees in my area and they are flowering now and those moths love those trees. We get tons in the house every day and my 3 cats take care of that problem every day, although I will say in the middle of the night its quite annoying when the cats crash into things trying to catch the moths, but it does solve the problem. What I really hate about the moths is when I hang laundry outside to dry on the line, I have to violently shake every piece when I take it down because it seems like several moths are in each piece of clothing. They do a great job at pollinating everything but they sure are annoying.
Came home last night to about 20 flying inside my house. My husband kept saying it’s from the the front door, nobody was home all day, I didn’t think that was the case. Got up this morning to another 10 or so ” hiding” I can’t stand these moths I have no idea how these things get inside my home. I checked all my screens, yesterday I closed all the windows before leaving. I live at 11200 feet in Colorado I thought I would be safe from creepy things…I thought wrong! Well in closing I’m happy to know I’m not the only one out there that gets freaked out by these dirty things, as I like to call them. Thanks for listening, have a blessed day!
Cedar oil. Not cheap, but strong and nice smell except for moths. They don’t like it. That is why cedar chest and cedar closets were made out of cedar.
OMG! I am so happy my co-worker sent me this blog. I have been going out of my mind the past few weeks dealing with miller moths (sense I was a child I have never liked them) inside my house and it started to seem like I was the only one dealing with this issue, at least at the level I am, so glad Im not the only one. I originally was going by the old saying when you find bugs in the house its time to deep clean (at least thats what my grandma would tell us) and it seemed like I was cleaning and cleaning and cleaning every single day. But these things would not stop coming in. I have tried the soapy water under a lamp and Im pretty sure my moths found it laughable as one night I actually found a few of them hanging around the rim of the bowl as if they were hanging out pool side. Sense then I have tried raid for direct kills and have purchased lavendar smelling cleaning products, oils, and airwicks that have been in full force as of 24hrs. I will say this morning was the first morning while leaving the house my daughter and I werent attacked by a swarm of these things. I also heard they hover in warm dark places so I had my A/C running all night so Im not sure if that makes a difference (I know its an expensive fix but when you are at you wits end like I am with these things you’ll pay the price to keep them out). My hope is tonight Im not greeted by my usual hand full of un-invited guests. Im in Southern CO, have lived here all my life, and this is the first season that I actually have them coming indoors. Really cant wait for them to vacate the area.
Miller Moths Article
Jill,
Personally I would like to eradicate them. I live in a community of 5 acre homes just outside of Denver. I have Edge pest control take care of the insects around the house. But they have problems with the millers. I like you, have thousands of these buggers. No one else in the neighborhood hardly even sees them. It seems to me that may be one way to control them is to kill the worm that they come from before they hatch, obviously. It is hard for me to believe some company has not come up with a product that could be sprayed or spread that would get rid of these critters. Let me know how the essential oils work.
Sincerely,
John Roberts
When I moved from Colorado Springs to Pueblo, CO; there were these weird bugs that attached themselves to my screen door. They told me they were called June bugs. They are awful to get in the house, they dive bomb your head, and follow you around the house to dive bomb you, if you stop moving. They are a light brown color, not very big, but they have a hard shell body and you can feel and hear them as they dive bomb you. Anyone have a way of getting rid of them?
Thank you for your info! I’m in Aurora, CO. After the first moth dive-bombed me in mid-May, I started doing research on what to use to get rid of them. They are definitely much worse this year already than they’ve been in the past. I found a blog that talked about a really strong pesticide called Onslaught. It was really expensive – about $50 for a 16 oz bottle, but you dilute about an ounce to a gallon of water in a garden sprayer and go to town on all surfaces where they might land. I have a screened in back porch and I sprayed the tar out of those big screens and I’m finding dozens of dead moths every few days. The same blog talked about how if one female is able to release pheromones near your house, it will keep attracting males regardless of your lights, etc. (And it makes more sense than my theory of a moth mafia and hit-moths trying to kill me.) It’s a nightmare. The pesticide is good for where the dog doesn’t go, but I may try your essential oils for those areas where she does, especially around doors. (I’m sure some get in when I let her in and outside, but she’s 135lbs and its hard to get her to move fast enough to get the door closed in a timely manor. Sigh.) Also off to buy weatherstripping tonight and make sure all the seals around the doors and windows are tight. Three got in the house last night and after I manged to kill them, I kept hearing phantom moths bumping against the ceiling the rest of the night. Thank goodness for coffee, or I wouldn’t be functional today.
I’ve put chimes outside the doors. Very light chimes but it seems to be enough to keep them out. Live in Colorado and absolutely hate them in my house. I get maybe one or two a day and the cats seem to enjoy them.
Hey– that’s a good idea!
I think chimes are worth a try. After all, I’t late May In Chicago and those little buggers are popping up at nigh especially in my basement. I have tried fly paper and the most expensive bug zapper. No luck.
I am sorry to hear of so many people experiencing this miller moth invasion but at the same time, I’m relieved I’m not the only one! I left my car window open overnight earlier this week and flew out of DIA Tuesday morning. Only had one come after me while I made the drive from my house to the airport. Back in town Friday morning and upon opening my car door to toss my bags in the back seat, a dozen of these dudes came zooming out! I thought they were all gone until I started driving. I had to stop 3 times on Pena Blvd because I thought I was going to crash if I just fought them with the windows open. Must have been 3 dozen total. The cat does eat them around the house and I had asked a guy at Home Depot of suggestions and he said the best remedy he know was the bowl of soapy water trick. I’m going to try the oils too and definitely investing in a bug zapper. I tend to have a rather large population in my garage though so at a loss for ideas in there… Maybe I’ll get some rolls of fly paper tomorrow. Thanks for the ideas!
You’re definitely not alone! And yes, I’d totally battled them while driving too, ha!
I live a bit further north on the Wyoming- Montana border. I know miller season starts when the night hawks arrive. Beautiful birds must eat their weight on moths every night. It still leaves plenty to deal with inside, 50 or more every night. My cats live outside so I hope they pull their weight too. Their job is to control rodents so the rattlesnake population stays away. Remember it could be worse than millers.
Good point Lee! We do have rattlers too–but not too many. I’d still rather have millers than snakes! 🙂
I would like some tips for cleaning up the mess the moths leave on the walls, ceilings, upholstery. What products seem to work better than others, or does anyone know. The inside of my skylight is a mess, as are my fabric window shades.
White vinegar and water mixture in spray bottle mist, remove with a rough cloth – almost dry surface. Mostly vinegar . . .
Possibly Rubbing alcohol?
We had a terrible moth problem in one bedroom of our home for about 3 years. I thought I was going to lose it mentally trying to keep up with them. I read online about trying “Diatomaceous Earth”. It is not toxic or dangerous in any way. They think it works because microscopically it is very sharp and cuts the moth larvae/eggs up??
We bought a bag of this at Home Depot. Anyway, we DOUSED this stuff on the carpet, even took up the baseboards and put it behind the baseboards and put them back on. This worked! I kept finding dead moths for about 3 more years in every storage box, drawer etc, but no more LIVE ones and no more vacuuming them up 5 times a day only to have them reappear.
ooooh… I haven’t thought of using DE for moths–thanks for the tip!
Thanks for all the suggestions. I will eventually try them all. We have a really serious problem with these insects at our cabin in Cloudcroft. We have hundreds of them in the house at times. So bad my wife wants to sell the cabin.
We live in Arizona and have a 5th wheel we store and use camping on the Mogollon Rim east of Payson. We have in past years had a problem for a week or two with these pests. This year I have never seen such a problem. We only use our rig a few weeks at a time or weekends and have had a minimum of 50 to 60 every night! As I type this we had another invasion last night and I now believe they are in the walls as I can see them crawling in the light covers, they are in our vent fans, we have found them in our freezer and fridge. Essentially, they are wherever they want to be. I don’t think these are from cutworms, I believe they hatch. My husband just got back with mothballs. The smell will be horrendous but I don’t know what else to do! We have tried all the aforementioned suggestions to no avail! I was hoping a hard freeze will take care of them but we usually pull off rim to go to Colorado River for winter. I feel like the Pide Piper with his rats! I hope we don’t spread these when we leave the rim and make our problem everyone else’s!!
Thank god I found this article!!
Trying to paint my kitchen last weekend was an absolute NIGHTMARE with all of these little buggers landing on my wet paint!
My new dilemma is when these miller moths get caught between the window & screen. I just looked out to find 2 birds on my window sill pecking at screen trying to get the 2 moths! I had to open the window and kill the moths before the birds pecked a hole in the screen! Lol! This was a first!
I’m so glad I found this site. I also live in Aurora, CO in a multistory condo building in Heather Gardens, a 55+ community. Most of the Lanai’s on my building are screened in and people tell me they don’t have the problem. My lanai is not screened in and the miller moths seem to congregate on my patio! I’ve used many of the suggested methods mentioned on this blog, and none of them work particularly well. I’ve been going nuts the last 5 nights! I do think I’m going to have to end up buying a new sliding glass door because that’s were they get in, or perhaps have my lanai screened in. I love having it open, but it might be my only defense against these obnoxious bugs – but an expensive bug repellent!!
I live in upstate South Carolina and we are having the worst time with those moths this year. we normally get a few every year, but this year has been awful! I cleaned out the pantries, wiped everything down with diluted peppermint oil (smells yummy and does seem to deter them), and double bagged anything like flour or crackers they might get into. I found an old bag of trail mix that was caked with them. Ugh. The thing is, if you swat at them and get anywhere in their vicinity, they die.
But – and here’s a wonderful, serendipitous discovery – they love, love, love, coffee with cream in it! I absent-mindedly left a cup out one night down in the basement where I work, and the next morning there must have been 20 of the Miller bugs in there! So now, whenever I have a cup of coffee, I leave some in the bottom of the cup and set it on the table under the lamp, and I think I’ve almost eliminated them. Yay! They’re persistent buggers, though, that’s for sure. We have one cat whose mission is life is to destroy them, ninja style, while the other one just watches them fly around like it’s the best TV show ever. I’ve also found them hanging out in the kibble for the dogs/cats, so we put that in airtight containers, too. Thanks for the advice about the vinegar/water to get the stains off the walls – they sure do smear! Hope the coffee/cream works for y’all! 🙂
Another idea: check any new bags of flour you bring home from the store. That’s on of the ways they come into your house. Sift it through a strainer and then put a bay leaf in the container.
you forgot a most important tip — keep all your oatmeal, rice and other grains, dried fruit & nuts SEALED in glass or some thick kind of plastic. This is the main reason they will nest in your house, that foods are stored in a way they can gain access, to feed on and nest in.
My cat would eat them until she puked. The worst was them bouncing and banging around in the furnace vents. At night, I would turn on a light next to our basement door, then, in the morning, work my way through thousands of them to open the door which faced the east and they would go nuts trying to get to the sun, then I would open it and every single one of them bolted. We cut down on them significantly by harvesting all of their cocoons in the brush behind our house and burning them before the next generation hatched.
The dreadful, filthy, disgusting M moths. After years and years of vacuuming, swatting, spraying water on them and capturing the stunned pooper with a piece of toilet paper, paper towel, etc. – just a scrap, and giving him a squish, throw him away. With the vacuum, cover the end of the pipe for a few seconds because if you don’t, you’ll see them waltz right back out! Big bucket of soapy water is good. Tomorrow we will shop for the diffuser, essential oils, cedar products, the special dirt, & coffee creamer. I’ve used diluted $1 Awesome cleaner and a textured sponge to clean up the smears, dust, wings, everywhere and wipe over the area with an old washcloth with clean water. On my fabric window shades, upholstery, curtains I use an old toothbrush and a compatible cleaner to remove the rust colored Miller Manure. Rinsing gently dabbing and then dabbing again with a dry towel all just to minimize the desperate move using all that stuff to clean up after the millers. Thank you all for your great ideas!
After reading the article and everyone’s comments, I’m wondering if the lil small moths we have are the same you all are describing. We’ve always called them Miller Moths (probably because of my mother). These ones are pretty small. They cocoon between box lids and multiply like crazy!!! We’ve only had them for about 4 years now and it seems once you have them, you will always have them and there is no certain time of year. Recently, I’ve noticed they like to hang out on the ceiling. They can get aggressive in the sense they will fly right at you in your face, but rarely. They’re so small it’s almost hard to hit them making us humans look pretty silly swinging away while they’re fluttering along. They too are found floating dead in our dogs water bowl, but not many. Sometimes I find them in the creases of the shower curtain just hanging out. So….. any idea what these things are and what to do to eliminate them? I guess bombing the house would be the only way…. maybe 🙁
Drastic times call for drastic measures. My house has been swarmed with literally hundreds of thousands of these little buggers. I would include a picture if I could just to show that I’m not exaggerating. I have two bug zappers hanging in my kitchen and two in my garage . While they are still functioning, they are so packed full of dead Moths that are not able to keep up. This year i discovered a can of ether works phenomenal. You know, starting fluid for a car. Just be cautious of your backdrop.
I live in northern SD very near ND, I am in shock at the volume I have. Some bushes are smothered in them. I set off an insect bomb in my one garage. When I walked by the doors it sounded like a billion mini creatures trying to get out. I had to use my blower when opening the door there were so many. But they keep appearing! I keep bombing but there is no end! One help is USE YELLOW LIGHT BULBS for any near or outside your doors and windows they will not congregate there. If you have a light fixture facing up leave it on with a white bulb away from your bed or chair. They will fly in and not fly out! I am hoping the city spray for mosquitoes will also kill these awful things. Home defense spray helps but the volume I have would fill buckets
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I live in Colorado in a apartment complex. I spray a mixture of peppermint oil and water( 50/50). That seems to keep them away. I spray along the edges where there’s an opening to allow the door to open and close. I also spray the inside of my door. Im PERTFIED of them, that’s the only thing that seems to help. Good luck
There seems to be some years that are Miller Moth years where they are everywhere. It can be very distracting to get them in your car and have them flapping around the back window as you drive into town, as well. Either using the yellow bug lights, (that bugs cannot see), or turning off porch lights, particularly by doors is good. I found an essential spray that attaches to a garden hose that works really well, until it rains. Natural Chemistry Yard & Kennel spray is safe for plants and animals and smells like a delicious cookie. It keeps insects away for days. We just spray the sides of the house, around the light fixtures and doors. It repels flies, too.
Yes ,Amy,cats will help but your curtains and rods may be destroyed and any glass decorations,picture frames or dishes may all be broken!LoL!After my ADHD kitten cleared out everything in its path just trying to get to a couple of moths I decided I had rather have the moths than my house destroyed and curtains torn down.Between the moths and the kittens I’m about to lose my mind. I am constantly having to chase moths out of my hair the other day I sprayed my hair with hairspray and a moth got all tangled up in my hair and couldn’t get out!Maybe if I spray more hairspray in my hair it will attract them and kill them.They do try to get into any food or drinks ,up your nose,in your ears,eyes and mouth and crawl over your face! I started getting fall Lady Bugs several years ago for the first time but they don’t bother me.Then we started getting stink bugs in late summer and early fall.The past 2 Summers we have had to fight knats out of our eyes,nose,ears and mouth,food and drinks and fridge and freezer. We nearly went crazy.This summer we had an infestation of fleas for the first time and finally got rid of them after putting salt all over the floors and carpet because I don’t want to use toxins.But here it is a month away from Christmas and we’ve had several frosts but still flying moth’s everywhere.I don’t know how cold it has to get to send the miller moths packing!
Hello
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My child put a plastic cup next to the porch light where all the moths congregated. It must’ve been an orgy.
I read that the male moths need to be killed to prevent their larvae. Now, I’ve no idea how you can tell a male moth from a female moth & quite frankly, it’s not my concern. But, I bought sticky traps that attract the males & they really work. Slowly, over several months, their population in my home is reduced to 2/month. Another Fun Fact: It takes the larvae 45 – 75 days to mature. So, you need to wait a few months for any moth larvae in the house to mature & the find the sticky traps.
I tried some cedar sachets from the grocery store, but the buggers sat right next to the sachet and it didn’t bother them. I tried the water and soap trick, but none of the millers even came close to the pan of water. Would a different pan, not plastic, work? Do they go for metal or glass?
We have styrofoam suspended ceiling in the basement, and they bounce off it while flying around the light bulb so it sounds like rain hitting a window. One of the 2 cats will try catching them, but the other one hides behind a chair. The milkers’ divebombing our heads is the worst.
I don’t seem to have it as bad, yet, but I don’t want the miller moths getting any worse. I think they are worse this year than any other year and I have lived in the same house over 55 years. I have never had so many inside the house before now.
I get rid of ALL of them very quickly. I have high ceilings. So I use a small hand held blower to blow them off ceiling and higher walls before they make spots, They will either fall to the floor or land lower. With a small hand held vacuum, suck them up. I get them all this way. When the vacuum gets full take it outside, away from the house, dump them out and either stomp on them and/or use the blower to make them fly away. The blower can be used to clean out the vacuum. This the a simple and easy to get rid of them.
It is now the year 2023 and the millers are out by the thousands in Southern Colorado. We have an indoor bug zapper that’s been working overtime. I’ve also found that putting a shallow bowl of soapy water and using an LED reading light with the goose neck so you can have the light very close to the water helps. I’ll be going to Lowe’s tomorrow to buy lots of lavender and eucalyptus plants to put in our yard. On the positive side, the birds (swallows, finches, mourning doves, sparrows, robins, and prairie quail) around our house are getting fat and eating well!