'Old Testament' moth invasion should end in 2 weeks

The moth invasion is as close as Lubbock and Portales, N.M., and stretches as far as Denver, Carlsbad, N.M., and northern Nebraska. And your neighbors are feeling it, too. “We’re approaching threat level ‘Old Testament’ at the Wood house,” according to a tweet by Amarillo financial advisor Josh Wood. He also reports “my mid-air moth batting average is approaching .300.”

I remember the last invasion. They are literally everywhere.

“People are going crazy,” said Potter County Texas AgriLife Extension Agent Brandon Boughen. “It’s kind of comical. They are all worried they are going to defoliate their plants, but they’re just a nuisance.”

"People are going crazy"....Just read some of the top threads if you want proof.

“Last year, we didn’t have the early moisture we had this year, and nobody noticed them because they didn’t come all at once,” Boughen said. “From spring to late summer they’re around, just not invading people’s homes.” The mild winter temperatures accelerated their transformation underground from worms to moths.

Nature never ceases to amaze me.

Experts say you can’t do much except limit the light sources that attract them, including the old-fashioned tactic of putting yellow lightbulbs in porch-light fixtures.

My suggestion is get a bug zapper. Some of the cheapest entertainment I ever bought.

The Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal reports they are at “levels not seen since 2003.” One woman reported a “hive of moths” outside her front door, according to the newspaper. The Colorado Springs Gazette recently featured a headline that began “Run! Hide!”

I really thought the "Old Testament" reference was poignant.

These things aren't much fun. However, the birds are having a party.

Amarillo.com

EEEWWWWW

So glad there weren't any pics and that I live no where near there!! I have Lepidopterophobia and Mottephobia. Yes pathetic I know, but an irrational fear is an irrational fear. I FREAK if they come anywhere near me. And those bug zappers are indeed great entertainment Especially when the enemy goes BANG (I've accepted that I'll never be a Buddhist).

I just got done scraping their sticky carcasses off my windshield this morning form a trip to ABQ sunport last night. They are definitely here, too.

I worked at a lake resort in northern Minnesota a few years ago. I remember during their hatch, I would have to cut acres of grass, so many of them would fly up from the grass that there were multiple times I literally couldnt see and would run into trees. A few times had to do the tuck and roll riding lawnmower jumpoff because they were flying in my eyes, mouth and nose.

OMG, we are inundated with them right now. They are everywhere, just everywhere. If I had a moth phobia I would have to be in a straight jacket right now.

I opened the garage door this morning to get to the freezer out there, and a cloud of them flew into the house. I moved a box that was on the porch, and hundreds flew out. I have to keep vacuuming them up, and the cats have grown weary of chasing them because it's not a challenge.

That's just part of the fun of living way out in the country, though. Biblical? Not really. Just another annoying bug infestation that I pray will be over soon.

Originally posted by FissionSurplus
OMG, we are inundated with them right now. They are everywhere, just everywhere. If I had a moth phobia I would have to be in a straight jacket right now.

I opened the garage door this morning to get to the freezer out there, and a cloud of them flew into the house. I moved a box that was on the porch, and hundreds flew out. I have to keep vacuuming them up, and the cats have grown weary of chasing them because it's not a challenge.

That's just part of the fun of living way out in the country, though. Biblical? Not really. Just another annoying bug infestation that I pray will be over soon.

The writer just needed a catchy title.

25 years in Amarillo.....I have seen it before.

They are nasty little bugs...

reply to post by whyamIhere


Twenty five years in Amarillo? My condolences.

I mean, I love Palo Duro Canyon and all that, but Amarillo gets winter and spring weather that is always so much worse than the Lubbock area. It gets colder, windier, and more tornado-y than we do.

Moths? They seem to be more prevalent out here than butterflies. Can't sit out on the porch at night with the light on because it will attract every moth from miles around. It's part of the "charm" of country life.