May–ya gotta love it. Lengthened days, a few actually warm enough to eat outside, a good steak on the grill, a Miller beer in hand. You get the picture. But you’re wrong….
Miller Time in Black Forest means miller time. 
The millers are awful this year, and with our unsealed construction project, they are even worse. Last night, about midnight, I went into the bathroom where the only light (a nightlight) in the house was on. My movement caused a swarm of millers around me–in my hair, in my face, and all around the room. It was like a nightmare out of a Hitchcock film.
Years ago I learned to set miller traps–sudsy water in a cup or bowl around a light. This was the catch around midnight–close to the same number had been caught earlier in the evening.
Warning, the following picture may not be suitable for squeamish eyes.
Petition to my dear readers:
Please don’t report me to the SPCA.
Thanks.
PS. I thought the night before had been bad, but when I went into the kitchen last night, I counted about 50 moths on the ceiling. So with my trap set, I prepared for the night. In this pot are about 40 of the precious things. Yikes!
I have become obsessed with drowning every one of them in my house. Who knows how many are lurking in the shadows yet…
June 1, 2009 at 4:54 am |
Could someone please explain how they get into the Suburban when all the doors and windows are shut?! They wait until I’m driving and then scare me to death by flying up into my face. It is a bad year, could it be all the rain?
June 1, 2009 at 6:19 am |
Last night’s catch only 12–guess they are literally coming out of the woodwork.
How they get into closed cars is definitely a mystery. I bet they weren’t in the Garden before the fall!
June 1, 2009 at 12:58 pm |
Yuk! A dead miller is a good miller. Go for it Fran! Do millers eat wool? The moths we have here are wool eaters! I get rid of them as soon as I see them. They have destroyed a number of clothing articles in the past. I keep my good items in zippered bags!
June 1, 2009 at 1:13 pm |
I have never had wool problems here, but maybe that is because I don’t have a lot of wool! In Indiana the moths ate a beautiful blouse I had. I embroidered with a daisy stitch around the holes and gave the blouse new life. It was lovely, though I wouldn’t be able to do that on anything else!
June 25, 2009 at 1:52 pm |
It’s been bad for us too! I hear that it’s worse wherever there are trees. We go on a killing rampage every night. We stun them with fly swatters and the dog follows along and eats them. Thomas has discovered that they make a “pop” sound if you squeeze them just right and could tell you all about how they behave when dismembered. (Talk about calling the SPCA!) I’ve tried the sudsy water and have had limited success. Maybe I need to get my bowl closer to a light….
June 25, 2009 at 2:19 pm |
They seem to be subsiding here but now I have to go around and clean the tell-tale red marks off of the walls. Yuck! I put the bowl about 4-6 inches from the light.