The Night Of The Living Moth’s

I don’t remember exact timeframes but, a while back, I had gone to the store to get a few groceries.

At the store, I grabbed my usual produce, grains and whatever else I needed.

Putting My Groceries Away – Or Not

Once I get home, I normally put my boxed items in air tight containers and toss the boxes so they don’t attract or absorb moisture.

Being a bit lazy that day, I just stuck the boxes in the cupboard “as is”.

I was going to deal with the boxes later but later got away from me.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Moth’s

I’m not sure if it was several days or a couple weeks later but, at some point, I saw a little moth in the trailer.

Critter’s happen and I figured he got in when I opened the door.

I scooted him back out the door thinking that was the end of it.

But It Wasn’t The End Of It

The next day there was another moth.

And the next day… there were more. 

I wondered how these critters were getting inside the trailer and why they would even want to come in.

Did I have something in here they wanted?

I keep a fairly clean house so as not to invite critters in. I never had this problem when I lived in the van – why is it a problem now?

Researching The Moths

I’d seen moths like this in the past but I never knew what they were.

It was time to consult my good buddy, Google, and get some answers.

I swear Google can read minds. It only took a few seconds to find out these were pantry moths (also called Indian Meal Moths).

Apparently, these little moths love to feed on grains, cereals and nuts.

One way they get into a home is via the grocery store.

At the grocery store, the adults lay eggs in boxes or non-air-tight containers of grain, cereal or nut products. Then, we bring the eggs home where they hatch, feast on our easy to get to grains/cereal/nuts and reproduce.

I didn’t go to the store for moth eggs! Moth eggs weren’t on my grocery list but I most likely brought the ready to hatch eggs home from the grocery store.

To top it off, I gave them a chance to hatch because I was lazy and didn’t follow my normal routine of putting stuff in air tight containers.

Cleaning House

I just moved in to my trailer so there really isn’t much to clean but I had to get a handle on these moths.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning my cupboards and making sure everything was in air tight containers.

I also tossed the boxes (food and all).

Nightly Moth Visits

That night I’d gone to bed and, as usual, watched a movie or scrolled through Tiktok for a while.

Not long after going to bed there were little critter’s landing on the screen of my phone.

These creatures were tiny but very annoying! I almost inhaled one when I took a breath in and that made me mad.

I quickly smooshed them as they landed on my phone.

Eventually, the annoyances stopped and I was able to sleep.

But the next night it happened again.

This went on for a few nights until the full-blown moth invasion went down!

The Night Of The Living Moths!

I’d fallen asleep but, during the night, the darned call of nature came through.

I lay in bed for a while as if whatever was in my bladder was going to magically evaporate. When that didn’t happen I begrudgingly got out of my cozy bed, walked a few steps to the bathroom, did my business and hopped back in bed.

I never turn the lights on when I get up during the night so, of course, there was nothing to see.

After getting back in bed I couldn’t sleep and decided to watch a movie on my phone.

It wasn’t long before there was a ping ping ping of critters banging against the screen of my phone.

Then, it felt like something was crawling in my hair. A few times, I felt something catapult off my face.

I thought it might be a spider so, in the dark, I reach up and waive my arm to see if there was a web.

But there was no web.

The attack didn’t stop so I got out of bed, turned the light on and saw several dozen (or more) pantry moths on the ceiling and walls of the trailer.

They were everywhere.

I Did The Only Thing I Could Think Of

I grabbed the fly swatter and started smashing.

Every time I smashed one it left a mark so I also had to do clean-up with a wet paper towel.

They seemed to love the skylight in the bathroom but the skylight is higher up than the ceiling so I had to stretch in order to clean-up after them.

I smashed and cleaned-up so many moths that my arm was sore the next day.

Preparing For Battle

According to Google, it can take days, weeks or months to get rid of these annoying little critters.

I hunkered down and prepared for what could be a lengthy battle.

During the day I’d see a few moths but the best time to find them was the middle of the night (a few hours after lights out).

My battle plan included waking up during the night, turning the lights on and smooshing till there was nothing left to smoosh.

By day, I eliminated the few who dared to flutter around in broad daylight.

By night, I conducted covert sneak attacks in order to conquer the masses.

Several nights later… it appeared I had won the war.

Are They Really Gone?

It’s been several days and I haven’t seen a single moth either during the day or at night.

Even the air feels different.

But I have to wonder…

Did I, the Mighty Moth Conqueror, defeat them or are they simply hiding in plain sight, secretly planning an all out attack?

Only time will tell.

Note To Self
Next time just put the darn food in air tight containers!

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About The Header Image

I was too busy smashing moth’s to take pictures so I created my own image.

The green marble like background was designed by me (using Procreate). I added some moth clipart to go with my moth adventure theme.

Thanks for following along!