FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT
Maura O’Neal
303.370.6407 • [email protected]

DENVER - Every late spring, miller moths migrate from the eastern plains to the Front Range – with warmer weather the moths are seeking flowering plants at higher elevations. They travel mostly by night, and they primarily orient by light (such as the moon).

Our modern electric light inventions tend to throw them way off, trapping them in a sort of trance, as they were never prepared to actually reach a light source. Here are a few tips to help the miller moths migrate.

• Close doors. Whenever possible, keep all doors to the outside closed. Close as many interior doors as possible at the end of the day. 

• Turn off any lights that are not in use, especially at the end of the day. The lights attract the moths. 

• Scare them away. Briefly open any doors in the morning where live moths have gathered to release them back to the outdoors. The moths may be sheltering around doors and windows. Swat and wave them away.

• Pick them up. Please keep an eye out for dried, dead moths on the floor. Disposing of moths will prevent them from becoming food for other pests, some of which we can’t even see easily with the naked eye. 

The moths are important for the ecosystem as pollinators and sources of food for animals, even as big as bears! Let's do our part to help them migrate safely.

Hungry for more moth info? Here’s a fact sheet from Colorado State University.