Problems caused by Moths
As pests go, moths are probably less harmful than most. After all, they don’t carry or potentially carry a bunch of diseases, like cockroaches, flies, and rodents can, and they don’t pack a bite o0r sting like yellow jackets. In fact some people don’t mind having moths around at all; they may even consider them beautiful and nice additions around the house. Some species of moth are amazingly complex.
There are some moths that most people would consider pests, however. While most species of moth cause no harm either to people or to plants, a few can be downright costly for the homeowner. Let’s take a look at a few of the problems these species of moth can cause both inside and outside of the home.
Indoor moth problems
Inside the home, moths can cause damage both to food and to clothes. Indian meal moths are the moth most likely to be found within the home. They like to eat different dry food sources and will lay their eggs in them, the larvae feeding on the food stuffs after they hatch. Dry foods, of course, are often the foods that are used up at the slowest rate within a household (with the exception of cereal mealy moths like to feed on food that is most commonly used in cooking) so you may not realize you even have a problem until you start to notice a lot of moths flying around. No one wants to eat food where bugs have been hatching and growing, and a mealy moth infestation can mean a lot of wasted food, and that means wasted money.
The other type of moth that can be a big problem within a home is the clothes moth. We have all heard of these little guys; they nest in drawers or among linen that, again, are seldom used, and use the fibre for food. The result can be shirts and socks that, although still wearable, are most of the time downgraded from chosen casual apparel to work garments. Again, the damage can end up costing a home owner quite a bit of money when it is all added up.
Outdoor moth problems
Moths are more likely to be a problem to home owners outside than they are inside, particularly if you grow fruit on trees, vines, or bushes. There are a few different species of moth which lay their eggs in nests among the branches of fruit trees, and the caterpillars will wreak havoc among the trees, chewing holes in the leaves and the fruit and resulting in no harvest year after year. Even getting rid of the nests diligently doesn’t seem to help, as the moths are profligate breeders and can often adapt their nesting and feeding habits, allowing the caterpillars to crawl from one tree to another until nests are found in all the trees in the yard.
And of course, like most insect species, moths carry a degree of dread for some people. Although harmless enough, there is a definite creepy factor that comes into play with moths. In our opinion, though, it is the costs associated with moth damage which accounts for their inclusion in the pest category.