In what has become an annual occurrence, the winter moths are back. I noticed the small brown moths for the first time two Decembers ago, and have seen them every winter since. That’s not a good thing. The moths are harmless, but the eggs they lay turn into caterpillars that can do some serious damage.
For those of you new to the winter moth phenomenon, here’s some information I posted about the moths last year.
We saw them in Southborough last year, too, but the winter moth is a relatively new pest in our area. They’re more common on the Cape and in eastern Mass, but they have been making a steady march westward. The moths start appearing around Thanksgiving, and can hang around into December and even January when the weather is mild like it has been this year.
The Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Blog has an interesting write-up on the moths. According to that blog, the moths you see in flight are always males. Female winter moths are practically wingless and spend their days on tree trunks, house foundations, or other surfaces, waiting for a mate. While winter moths can be a nuisance when they cluster around homes in large numbers, they do their real damage as small green caterpillars, attacking cherry, crabapple and other trees in early spring and often completely defoliating them.
This fact sheet from UMass has some tips on limiting caterpillar damage in the spring, although from the sounds of it there isn’t a whole lot you can do.
Have you noticed the moths around your house? Did you encounter any damage from the caterpillars last spring? What steps have you taken to control the buggers? Share in the comments.
These guys are quite a nuisance! I’ve been wondering why there have been so many moths around our porch lights lately – here’s the answer. Thanks!
Though, it doesn’t sound like we can do all that much to get rid of them.
I also noticed these around the deck lights – I hadn’t realized what they were.
There are companies who will spray your trees in the spring to get rid of the caterpillars. We do that as we have a lot of trees. We use Cedarlawn out of Ashand but I’m sure there are a number of places you can contact if you have a problem in the spring.
They are all over our windows at night. Yuck.
I come in from the train after dark, via our deck entrance. There have been plenty outside, and a few venturing inside, when I come in.