Sunday, November 1, 2026

I believe I've found the source of our moth infestation.

Last year, The Husband gifted me with a bird feeder.  Soon, I was buying birdseed in 20-pound bags and storing it in a clear plastic tub on the back porch.  One day, when the sun was shining through the tub, I noticed that it was crawling with moths, even though we kept the lid on the tub all the time.  No biggie; the tub stayed outside, and the birds probably didn't mind moths in their food.

Except for having seen those moths in that sealed tub, I might never have figured out where the moths in the house were coming from.

Yesterday, I opened the doors of the cabinet where the microwave sits.  Several moths flew out.  Inside the cabinet, there was a ziploc bag with a handful of bird seed in it.  The bag had tiny holes in it.  

Can moths chew or drill holes in a plastic bag?

Evidently, they can/did.

I tossed the bag in the outdoor trash can and spent the evening chasing moths in the house.

Here's something kind of odd:

For several years, I've kept moth traps in all of the closets.  When I noticed moths flying around the house a couple of weeks ago, I bought six new traps to replace the ones in the closets.  The old traps hardly had any moths in them and were still very sticky, so when I replaced the old traps in the closets with new ones, I hung one of the old ones in the living room.  I also hung one of the new ones in the living room.  

The old trap in the living room has attracted a dozen or more moths since I moved it from the closet.  The new one is completely empty.  What's the deal?