No matter the plan for the summer, moths will be joining, KOB 4 reported recently.
Experts predict the moths, which are harmless, will fly away soon, but not for a few more weeks.
“It’s just the cycle of nature it’s with everything," John Garlisch, program director of the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service, told KOB 4. "Some years we have more, some years we have less."
The moths have made their presence known throughout the city of Albuquerque.
“Almost every single house we go to has got them in the cracks and crevices, door frames, and windows, and eaves," Chase Wilson, owner of Essential Pest Management, told KOB 4. “They’re just kind of all over the place this year."
For some residents, it's a “living nightmare” just trying to get through their front door by themselves, the KOB 4 report said.
“If they get into the house just vacuum them up, sweep them out," Garlisch said in the report. "Sure, it might frighten you for a little bit, but it’s not going to hurt you, and it’s not the end of the world either.”
Garlisch noted that this year has seen more moths because there has been more water.
“We had a very mild winter, we’ve had some beautiful spring rains, and so it provided enough resources to tell the moths ‘time to hatch,’ and also that there’s going to be food for them afterwards to come out," he said.
The moths will eventually fly away.
“This is a grin and bear it thing," Garlisch said. “You’ll probably see them up in the higher elevations in a couple of weeks, and then they may fly north for the summer.”
Wilson noted that spraying pesticides will not keep the moths away, but extinguishing outside lights, closing windows and sealing doors can help keep them out.
“It is hard to get rid of them," he said. “But usually, the best thing is just to wait it out, and eventually they’ll kind of go away."
These Miller Moths—as they are called—are quite harmless, Garlisch said. They do not sting or bite, and they help pollinate some flowers along with being a big source of food for birds. He also noted that this type of swarm is actually average; it only seems much more numerous because there were so few moths for the past two years.
The Cooperative Extension Service makes available research-based information on "agriculture and natural resources, consumer and family issues, youth development, and community economic development" to improve quality of life.