Moths! AND the Amityville Horror too...

[pintopiaffe]

Help!

Since the rain ended, I quite suddenly have a flock (a gaggle? a swarm? ) of moths in my bedroom.

Which is of course where my clothes are.

What can I do besides mothballs? (which I understand are to keep them away, not kill/get rid of once they are THERE... )

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the sun has brought out the demonic activity... Flies. Flies and more flies.

I usually have a fly strip in the kitchen in late summer/early fall as they come inside. This is RIDICULOUS.

I've no idea where everything is getting in. All screens are in good shape...

Do I need chemicals? Or an Excorcist?

[JanM]

You can use your vacuum cleaner on the moths-no I'm not kidding. And I bet the flies hatched out during the rain and started swarming, and just as you opened the door they flew in-unless you proped the door open to bring something in or out? I've occasionally had swarms that go in the attached garage when I have the door open for mowing or something, and then I have the misfortune to open the inside door at the wrong time. I just open the blinds to a nice sunny window and nail them when they land on the window, or you can set something on a table or other open place and bait it and wait for them with the swatter.

Are you positive they're moths? The adult of the little brown weevils that hatch out of food eventually turn into a smaller type moth--you might have something going bad somewhere and not know it.
And I wonder if the flies hatched out of something dead somewhere? Do you have a crawl space? You might want to look.

[dressagetraks]

I could rent you my blue point Siamese for a few hours. She has literally bounced off the ceiling in pursuit of an insect. Catches flies 5 feet up in mid air. Taste great, less filling. She's probably one of the best hunters I have ever seen, and she's always been lifelong indoors, but boy, does she keep the house patrolled.

Outside of that suggestion, no clue.

[furlong47]

Adult moths aren't what eats the clothing -- their larvae do. (And only certain kinds of moths, too.) So if you can figure out how to get them out of there relatively quickly, you should be okay.

[kookicat]

Oh, gross, gross gross. I have a huge phobia of moths. I would be calling the bug exterminator pronto.

[Dad Said Not To]

If they're clothes moths, they're a bitch to get rid of. I've been dealing with clothes moths for several years. I squish them when I see them, I squish the larvae when I see them, I use moth traps, woolens and anything with fur/hair are kept in a cedar trunk, and I STILL have an infestation of the damn things.