Are Moths Pests or Harmless Visitors?

At first glance, moths surely look harmless. In fact, we hardly consider them as pests since we don’t usually see them roaming around our house constantly and in a bothersome manner. Compared to roaches that look really gross and filthy, moths look more like not-so-pretty butterflies.

Moths and butterflies actually belong to the same family of Lepidoptera where insects with scales and wings belong. But moths are more numerous than butterflies at a ratio of around 10:1. In the United States alone, there are 11,000 moth species.

So the question is: should we consider moths as pests in our households? Here’s the answer.

The Harm that Moths Bring
As much as we’d like to think that moths are harmless brown butterflies that love to visit homes rather than gardens, they are actually not as safe as we think they are.

In fact, the mere direct contact with their feces and white cocoons to our food poses a wide range of health threats including allergic reactions, mucosal irritations, and intestinal diseases.

According to entomologist Rich Pollack, while most kinds of moths are inconsequential to people, some of them can cause contact dermatitis. Through a direct contact with their wing scales, a person may experience irritation on the skin and even on the cornea of the eye. Even feces and white cocoons left in our clothes and other wearable items can cause irritation.

Moths can also bite foils and thin plastics in order to penetrate sealed food containers. They pose health risk once they contaminate food.

There are also species of moths that feed on plants with cardenolides. This poisonous compound is very dangerous when eaten by humans because it can affect heart muscles.

Where Do Moths Hide?
A notable fact about moths is that they can dwell in your house unnoticed. Since some of their species are very small in size, they can get through wall crevices and furniture holes. Once inside, you can hardly notice their presence, so they can stay there their whole lives.

Although moths have a short life span of two weeks, they can fly hundreds of meters within that period of time. Imagine how much food one moth can contaminate at that range!

So the next time you see moths in your house, don’t simply shrug their presence off. Instead, contact trained and skilled pest management professionals from Jersey City Exterminators to take care of them.