When will the miller moths return? (Denver: house, school, cabinet)

[DoodlemomCoS]

Last year was our first year in CoS and we did not have the dreaded miller moth invasion in spring 2016. I really hate moths (although I know they don't hurt you lol). When should I expect these bad boys to come? I need to install a window AC in an upstairs room but want to wait until after the Mothfest. TIA.

[beezle1]

People are usually seeing some by now, but I have not seen a single one yet!

[otowi]

It all depends on the timing of storms, freezing temps, etc. Our late snow last weekend may make a difference. The big invasion is usually later this month/early June. We'll see. I have been out hiking with an entomologist so I know moths are out there just not millers yet.

[MsMetal]

Too soon I hate those things with an absolute passion. My fear of them gets worse every year & it makes me so angry b/c I know it's completely illogical. IDK, but it seems another month or so.

[Colorado Rambler]

The Miller moth invasion usually strikes in early June. When I was a kid, the appearance of the Millers meant school was out for the summer or soon would be. They are very tiresome to say the least, and they appear every year like clockwork - real survivors of the insect world. If you live in the Springs, you better learn to love the Miller Moth - just another refugee from the plains like many of your next door neighbors.

[captain_hug99]

I've already seen some birds in the intersections, so moths can't be far behind. Since the birds are here already, the moths shouldn't be terrible.

[Vision67]

Our little dogs are waiting....yum!

[Marcy1210]

When we lived in Teller County, they'd arrive about mid-June. For whatever reason, they loved our showers. Without fail, one of us would get in the shower, and the water would get them fluttering out of the folds in the shower curtain. There would be 4-6 of them bumbling around our heads making it nearly impossible to take the shower. If you splashed them, they'd get knocked down and pile up on the drain, clogging it. They'd get in the car and wake up as we'd be driving, nearly causing us to crash the car. They'd pop out of curtains, scaring us, and otherwise making life miserable. We had under cabinet fluorescent lights in the kitchen, so we'd leave one on, and put a large mixing bowl filled with soapy water. Every morning there'd be 20-30 dead moths in the bowl. Moth season can't get over soon enough...but at least they amused the cats.

[dr.frog]

Huh, I rarely get the moths inside the house -- sometimes one gets in as I'm going in or out of the door, that's about it. Did you leave windows open with no screens, or something like that?

I have flycatchers (I think they are Say's phoebes) who nest in my yard every year. The moths typically arrive just in time to feed their first brood -- the parents are really busy around that time!

[Marcy1210]

You don't get as many in the Springs as we do in the higher elevations as they are only passing through the Springs on the way to their final destination in the mountains. They like the higher altitudes and abundance of flowering wildflowers, nectar and plants in the mountains. They are really thick in Teller and Park Counties most years (and I would imagine west of Denver as well), and they hang around for a much longer time. They arrive in early to mid-June and stick around until late summer.

Miller Moths - 5.597 - ExtensionExtension