When Nature Invades - Peaceful Mornings Turn into Moth Madness by Pennie Hunt

​It took me an entire day to undo what I had done last fall. I unhooked bungee cords and tie-downs and piece by piece I unwrapped all the deck furniture. Shaking off the dust from the winter wind, I folded each tarp and stored them in a box in the garage. I then took 24 cushions from the patio furniture down the stairs, around the house, and laid them on the front driveway.

Once the cushions were sprayed with cleaner, I power-washed them. The sun was warm, so every 30 minutes I flipped them over and over to ensure they would dry.
During the drying time, I power-washed the deck and furniture. This was a time-consuming, dirty job that needs to be done every year.

When the cushions were dry, I carried 24 cushions 2 at a time back around the house, up the stairs, and positioned them on the appropriate furniture. When I was done it was a work of art. An outdoor space worthy of a photo in a home decor magazine. I was happy and proud of what I had accomplished.

For a week I enjoyed my morning coffee on the deck while my dogs laid in the sun. Life was good. Until it wasn’t. One morning, coffee in hand, I opened the door to enjoy my space of paradise to find the invasion had begun. Miller Moths!

Miller Moths had started their migration and decided my deck was the perfect hotel to rest for the night. The side of my house typically has a calm cream-colored brick exterior. It was now heavily speckled with miller moths. I moved the back cushion of my swivel chair and a group of them flew out. Lifting the bottom cushion, I realized twice as many had congregated there. It was disgusting. My clean space of peace had been invaded.

I quickly yelled for my dogs and the three of us, and my coffee, hurried back into the house. For the past 9 days, every morning has been a repeat of the horror show. Every morning the number of miller moths in the herd, flock, fleet, troop, team, or whatever they are called has increased. Twice a day my husband blows them away with his leaf blower in the hopes of sending them on their way, only to find a new group in the morning.

At night, birds from far and wide have given my deck a 5-star review as the best all-you-can-eat moth diner in the area. You can guess what birds do. That’s right, they doo. The more they eat the more they doo, doo, doo! So not only do I wake up to a deck full of miller moths every morning, but also a deck decorated with bird doo doo.

Every day we clean it. Every morning, we wake up to see the clean deck again covered with bird blessings, miller moths, moth spots, and dust from their wings. I am trying to be optimistic. I am struggling. I understand that they are pollinators and are a food source for birds, reptiles, bears, and bats. I feel like we have gone above and beyond the call of duty by allowing the birds to use our deck for a nightly feeding frenzy and now it is time to go.

I am trying to find something to be grateful for about this situation. I will be grateful when they move on to their mountain home. When they do I will spend another day cleaning the deck and cushions so my dogs and I can go back to our happy morning routine.
I am also grateful I do not live where the cicadas live.

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                                                         Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                       When life gets messy, be patient, clean up what you can,
​                                             and believe the pain will soon pass.
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​YOUR TURN...        
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