There are old companions who always appear at the same times of the year, others do so cyclically. With the heat, Madrid and its inhabitants can coexist, among others, with the proliferation of moths. These days are many the complaints networking that they talk of the unusual appearance of these insects. What can we do to combat them? they are dangerous? is it a pest? This is what you should know.
Moths in Madrid. The truth is that it is a consequence of the time of year and the increase in temperatures. As a result, a type of lepidopteran season occurs between May and June. Experts indicate that when there is no especially cold winter, like this year, the survival of many more moths is facilitated. Then, the heat accelerates the metabolisms of these species (their metamorphosis), emerging more quickly.
It must also be taken into account that the increase in temperature influences the possibility of increasing the number of generations of the creature. As its metabolism speeds up, the adult that lays its eggs towards the end of winter lays them earlier. That is to say, the hotter the heat, the more generation options.
Is there really an increase? Yes, but it’s normal. As he explains to us Dionisio Aranda RochaHead of the Communication Unit Madrid HealthSince the end of May, the City Council’s Vector Control Department has been receiving a certain number of notices about the activity of diurnal environmental moths (Lepidoptera). “In any case, it has not been a very notable number of notices; They come especially from southern and southeastern districts,” explains Aranda.
Furthermore, in 2024, as biologist and professor José Luis Viejo Montesinos explains to Maldita.es, more populations of the Autograph gamma, a species that shows a considerable population density approximately every eight years. Apparently, Montesinos’ team detected a density of this species in the capital of about 140 individuals in a few meters, the usual being between 10 and 20 insects.
Are there risks with these moths? The short answer from a public health standpoint is no, they are harmless. “No relevant risk is estimated, nor has any type of control treatment (insecticides) been carried out: they are, in this case, totally unnecessary and harmful from an environmental point of view, despite the alarm that may generate in some neighbors due to the size of some of these environmental moths,” the expert explains to us.
It is not an unprecedented event. Not at all. Apparently, the situation has occurred in the past (in the years 1962, 1996, 2013…), “and seems to occur with cyclical patterns, natural phenomena of limited duration in time,” says Aranda. Among the causes? From the city council they suggest that they may be multifactorial, probably related to the existence of biological cycles, with migrations specific to these species and with other ecological circumstances.
Any home remedy to eliminate them? There are a wide variety of options to avoid (and eliminate) moths in the kitchen pantry either chase them out of the closets. In addition, there are everything from “natural” to remedies that we can buy in supermarkets.
From the website of pest control experts, Byostasys, offer some keys in the form of applicable products that contribute to its elimination. Among them, the use of Laurel oil (effective in scaring them away) on wooden surfaces, doors or windows, traps with natural pheromones as a capture method (the smell attracts the males that remain attached), or bags of lavender or lavender skin. lemon in cabinets.
Image | Donald Hobern
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