Mottephobia: Fear of Moths

Mottephobia: An abnormal and persistent fear of moths.

I have this fear and it’s the worst thing in the world.

Spring is here in Portland, and I’m starting to see moths gather around the light of my front door for the sole purpose of scaring the crap out of me. There are no screens on any of the windows in my house, so I often keep my windows closed at night, all lights off and a fan on me at high blast throughout the summer. Still, a moth will occasionally make its way into my bedroom and buzz around while I am trying to sleep, leaving me paralyzed and completely under my blanket in a desperate attempt to keep it off of me. Something that occasionally gets rid of them at this point is to open up the window wide and make my room completely dark. This only works if you a bright light outside – neighbors with outdoor lighting, streetlamps, etc. The moth will fly out of your room and to the light.

My incredibly stupid and inconvenient fear of moths seemed to surface around the time of my junior year of high school. There are a lot of bugs on the Jersey Shore, being so close to the ocean and mostly situated on swampland. I had a nightmare that involved moths getting under my blanket and crawling around all over me. I heard their buzzing vividly, and woke up entirely convinced it was real. Since then, I’ve somehow managed to become completely terrified of moths and I can’t be in a room where a moth currently resides. If I’m outside, I’m mostly fine. If I have a date over my house, she needs to deal with it for me. It can be a complicated thing to explain to those you share a bed with!

This year, I plan to purchase a huge quantity of mosquito netting/screen material and use a staple gun to put it up outside of the windows in the house. I am determined to somehow get past my ridiculous fears, but in the meantime I’m more concerned with simply coping.

I did some online research and found a few helpful hints on getting rid of all kinds of moths – outdoor moths, clothing moths and cabinet moths, otherwise known as “Indian Meal Moths.” I’d love to hear other suggestions… but most importantly, I’d love to hear how you’ve personally combatted your mottephobia because I’m starting to feel dehabilitated.

Getting rid of moths:

1. Moths often come in through open doors near outdoor lighting. Change the bulb in your porch light from a white bulb to a yellow one.

2. Cut up a pair of old pantyhose and make small sachets of bay leaves. Store your bay leaves on shelves where cabinet moths (Indian Meal Moths) hang out. You can also put bay leaves in your bags/jars that contain grains, flour, rice, etc. Moths, as well as other bugs, don’t go near bay leaves.

3. Get new screens, or make sure your current ones are secure.

4. Dust and vacuum regularly – moths love dust and won’t make a new home in your house if it’s not dusty enough for them to do so comfortably. Additionally, a vacuum with a hose is a great way to trap and kill a moth who managed to make it’s way inside.

5. Try moth traps that are not moth balls. Moth balls not only smell bad, but are extremely poisonous to humans as well as pets. Make sure not to use too many moth traps, however – too many moth traps will be sensory overload to the moths, and they will wind up ignoring all of them.

6. Cedar in the closet is great for preventing clothing moths. You can typically find cedar at local hardware stores. A combination of cedar chips and lavendar in sachets (make ‘em out of pantyhose!) placed strategically around your house will help keep them at bay.