prillalar | Limberlost

Limberlost

There is a moth in my bathroom. A large moth. The kind of moth that makes you wonder if you could just use the bathroom at the gas station all weekend. The kind of moth that lands on your face and sucks out your eyeballs. The kind of moth that comes with two tiny girls who say, "Please give back the egg!"

I think the electric bug zapping racquet, which the Boy bought so he can pretend to be Momoshiro and Dunk Smash the wasps, will only increase its terrible powers. If I sprayed it with Raid, I would be poisoned before it even started to cough. And I forgot to charge my lightsaber.

When I'm being terrorized by large moths, as I am from time to time, I normally call the Boy to dispose of them for me. I think he hates them as much as I do, but he's the man. My guilt at reverting to gender sterotypes and my frustration over not being able to do this for myself pale beside my fear of very large moths. Once, he even came home from work to kill a moth so I could take a shower. (He just works across the street, if that makes me seem less pitiful.)

But he is away this weekend and so it is just me and Mothra. Maybe I'll get a hotel room.

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I'm like that about spiders. I make my spouse sweep the stairway for signs of the evil things before I'll go down to the basement to do laundry. This occasionally causes a crisis of underthings, when he's not around. I am entirely sympathetic to the urge to get a hotel room.

For most bugs, it's the size that does it for me. Up to a certain point, they don't bother me and then I freak.

The kind of moth that make you wonder if you could just use the bathroom at the gas station all weekend. The kind of moth that lands on your face and sucks out your eyeballs. The kind of moth that comes with two tiny girls who say, "Please give back the egg!"

You have made my entire day. I laughed so much!

I will come kill that moth for you. Hero!Gwen =D

I waited all day and you never showed up!

I couldn't find my outfit. :(

Your bug-killing outfit?

...yes.

Interesting segway: I actually did have a tick-killing outfit. And a sacrificial altar. And a dedicated butterknife for crushing their shells.

Because I can't think of anything in the world worse than ticks. Glah. *shudders*

Not to belittle your moth terror (which I completely understand), but... Tee-hee!

I think I'll survive. *g*

If I could think of a good excuse to be in Canada, I'd put it outside for you. (I don't really mind bugs, so catching them is fine, but squishing bugs? EEEWW YUCK UGH.)

Does anybody need an excuse to be in Canada?

Once when I was young and starvin' I summoned a conveniently large male to my apartment to deal with a Death Moth (okay, actually I did this summoning thing many times but I'm talking about a particular occasion here). In the five minutes it took him to show up the moth disappeared. I wasn't sure where it had gone, since I was waiting for help under my quilt with my hands over my ears. Yes, moths really do freak me out.

Anyway, after twenty minutes of unenthused searching the Male was preparing to Leave in Disgust. To leave me alone with a homicidal fluffy-winged beast!

"Wait," I was obliged to beg. "One more minute! I think I hear it laughing at us from over by the bookshelf."

This garnered a frustrated snort from my Savior.

Summoning my courage, I pulled a chair up to the shelf. I did this one-handed, because I was carrying a pint jar full of iced tea. Probably I was so terrified I couldn't unclench my fingers to set it down, I don't remember for sure, it was a long time ago Officer and it all happened so fast. Anyway, I dragged the chair, climbed atop, and ever so gently poked one of the graphic novels. I think it was VIC AND BLOOD, but it could have been THE KILLING JOKE.

And I was right. The moth shot out of the shelf, making a homicidal insect beeline (as it were) for my face.

Naturally I reflexively threw up a protective hand. Alas, I forgot about the jar of tea. As a result I: a) cracked myself in the forehead with the mouth of the iced tea jar; b) with enough force to leave a ring-shaped bruise and knock myself off of the chair; c) and sloshed tea all over myself.

This did leave the moth fluttering around at Alyx-on-chair forehead height while I was safely on my back on the carpet. Unfortunately, the Convenient Male was so busy gaping down at me that he almost lost the little fucker, even though I was spluttering and pointing (with the tea jar, of course) "Geddim, geddim, giddim!!!"

The best way I have found to deal with moths without assistance is to own a tarantula, capture the moth in a small yogurt container, and throw said container swiftly into the spider cage.

My moth story pales beside yours! I don't think I'll go the tarantula route -- I'm not fond of spiders either.

It embarrasses me to admit I have a few such stories.

The thing about the tarantula was I could often bear to catch moths, with much quailing and freaking out, but I couldn't kill 'em. So Rassilon got to eat and I got to feel revenged.

Because I was a great friend of moths until this past spring, until one of them got trapped in my apartment overnight and it laid eggs in two of my plants. I didn't know about the eggs until these plants were devoured by millions of tiny green caterpillars.

If you have plants, and if you even like them-- never mind love them-- you will find a way to expel that moth.

I am plant-free. In fact, when we used to live in the same town as my parents and the Boy's parents came to visit us, he borrowed a plant from my mother to keep in our apartment until the visit was over. It managed to survive for a week, but that's about as long as I've owned any plant.

So...

Why did he feel the need to borrow a plant?

So we would seem normal, I guess.

What sort of plant did you borrow? (Don't worry if you don't know the scientific name... I certainly don't.)

I have no idea. It was sixteen years ago and all plants look alike to me anyhow.

They told me that they think you look quite distinctive. Oh, and that they love you. But they understand.

BROOMS. BROOMS ARE YOUR FRIENDS.

(I also have the Mothra song going in my head now. Which will set off the Gamera song. My brain is a flea market =p)

I'm not sure my Swiffer will do the trick!

Hee. Leave it to Hal to be able to write an interesting post about a moth in a bathroom. *shudders* There was a huge ass moth in my room the other night and it wouldn't leave .

My best advice? Get someone else to kill it for you, or get a broom and start whacking things randomly and hope that big "CRASH" you heard wasn't you breaking your medicine cabinet.[...] *not very helpful* Good luck!

I just left it alone and it's now somewhere I can't see it. Out of sight, out of mind. :)

Aren't you happy you never found a bat in your shower, while you were showering? Oh. My. Gawd. I make the Boy kill the big spiders. I only got a bat in the apartment the one time.
~Inn

Oh my god, I think I would *really* leave if there were a bat.

I thought the fear of moths was unusual, but more and more people I know are telling me that they're afraid of them. I used to catch them and play with them. I'd get it for you if I could reach that far.

That would be a long reach!

I think we have finally found a situation in which I am more butch than you.

If that moth is still around come August, or if any other insects show up in the meantime, I will gladly rid you of them, little lady.

Hee! I think this one will be gone but there will be others, since we keep our windows and balcony door wide open all the time.

I hate being a wimp, but what are you going to do?

With most bugs, I try to get them outside without killing them (exceptions: ants, which infest in great swarms, and mosquitoes, which feast on me -- I have no compunctions about killing either).

Moths are easy, because they're attracted to light. I'd turn off/block all light in the bathroom, open the door, and leave one light on in the house near an open window. The moth will go into that room on its own. Then you can shoo it out the window if it doesn't fly out by itself. It doesn't really want to be in your house any more than you want it to be there.

It's the season for giant moths here too, but they're rather pretty, like huge black butterflies. They tend to sit around on a wall and do nothing.

You think they're doing nothing, but really they are plotting your destruction. Don't say I didn't warn you.

♥ ... you probably had someone dispose of it? I would close the door tight. Also, if it landed on the floor or lower down, put a bowl or small pan or something over it. I'd probably put weights on it after my one encounter with Cocky, the incredible roach that escaped out of a screw-top glass ...

I don't know where it's gone! But since it's out of the bathroom, everything is fine for now.

If your lightsabre isn't handy, you can drive out a moth by turning on an outside light (or in another room where you can cope with a moth flying around) and turning off all the other lights. The moth will fly towards the light.
We have giant hand-sized moths here, and it's really revolting when the cat eats one then vomits it on the floor.

Jeez, that's a huge mouthful for a cat!

I'm like that about any insects in my home. I just don't like sharing my living space with bugs of any kind, even when I know, intellectually, that they're probably way more scared of me - if they're even aware of me - than I am of them. So, yeah, I totally feel you on this.

I'm okay with insects if they're small, but once they get past a certain size, I just can't deal.

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Limberlost

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Sister!!

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Do you have houseplants?

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Moths vs. Bats

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How to drive out a moth

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