I don’t like killing things, but there are about 20 moths in my flat. is there any way to get rid of them without killing them?

34 comments

1. I can loan you my cat. He’s shit at actually catching them, but it’s fun watching him try.

2. They live between 15-30 days. you need to get your priorities in line.

3. Just remember that if they could the moths would kill you and everyone you care about.

4. The only thing for it is spiders you need to empty a bucket of spiders into your flat.

5. Move flat. Problem solved.

6. Just make sure any clothes/towels/tea towels are protected from them & properly shut any wardrobes/chests of drawers. Then, if you can be arsed, go around with a glass & a piece of paper trying to catch them & then shake the glass out of a window to get rid of them.

   Failing that, just let them fly about until they pop their clogs, seeing as they’re essentially harmless.

7. You could move house?

8. Buy a bat(the animal not a cricket bat) then you don’t have to kill them the bat will do all the killing.

   But of course then you’ll have a bat

9. Dust off and nuke the site from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure.

10. Yeah its easy to make a no-kill moth trap, depending on your making stuff abilities. You can easily use their love for the lamp against them, using a torch and a pillow case or something. They also love sitting on egg boxes for some reason, the same way cats like sitting in normal boxes. You can attract them with some tempting egg boxes. Look it up, and good man for not killing them.

11. I kill them the instant I see one. They leave their eggs everywhere – especially on clothes and bed linen. Their eggs turn into maggots. Once you get an infestation they are not easy to remove.

12. Napalm

13. Close your window at nights

14. Plastic pot and a thin plastic sheet (laminated paper works well.)

    Catch them one or two at a time and escort them off the premises.

    That’s what I do

15. Catch them >.>

16. There is a solution. It involves a phrase that makes many people run for the hills: parasitic wasps. They are harmless to humans and SHOULD die off rapidly after dealing with the moths. But it is a bit “there was an old lady who swallowed a fly”. Plus, you know, they are parasitic wasps. Careful what you wish for.

    Seriously though, if you end up with a serious moth infestation, this is the way. There are companies who will post you little cards every couple of weeks, they contain eggs/larvae/i forget what. Leave them near the moths. They will turn into insects that munch the moth larvae. It works. Try not to think about it while you have dinner.

17. Catch them in a glass and let them go outside – actually go out and shut the door / window or they’ll just come back

18. I’ve never met anyone who wouldn’t kill a moth. I feel even a vegan protestor who throws chicken blood around a KFC would kill a moth.

19. Turn off **all** your lights. Open a window. Stand outside the window with a torch. They’ll fly out, turn off the torch, go back inside and close the window, then you can turn your lights back on again.

20. Put a torch in a box and turn off all other lights. Close box once full of moth and take outside

21. have you tried asking them politely?

22. I vacuum all moths, craneflies, mosquitos and the teeny tiny bugs you get from leaving windows open in summer… Though I sometimes leave a few for the skinny house spiders you get.

23. Moth traps.
    its a touch and like a cone thing, they fly towards the light and get trapped in the cone thing then in the morning let them be free and enjoy the world before they get eaten by a bat.

24. Peace was never an option

25. How have you managed to accumulate 20 moths in your flat? 🥴

26. Light a torch and lead them out like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

27. You could try to bait them out. They follow light mostly so at night you can make a light trap and catch /release them outside.

    Not sure how effective it will be mind you.

28. Was gonna suggest using light 💡

29. Make sure you place a small ladder in your bath to make sure they can get out if needed.

30. Don’t kill them! Of around 2500 moth species in the UK, only 4 eat clothes. How are they getting in? Are they the clothes eating kind, or are they just coming in windows attracted to light? Moths are super cool. They don’t live very long, so if you make a concerted effort to remove them, they shouldn’t stick around.

31. “Thou shalt not suffer a moth to live.”

    Its in the bible, so it must be true.

32. Move house and you’ll be rid of them in the moving process

33. Build a [Moth trap](https://www.fscbiodiversity.uk/how-build-your-own-moth-trap-video-guides)
    This one is way complicated but pop an electric tea light in an empty egg carton and shakes outside in the morning would likely help too . The moths will just get into the egg carton and stay there , probably asleep by morning and be easy to release back into wild . Moths are happy , people are happy .

34. Butterfly net – you’ll get some hunting xp doing it this way too.