How to prevent moths in the house? This is what experts recommend

A new season of summer is about to start in Chile. And with the arrival of high temperatures, which are already being felt in several regions of the country, we also see that THE moths They start to be more abundant than at other times of the year .

As described by Natural History Museum the rise in temperatures encourages the activity of insects which, attracted by the lights, come to settle within the houses especially at night.

Butterflies, which are moths are of the order of lepidoptera which is a group of insects that usually have a body and wings with scales. They appear more frequently in areas close to crops or where wild vegetation is abundant, describes the MHN.

Although the presence of these insects known for their brown colors and characteristic beats can cause displeasure in some people, you should know that They play a key role within the ecosystem.

Being nocturnal butterflies, they are good pollinators which contributes to the reproduction of flowering plants. Added to this is the fact that there are plant species that are only pollinated at night, so in these cases it is the moths that take care of this process instead of the bees.

Whether larvae or adults, these insects They are the food source of other species like birds, amphibians, reptiles and even mammals.

Experts say that because butterflies are responsible for nighttime pollination and other functions, it is recommended not to kill them. At the same time, they explain that there are several techniques to prevent them from entering homes en masse.

Jadiel Mussa, a landscape architect and ecologist at Central University, explained in a recent interview with T13 that there are several methods to combat the presence of moths inside homes without resorting to insecticides.

One of them is to give them brightness outside houses such as the garden or the terrace, in order to draw your attention to this area. In this case, Mussa suggests having “these lights that are solar.”

According to the ecologist, there are also some “natural repellents” with odors that are unpleasant to moths and other insects. These are lavender, rosemary and lemon.

“The shell can be placed on grills and placed near windows” said Moussa.

Other suggestions given by the experts are turn off the lights if the windows are left open at night, install mosquito nets that prevent the passage of moths and store food in sturdy containers.

Experts emphasize that the proliferation of moths at this time of year does not represent an “infestation”, since many species are native to Chile.

In addition, they are not harmful to humans: they do not sting, bite or attack.

“It is important to emphasize that these animals pose no danger to humans, as they do not transmit diseases, are not venomous, do not sting and are not harmful” explained Hugo Benítez, biologist, entomologist and academic at the Catholic University of Maule.

“They are completely harmless and beneficial, because, being large, they pollinate larger plants, so there is no need to kill them, especially nowadays when we see fewer and fewer bees, so it is although there is a boom in moths,” added the expert.