What with one thing and another, the studio itself has been largely closed up since the arrival of the Goblin Boys. Yeah, I’ve gone in to get things, but haven’t spent any real time in the room, nor has the door been open for more than a few minutes here and there. Ordinarily, this would be fine, except this time something went Very Wrong.
I came in the other night to start reclaiming it and trying to get it organized in such a way as to be reasonably kitten-safe, and more or less walked into a horror movie set. Moths. Everywhere. Clouds of those little dusty-beige bastards known as clothes moths. Dozens of them fluttering around, nonchalantly wandering up and down the curtains, casually hanging out by the nightlight like it was the local bar…
I like moths. Moths are neat. I DO NOT LIKE MY STUDIO LOOKING LIKE A SCENE FROM AN ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILM. Clothes moths are one of those things that I accepted years ago that I’m basically stuck with for life, and that there will always be a small number of them around. Trying to get rid of them entirely is far more work than I want to bother with over something that is more or less harmless when kept in check.
This was not remotely in check. Turns out that when the vacuum had gotten stored in the studio, it had some dust and lint in it, and the moths had decided that it was the perfect nursery. The vacuum has been relegated to the screened porch until I can deal with it, a couple of scarves got tossed, and there are baggies of yarn in the freezer. Moth traps were ordered and delivered at light speed.
The moth traps should work very nicely. I got swarmed when I tried to open and assemble it in the studio and had to go out into the kitchen to do it, instead. Trying to set them up while 10 or 15 moths fluttered around all “Heeeeey babe, lookin’ gooood…” was more than I wanted to deal with first thing in the morning. Pretty sure I saw a couple with tiny fedoras.
On the other hand, there will probably be plenty of moths for the cats to hunt for a bit until I get the problem back under control. Oisin, in particular, considers them to be a delicacy, and is going to be delighted with the buffet.