Browntail Moth Update #9: July 3, 2025
As of this week, have not yet observed adult browntail moths in the field or received any reports from the public. Adults typically fly from late June to early August and have white wings (sometimes with a single black dot on each forewing), fuzzy white legs, and a fuzzy reddish-brown abdomen. This brown abdomen or “tail” is what gives browntail moth its common name!
Although adult browntail moths have hairs on their abdomens, these hairs are not the toxic hairs found in the caterpillar stage. However, there is always a chance that adult moths can pick up residual caterpillar hairs when emerging from their pupal packets, so it is best to avoid contact with adult browntail moths.
Although we haven’t seen any adult browntail moths yet, we have had field observations and reports of white moths that look similar to browntail. In the northeast, we have a huge diversity of white moths that are active at the same time as browntail moth, which can make identifying browntail moths challenging. Use the moth comparison chart below to help you identify some of the white moths you may see during flight season.
Browntail moth adults are highly attracted to lights. It is recommended to turn off any non-essential outdoor lights now through early August to avoid attracting moths. Making your property less attractive to adult browntail moths may reduce the amount of browntail moths flying and mating in your trees, therefore reducing the amount of browntail moth eggs (and future caterpillars!).
If you are not able to turn your outdoor lights off, swapping the outdoor blub color from white-blue to yellow hue bulb colors may be less attractive to browntail moth based on research research from UMaine Orono. A good option is the yellow bug light bulbs that are sold at many hardware stores. Avoiding bulbs on the UV side (cool blue hues) of the visible light spectrum is key. These include mercury vapor, UV bulbs, metal halide, and some LED bulbs.
FAQ: How can I get rid of browntail moth adults?
If you have many browntail moth adults resting on areas near your home, you can remove them using a wet/dry vacuum. Just fill the base with a few inches of soapy water and ensure your wet/dry vacuum has a HEPA filter installed. Vacuum the moths and let them sit in the soapy water for a couple days before disposing.
Keep outdoor lights off at night until early August to avoid attracting more moths to your home.
Find more information on browntail moth life cycle, management, human and animal health concerns, and more on our FAQ page:
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