Do Miller Moths Eat Cannabis Plants?

Dear Stoner: Do miller moths eat cannabis? I started growing a few plants in my side garden this summer, but I just noticed some of those annoying little bastards flying around my front yard and in my house.
Marij Mothra

Dear Marij Mothra: Shhh. Do not speak their names out loud. I put those little demons up there with the bloody Mary, the Candyman and Voldemort. They took a little longer to descend upon Colorado this year, but miller moths (Shit. I said it, too. Run inside.) are back again, with a vengeance. Even though miller moths are annoying, you don't need to worry about them doing much damage to your weed plants. But watch out for their younger form, the army cutworm.
Although not the most common or dangerous cannabis pest, army cutworms live in Colorado and will definitely eat cannabis plants, usually (but not always) before trichomes develop. What we're talking about are essentially caterpillars munching away on your pot plants, which is kinda funny to see on video but ultimately bad for the crop. There are a number of ways to defend your garden against these bugs in vegetative and flowering stages, but read up before spraying anything.

What you really need to watch out for are your standard cannabis-eating pests, like spider mites and thrips. And, if you're growing outside, grasshoppers are perhaps the scariest of them all. They come in swarms and eat cannabis branches and the bases of plants, and can quickly ruin entire harvests. In 2023, cannabis farmers (and all farmers, really) in Colorado complained that grasshoppers were ruining their crops, with some cannabis growers losing upwards of 1,000 plants at a time. Mormon crickets are also a pain in the ass, although those aren't as prevalent in the Denver area.

Herbert Fuego is the alias of a longtime Westword staffer. Send him questions through [email protected].