When Moths Attack: UPDATE

I have no idea how, but this guy managed to squeeze himself through a crack somewhere and ended up in my kitchen. (UPDATE: There are two of them.) As you can see, he is very large. A cat was trying to get to him before I came out and chased it off to take this picture.

Commence: Operation Kitchen Liberation. Updates to follow.

Update:

Kitchen is secure. At approximately 9:33 PM, I approached the kitchen from the east. Preliminary visual surveillance showed no sign of the intruders.

Fig. 1: Preliminary surveillance. Visual contact: Negative.

After a brief delay dedicated to writing my will, I breached the kitchen door at 9:36 and cautiously moved inside. Knowing something of the habits of moths, I was careful not to touch anything, or put my hands in areas where they might be hiding. I could not see either moth, so I fell back to my room to regroup and rearm.

Fig. 2: Weapons

I again returned to the kitchen with sandals in hand this time from the north, and immediately laid eyes on bogey 1. As you can see in this picture, he had positioned himself perfectly for a sneak attack above the door I had previously used to enter the room. A chill ran up my spine as I understood his dark purpose, and wondered at the malice in his tiny heart.

Fig. 3: Evil incarnate

My attention immediately turned to the moth that I knew remained hidden somewhere in the room. I slowly went around the room, poking my sandal into bags and under cupboards where it might be hiding. The second place I searched was the corner with the trash bin. I hypothesized that the moth would allured to the smells of death and decay.

Fig. 4: An Ambush

I was, unfortunately, correct. No sooner had I kicked at the trash can than the moth launched itself at me. I dodged and parried its strikes, until I could put some distance between myself and that confining corner. This one was considerably larger than the pictured moth, who twirled his mustache and gazed through emotionless, dark eyes at the events below. Then without warning, the attacker flew out of the open door and into the night.

At 9: 45 I coaxed the remaining moth down from the corner by throwing things at it, then dealt it a death blow in midair with my sandal. I put its carcass in a paper bag and was taking it out to the trash, only to discover that the other moth was WAITING ON THE PORCH FOR ME. No joke, this moth flew at me again, then took up a watchful position near the porch light. If I could somehow make this house airtight, it would be so.

Bird-Sized Moths are now #1 on the list of Things I Will Not Miss When I Leave Rwanda.