Mothball Your Mothballs

By Brian Clark Howard

Keep toxic mothballs out of your home, and use cedar, cloves, rosemary and other natural remedies instead to protect your clothes. The active ingredient in mothballs is actually a pesticide, typically napthalene or paradichlorobenzene. The EPA links short-term exposure of humans to naphthalene to cataracts, liver and neurological damage. The agency considers the chemical a possible carcinogen.

The EPA warns that short-term exposure to paradichlorobenzene can cause nausea, vomiting, headaches and irritation. Long-term effects include anemia, skin lesions, appetite loss and liver damage. See why it's so important to keep mothballs out of the mouths of children and pets? Many trips to emergency rooms have been the result.

Instead of bringing such toxic things into your living space, store your vulnerable fabrics in cedar closets or chests. For a cheap and space-saving option, use cedar shavings or blocks. Moths are also repelled by a number of herbs, including cloves, fresh rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Place the scented material in cheesecloth bags and stick in pockets or dangle from hangers. Smells a lot better than those chemical mothballs!

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