- LAST UPDATED: December 9, 2023
Mice are pesky, and they develop different methods to dodge the traps set to facilitate their extermination. Have you tried using all techniques at your disposal unsuccessfully? This article will provide a reliable way you can use to assure complete eradication of these rodents. Read on to learn about the use of mothballs to repel mice. We offer excellent tips on using the product to maximize its benefits! If you’ve failed to keep the rodents away, you need to apply the information herein for a revolutionary experience at your home! Learn about mothballs, how to use them and safety precautions involved in their application.
Contents
What are Mothballs?
A mothball is a pesticide product that you can use to repel pests from your house. It contains either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene as active ingredients. They are primarily white rounded objects.
The two chemicals are highly toxic fumigants that are volatile when exposed to open air. They slowly turn into gases that fill the space creating a toxic environment for the pesticides and the rodents. Mice dislike the fumes, and they ran away immediately the air is concentrated with the poisonous fumes. For these mothballs to be effective, it is critical that the concentration of the fumigants is high.
This product can seriously damage the indoor air quality. The strong odor of the mothballs can be detected at only a few parts per billion in the air. As such, it should be stored away from children. During applications, people should vacate the house for some time to avoid inhaling the toxic fumes.
Do they Repel Mice?
Yes, mothballs have strong fumigants that irritate the mice to move away from the house. It is, however, vital to note that the concentrations required to achieve this effect are a health hazard for human beings. Ideally, the mothballs are designed to be used in low density to fumigate moth and various larvae and eliminate them from clothing.
When using this method to repel mice from your house, you should always take precautions to ensure that children and pets do not come into contact with the mothballs. If possible, a significantly high number of the mothballs should be used to achieve the desired concentrations. In such situations, you should lock the house and leave it for several hours to avoid inhaling the gases. Using this product has various strengths as well as weaknesses.
The notable benefits of mothballs include:
- Availability. Mothballs are available in your next-door store making it one of the most straightforward options to acquire. It can easily be obtained from online stores since it is the leading home depot mouse poison products. The product can be bought in different packages. This flexibility makes it one of the most accepted mice repellant.
- Cost. The product is relatively affordable to most homeowners. The low pricing coupled with its significantly high-effective levels make it a preferred option for many people.
- Ease of Use. While the fumes of this product may be unfriendly, many people appreciate the simplicity of the application process. The product requires quick distribution in areas where mice infestation is a problem. The size of the balls makes it easy for you to fix them in small spaces where the mice hide.
While the product has these benefits, it is critical to note that it too has several weaknesses that you should consider before choosing it as the ideal mice eradication option for your home.
These disadvantages include:
- Safety Concerns for Your Family. These mothballs release gases that may be toxic to people when in high concentration. Unfortunately, high levels of these gases must be achieved to get the desired results. What this means, therefore, is that there exist real safety concerns when using this product. You shouldn’t worry so much about it though! There are proven ways to circumnavigate the issues; the surest being moving away from the house every time you put fresh mothballs in your house.
- There is High-Risk of Re-infestation. This method is only reliable when you maintain the discipline by ensuring a consistent presence of the fumigants for a prolonged period. When the mice realize the situation may not change, they will disappear to a new location. If, however, you fail to replace the mothballs and the air clears off, the mice will come back and start harassing you again!
- Not Safe When Used in the Presence of Children and Pets. The shaping of the product into white rolls is tempting for children, and they may decide to eat them. Additionally, the pets may be affected by the toxic fumes. As such, you should always ensure that you place the balls far away from the children’s and pet’s paths. The presence of the mothballs in your house may take away your comfort as you always think of these safety concerns.
- Not Ideal for Outdoor Use. When used for outdoor application, their effectiveness is compromised especially in moist weather conditions. The balls are readily dissolved by rainwater which means you would need to replace them much more regularly. This may turn out to be expensive and ineffective in the long run.
Before choosing this method, you should always weigh the benefits and weaknesses to determine whether it is ideal for use in your home.
Can I Safely Use Mothballs to Repel Mice?
Mothballs are a high-risk method of repelling mice from your house. You should only apply it when other relatively safer methods such as mouse poison pellets have failed. If you choose to use the product, there are critical precautionary measures that you should observe to guarantee safety.
They include:
- The safety of your family should be your number one concern. Curious children may try eating the mothballs which would be disastrous. As such, always ensure that you place the mothballs in a place unreachable by children or pet.
- Place the mothballs in a region away from family living area. Setting the product in a strategic area that repels the mice without affecting the quality of life for your family should be your priority. Such areas would include house basements and other hideouts through where the mice get access to the house.
- If you must place the mothballs inside the living space, let your family vacate the house until the fumigant’s concentration reduces to relatively non-toxic levels. Although this requirement may appear bothersome, it is a necessity if you need to guarantee safety for your family.
The mothballs act as a repellent but not a killer of the mice. Therefore, there must be a continuous presence of the fumigants to guarantee a complete eradication. This means that you will need to keep up with the smell for a relatively long.
It is advisable to replace the used mothballs with fresh ones every one month. The frequent changing will, with no doubt, affect the quality of your air but it may pay off after some time. Once you start the process, you should continue until the mice realize that the environment won’t improve and thus leave the place permanently. Otherwise, the mice may re-infest after the fumigant odor reduces which may frustrate your effort.
In cases where you inhale or ingest toxic levels of the product, symptoms including nausea, dizziness, headache and difficulty breathing may manifest. When such signs reveal, it should be treated as an emergency!
Is it Possible to Get Rid of Mice Using Mothballs?
At this point, you’re probably looking for an alternate method. Well, the truth is that mothballs can offer a complete eradication of mice but only when used in high concentrations and consistently. 
While all other means have failed, there is no harm in trying this out, right? Or would you instead put up with these rodents?
The product is primarily a repellent and only drives the mice away from your home without necessarily killing them. Thus, this is more of a preventive measure which will be more useful when trying to prevent the rodent’s entrance into your house. However, you can try using the method to drive out mice that are already in the house. This method will not harm you provided you strictly follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and exercise high precautionary measures when using it. Find details on best mouse repellent here.
It is an open secret that mice hate strong odor and they wouldn’t tolerate such environments. The higher the concentration of these gases, the faster the mice will be eradicated from your house. Mothballs, in the right amount, offer strong odors that will undoubtedly earn you the liberty you’ve been yearning for.
Do Mice Hate the Smell of Mothballs?
Mice dislike any strong smell that significantly changes the quality of air around their usual habitat. The mothballs are made of naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene which are strong fumigants. When exposed to open air, these balls change into gases releasing strong-odor fumes that make the mice uncomfortable. The problem, however, is that the mice have set up your house to be their home too! As such, severe discomfort levels are required to keep them away for good. What smells do mice hate? Find out here.
A few mothballs placed in your house may not perform the magic, and you may be expected to increase the concentration to enhance efficiency significantly. The high intensity may create slight discomfort among your family members primarily because prolonged use of the product is required for complete elimination of the mice.
The Bottom Line
Do mothballs keep mice away? Yes, but it highly depends on how you apply it. You must ensure consistency. Always remember that the mice have found a comfort zone in your house. If you use the product irregularly, trust me they won’t go away! Additionally, it is critical that you prioritize the health of your family.
While this product may be useful in the long run, it is associated with several health hazards concerns. Worried? Well, the product affects only the individuals who carelessly disregard safety precautions as outlined by the manufacturer. Always follow the safety guidelines described herein to stay safe and enjoy a mice-free home!
