Moth ball under the house.

[vicklynn]

Beings we have issues with critters this time of yr, and in the spring. I am thinking about putting moth balls under the house.
Do any of you know of a reason why I shouldnt?
The cats go under there if you need to that bit of info.
Thank you in advance for info.

[Ranger44]

Moth balls is one of the suggestions we give to people to get rid of unwanted critters in a confined area like under a porch. Good luck with it. If you happen to get a new resident under there another thing to use is a rage tied up in knots and soaked in ammonia. It's the same principle of the smell. The ammonia only lasts so long(best when a critter is already there) so the moth balls is a good start as a preventative measure.

[vicklynn]

Well, cool then. Ill remember the ammonia too!
Thanks

[lovesfortune]

I wish we could use mothballs in our basement. I hate critters.

[carla]

I don't know much about the good/bad points of mothballs, but I do know that when my FIL's FIL (ya got that? lol) moved in with them, he put mothballs in their WHOLE HOUSE, apparently.

Now, I can tell if dh has even stood on their porch. That smell makes me so sick, and it has permeated everything within a ten foot radius of their house. :(

BUT, maybe being under the house, and not using boxes upon boxes, (as they apparently did, lol), it wouldn't be so bad.

[vicklynn]

Ya, dont think Ill be putting them IN the house any time soon...LOL Those things are stinky..
I got gloves..hehehe

[lovesfortune]

This time of year really makes me wish that we didn't live in an old farm house and that our basement was finished. Blech. :(

Hope it works for you!

[Dixie]

I'll have to do some research but I think they are poisonous to animals if consumed. However, I'll bet your cats stay out of there if you use them. I personally can't stand the smell. My mom put some under their house one year, I went to visit and couldn't stand to go in. I'd go into coughing fits and allergy asthma attacks. Yep, I'm allergic LOL Hope they work for you though, lots of people around here even use them to repel snakes.

[vicklynn]

well, I smell like a moth ball, Im sure its just from having my head under the house. Anyway, its all I smell right now. ICK, I sure hope that my sinus clear of them soon..ewww
The house is pretty open underneath, so Im sure the smell will subside soon. The cats can get under there, but if Baby is dumb enough to go where it smells, so be it...Im kidding..lol

[WashingtonBay]

What kind of critters are you hoping to drive off with them? I'm curious.

We have our share of mice and even possums that get under ours, and no real way to close them out. And because of the cats, I'm not willing to use any traps or anything like that.

[vicklynn]

Possums.
I hear snakes dont like them, but dont have a problem with them.
I would put them in the hay shed for mice, but dont want the fumes in the hay. Im thinking of putting them next to it next yr, and in the other shed they like so much. Had a swarm of mice this yr. Sticky traps and burn piles are great:innocent:

[menagerie]

I don't know of any reason why you shouldn't but in case no one stated this yet I wouldn't put tooooo many. I did that once to keep out snakes after I found one in my house and went crazy with them, had to remove some because of the overpowering odor!

[vicklynn]

Ok, I used the whole box. Its a tripple wide, I spread the moth balls everywhere underneath. I have that cruddy sheeting around the bottom, so the smell will not stay under the house, it has pleanty of air flow, so Im not worried about that. I did think about it ahead of time, and its a very large space.
Thanks for that info though.

[Country Girl 43]

Remind me not to visit when you are doing the "moth balls"...LOL ;) I sure hope it helps your critter problem.

[vicklynn]

LOL, gotcha CG.

[WashingtonBay]

Possums.
I hear snakes dont like them, but dont have a problem with them.
I would put them in the hay shed for mice, but dont want the fumes in the hay. Im thinking of putting them next to it next yr, and in the other shed they like so much. Had a swarm of mice this yr. Sticky traps and burn piles are great:innocent:

OK! Well you let me know if you think they're working on the possums! Because that's worth trying. I can't get under my house, but I can toss them under around the edges.

[carla]

A little tidbit on mothballs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothball

I'm wondering now if some of my FIL's health issues could be from the mothballs in the house?? Maybe, maybe not. Says even the fumes can be bad for you. :shocked:

edit: So Vick, please do be sure the fumes go away like you plan. Is hubby home right now? If not, maybe he can bring a "fresh nose" into the situation when he comes home? In case you get used to it, which I don't see how you could, lol:

Mothballs are highly toxic when ingested, causing serious illness or death. In addition to this, overdoing it by using a large quantity of mothballs in a basement or a living space may cause serous respiratory problems in people living in the space. The danger of this happening when using them in this manner becomes very high...

[carla]

LOL- you see that? "serous" problems.. sounds like a step above "serious." Down here in GA, anyway. ;)

[Horseless]

moth balls make me think of old people. :innocent:

[vicklynn]

A little tidbit on mothballs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothball

I'm wondering now if some of my FIL's health issues could be from the mothballs in the house?? Maybe, maybe not. Says even the fumes can be bad for you. :shocked:

edit: So Vick, please do be sure the fumes go away like you plan. Is hubby home right now? If not, maybe he can bring a "fresh nose" into the situation when he comes home? In case you get used to it, which I don't see how you could, lol:

Mothballs are highly toxic when ingested, causing serious illness or death. In addition to this, overdoing it by using a large quantity of mothballs in a basement or a living space may cause serous respiratory problems in people living in the space. The danger of this happening when using them in this manner becomes very high...
I would never put them in the house, or in a closed basement. This is under a mobile home with skirting that airs. I have to say though, I sure hope the cat stays away from under there, but Im sorry, every yr my husband has to climb under the house and repair the lining where the critters climb up the cement barriers and tear into our insulation. We loose heat, A/C, and it costs us money from that, and money for repairs, and time he has to spend working under there. So, sad as it may seem, the one cat that goes under there will either learn not to, and hide elsewhere, or, sorry enough, get sick. I am tired of yr after yr dealing with the lack of sleep from constant knocking on my floors, fights, cries of the babies, critters crawling around in the insulation, and can not and do not want to inspect the areas
for feces, that is just to gross to think about. Id be upset to loose this cat over it, but in the same sence, if it smells, she usually wont go near it, so she should be ok. Now, go hide under the horse trailer ya silly cat.
If it starts causing issues in the home. I will send the hubby underneath to get some out, but doubt that will be an issue.

[AUEquine]

Do any of you know of a reason why I shouldnt?

The smell!!!! My not so bright uncle thought he'd get rid of the critters in his attic by putting moth balls up there! Well his method was to buy a large box (like 25lbs worth) of moth balls and just hurl them into the attic! Needless to say a few hours later the whole house stunk!!!! So his wife sent him up there to find and pick up every last moth ball he threw! Smell went away about 6 weeks later!


How are the critters getting under your trailer? Are their holes in the skirting! I've never had problemes with critters under mine. Maybe it's the skirting, maybe it's because I lined the entire ground under my trailer with plastic. I have alot of friends who deal with critter in the insulation, but most of them have holes in the skirt.

[zoel_222]

I was thinking of shoving some of those in the rat holes in my barn..... Is it bad if a dog gets a hold of one of them?

[carla]

I would never put them in the house, or in a closed basement. This is under a mobile home with skirting that airs.

Oh, I know that! I knew you said it was ventilated- I was just sayin' about the part with the fumes and all. Just in case they didn't air out well... We can't have you fallin' out on us quite yet. ;)

[vicklynn]

The smell!!!! My not so bright uncle thought he'd get rid of the critters in his attic by putting moth balls up there! Well his method was to buy a large box (like 25lbs worth) of moth balls and just hurl them into the attic! Needless to say a few hours later the whole house stunk!!!! So his wife sent him up there to find and pick up every last moth ball he threw! Smell went away about 6 weeks later!


How are the critters getting under your trailer? Are their holes in the skirting! I've never had problemes with critters under mine. Maybe it's the skirting, maybe it's because I lined the entire ground under my trailer with plastic. I have alot of friends who deal with critter in the insulation, but most of them have holes in the skirt.
Ya, but mine are under the house, on the ground. They are not inside. It smells under there, and one of the pieces fell off, not sure how, it was on last week, weird. I opened up the crawl space door, so wind an blow through.
As far as critters getting in, they dig under the skirting rim, or come in through the stairs. Gonna have to get the stairs a good back on them.
I am hoping that the moth balls dont create a problem inside, from under the house, that just seems weird to me if they did.