Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
Negative Effects of Moth Balls
Negative Effects of Moth Balls. Mothballs are used to prevent insects from damaging stored clothing. Chemical mothballs are made from either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene. Both are toxic, and are suspected of causing cancer. Cedar balls are marketed as a more natural moth repellent, but even cedar oil carries risks to animals. The best way to...
Mothballs are used to prevent insects from damaging stored clothing. Chemical mothballs are made from either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene. Both are toxic, and are suspected of causing cancer. Cedar balls are marketed as a more natural moth repellent, but even cedar oil carries risks to animals. The best way to prevent moths from damaging clothes is to seal clothing in a container they can't get into.
Naphthalene
Naphthalene is a pesticide that changes from a solid to a gas. It is manufactured from coal tar or oil. Exposure to the fumes can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness and vomiting. It can cause anemia if a person or animal eats a mothball, or breathes enough of the vapors. Children who have consumed naphthalene mothballs can have fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain and pain while urinating. Infants exposed to blankets and clothing that have been treated with mothballs without being washed have developed anemia. Naphthalene breaks down into alpha-naphthol in the body, which can cause liver and kidney damage.
Paradichlorobenzene
Paradichlorobenzene is also a solid that changes to a gas. It causes eye, nasal and skin irritation, and inhaling the vapors can cause nausea, dizziness, vomiting, fatigue and headaches. It can cause tremors, vomiting and abdominal pain in pets, and is suspected of causing liver and kidney damage. Paradichlorobenzene has been linked to cancer in mice, though it is not certain if it causes cancer in humans. Paradichlorobenzene travels through the blood and fatty tissue, and is excreted in milk and urine.
Cedar
Cedar balls and oil are marketed as an alternative for moth control. Cedar can be toxic to pets that eat the balls or breathe the fumes. Cedar is known to cause liver damage in small animals kept on cedar wood shavings. Cedar fumes can also cause allergic reactions in humans.
Abuse
There have been cases of people deliberately inhaling or ingesting naphthalene and paradichlorobenzene. Teenagers are known to suck on mothballs, and to place the balls in plastic bags to concentrate the fumes, then breathe from the bag. In 2006, two teenagers were hospitalized for scaly skin, unsteady gait and slow mental reaction times.
