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
Do Moth Balls Keep Cats Away From Your Garden?
Do Moth Balls Keep Cats Away From Your Garden?. If you're concerned about neighborhood kitties or your own feline friend trampling your plants and digging in your garden, take steps to keep cats away from your foliage. While the noxious odor of mothballs may repel cats from your garden, they are highly toxic to felines, young children and wildlife...
If you're concerned about neighborhood kitties or your own feline friend trampling your plants and digging in your garden, take steps to keep cats away from your foliage. While the noxious odor of mothballs may repel cats from your garden, they are highly toxic to felines, young children and wildlife if ingested.
Just Say No to Mothballs
Mothballs are typically made of toxins like naphthalene or paradi-chlorobenzene, both of which produce fumes that kill moths and their larvae. Unfortunately, these fumes are also very unpleasant and toxic to people and pets. While some websites may recommend sprinkling mothballs throughout your garden to repel cats, the toxic fumes that they produce will likely repel people from your garden as well. Worse yet, if a curious cat, undeterred by the odor, eats a mothball, it can experience vomiting, diarrhea, kidney damage, tremors, seizures or even death, warns the Pet Poison Helpline. Mothballs are also potentially deadly to children who ingest them, according to the National Pesticide Information Center.
Alternative Solutions
Instead of using toxic mothballs to repel cats from your garden, fence the area to keep them out. You can also sprinkle orange peels, tea leaves or coffee grounds around your plants, which smell unpleasant to cats, to keep them away without hurting them. Another alternative is to install a motion-activated sprinkler to harmlessly scare cats away with a simple squirt of water, recommends the Alley Cat Allies website.
