Skip to Content

Do Mothballs Keep Chipmunks Away? (Quick Answers)

Mothballs are made of naphthalene that is mostly used to keep cloth moths away from the clothes. It has toxic smells and chemicals.

These chemicals are unsafe for human health and animals. You cannot inhale the chemicals since they will create breathing problems.

Gardeners also find the mothballs helpful in many ways. They use mothballs in the garden and spread toxic chemicals and pungent smells. This smell has positive and negative effects on plants and other insects.

Do mothballs keep chipmunks away?

Mothballs are not chipmunks or rodent repellent, but they can keep chipmunks away from your garden by spreading the pungent smells and toxic chemicals. Also, the mothballs are not safe for the chipmunks’ health. If they eat mothballs, they will fail to survive for a long time. So, you can use it.

Chipmunks belong to the squirrel family and have most of the characteristics of other rodents. They love to eat garden fruits and nuts. Seeds are also their favorite food item.

If you have these plants in your gardens, you need to protect them from chipmunks and other rodents. They will devour most of the fruits and ruin the garden structure as well.

To get rid of the chipmunks, you can use the mothballs.

They are helpful in many ways since they contain pungent smells and toxic chemicals. They help to keep chipmunks away.

Out of flower plants:

If you want to keep chipmunks out of flower plants, you can use the mothballs. It will spread out the pungent smells and chemicals. They will help to keep mothballs out of flower plants.

You can also use the mothballs around the rodents or chipmunks’ holes. But the most effective way will be to use the chipmunks around the flower plants.

Out of garden:

To keep chipmunks out of the garden is not easy. You need to use the mothballs and another anti-repellent spray around the garden. Only the mothballs will not be sufficient to repel the chipmunks or other rodents.

It will be best to use the mothballs spray and spread the mothballs in the rodents living holes or surroundings. That will be the perfect way to keep chipmunks out of the garden. However, the best way is to use the anti-repellent spray.

Away from the house:

The mothballs will perfectly keep the chipmunks away from home. Mothballs are house-oriented products. You can scatter the mothballs in the house and keep rodents away from the house.

It will be effective as well. You can scatter the mothballs around the house; that will be enough to keep mothballs away from home.

Do chipmunks dislike mothballs?

The chipmunks dislike mothballs for the pungent smells and unfavorable chemicals. When you use mothballs in your garden or house, they will spread a strong smell. It will ultimately keep the chipmunks away from home.

The chemicals which mothballs contain also play the anti-chipmunks role. If the chipmunks eat the mothballs, they cannot survive in the garden or house. They don’t like the strong chemical or pungent smells.

When they inhale the pungent smells, they struggle to breathe. And, if they accidentally eat mothballs, they lose their taste and fail to survive. These are the reasons why chipmunks dislike mothballs.

An unpleasant environment is another reason why the chipmunks dislike mothballs. Mainly, the mothballs spread the unusual smell and create an unpleasant environment where most insects and animals can’t live. The same goes for the chipmunks.

3 reasons why you can use mothballs to keep chipmunks

Mothballs do keep the chipmunk’s ways. Check the below to know why.

Strong Smell:

The chipmunks dislike the smell of the mothballs. It will keep away from the mothballs area. This smell is very pungent and unfavorable to most animals and insects.

So, when you use it in your garden or house, mothballs will spread out the smells in the air and keep chipmunks away from the house.

Chemicals:

Here is another reason you can use mothballs to keep chipmunks away from the garden or surroundings. The elements that mothballs contain are toxic. You cannot expect to find the chipmunks around the mothballs.

If you go deeper, you will find toxic smells and chemicals. The chipmunks cannot eat these ingredients. Therefore, they leave the place and keep away from the garden.

Naphthalene:

Mothballs have naphthalene. It is a strong toxic ingredient. Therefore, all the insects and rodents keep away from the naphthalene. It will also work on the mothballs.

Naphthalene works against the chipmunk’s favor. It will create toxic smells that keep the chipmunks and other rodents away from the house and garden.

These are the three most crucial reasons you can use the mothballs to keep chipmunks away from the house. If you go through these three reasons, you will find a single ingredient that plays a vital role.

It is naphthalene that spreads the strong odor and chemicals in the air. Since rodents and chipmunks can smell the odor far away, they will leave the mothballs and go to other sites.

Can you put mothballs in chipmunk holes?

You can put mothballs in the chipmunk’s holes. It will help you directly to repel the chipmunks.

When you put the mothballs in the holes, they will spread out the strong odor and chemical pungent. And the chipmunks will start inhaling the chemical and pungent.

As a result, it will lose the usual breathing problem and face other health issues. If they accidentally swallow some mothballs, they will not survive; their stomach will go wrong and eventually lose their senses.

Before that, you need to find the chipmunks’ holes and then put some mothballs there. You can buy the best quality mothballs from the local shop, and don’t forget to check the expiry date.

If you purchase low-quality mothballs, it will not repel the chipmunks from the holes.

Are mothballs dangerous to chipmunks?

Mothballs are dangerous to chipmunks. It can destroy internal health and stomach condition as well. The chipmunks can fail to survive if they eat mothballs to a great extent.

So, if you have rodents or squirrels as a pet, you should avoid using the mothballs in your house.

Mothballs’ smell or odor is also unsafe for the chipmunks’ health. Mothballs spread a pungent smell which is dangerous to chipmunks because the pungent smell disturbs the breathing system and respiratory system simultaneously.

Apart from that, the mothball’s chemicals are also dangerous to chipmunks. They can destroy the stomach and digestive system as well. Moreover, the chemical will threaten the life of the chipmunks. They will fail to take a breath.

How to keep chipmunks away using mothballs?

You can use mothballs in different ways to keep chipmunks away from the garden and house.

Scatter the Mothballs:

You can scatter the mothballs around the foundation of your house and garden.

It is the best way to keep chipmunks away using mothballs. When you place the mothballs in the foundation, they spread a pungent smell.

The smell or odor will repel the chipmunks from the surroundings. If you have a garden, you can also place the mothballs around the garden and keep chipmunks away from there.

Put mothballs in the holes:

You can put some mothballs there if you can detect the chipmunks’ holes. It will help you to repel the chipmunks easily. The mothballs will spread the strong odor and chemicals on the holes.

As a result, the chipmunks will leave the holes and can’t survive in the surroundings. You can also scatter some mothballs around the hokes and repel the chipmunks shortly.

Mothballs Spray:

Mothballs spray or the anti-rodents spray will help you keep chipmunks away from the house or gardens.

You can search in your local pet shop and buy the mothballs spray. Then, you can spray it all over the place or the garden.

In Particular, you can spray on the chipmunks’ holes and get rid of them quickly. While spraying the mothballs, you should be careful and cover your face and eyes. Don’t let the chemicals go through and ruin your health.

After following these steps, you should wait for several hours. You can let the mothballs be there for a week. Then, check the chipmunk’s holes.

You will not find any chipmunks there. If you find any, it might be for the expired mothballs and low-quality chemicals.

But, if you still find the chipmunks in the holes or the surroundings, you need to go for the anti-rodents spray. You can buy the pest controller and use it on the chipmunks. They will quickly keep away the chipmunks within an hour or so.

Final Thoughts

Mothballs have pungent smells and toxic chemicals. They will help you repel the chipmunks from the house or garden, and you can scatter or put the mothballs in the holes and deter the chipmunks. If the chipmunks eat mothballs, they will fail to survive in the long run. So, the odor keeps them away.