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Do Mothballs Keep Deer Away? (Quick Answers)

Deterring deers from our homes is not as difficult as it sounds. There are several natural elements that will help you keep deers away from your backyard and porch. 

In this article, we are going to explore the idea of using mothballs to keep deers away. Mothballs have made quite a name for themselves for their performance in keeping unwanted animals and insects away. 

So let’s read ahead to learn how mothballs can keep deers away and what role you can play in order to best use mothballs for the job. 

Keeping deer away with mothballs

Mothballs can keep deers away. Mothballs have a strong smell that bothers deers and deters them from your territory. Besides, these balls will help you deter a range of other insects and animals that may cause damage to your garden or backyard furniture. 

Mothballs are popular chemical pesticides that will keep deers, among other animals and insects, away from your garden. 

These chemicals are also used for a range of other tasks, including storing clothes, keeping furniture safe from bugs, storing other susceptible materials from catching mold, and so on. 

Let’s read ahead to find out the role of mothballs in keeping deers away from plants, flowers, and other places that may attract deers. 

From plants: 

Mothballs can keep deers away from plants. Deers are naturally attracted to a range of plants. There are many plants that attract deers, playing the role of a food source. 

Deers may be naturally attracted to plants such as red clover, alsike clover, orchard, alfalfa, turnips, and so on. 

So you can use mothballs to protect these plants from deers. When deers invade your garden, they will damage the plants and any fruits in it. And whatever fruits that may be left in the garden, will not be usable any further. 

So you can spread mothballs around the edge of your garden, or by the side of those plants. This will keep deers away from them. 

From flowers: 

There is a range of flowers that attract beers, including lilies, hosta, sunflowers, etc. In order to protect these flowers from deers, you may take several remedies. 

It is essential that you take immediate action when you notice that deers are lingering around your garden. Deers are quite a threat to your garden, and you definitely want to deter them from your garden before they can cause much damage. 

You can use mothballs to keep deers away from flowers in your garden. 

From the garden: 

You can use mothballs to keep deers away from your garden. But make sure to keep the mothballs at a distance from the plants. Mothballs are made of harmful chemicals that keep deers and other animals away. 

They may cause trouble for the plants as well if they are kept close to them. So when you’re planning to protect your garden using mothballs, make sure to place mothballs along the border of the garden. Do not place mothballs directly under a plant. 

Are mothballs a good deer repellent? 

Mothballs are effective and good deer repellents. But note that mothballs are made of toxic chemicals that bother animals and bugs. So you should not bring them too close to your plants in order to avoid any kind of damage to the plants. 

Mothballs work great as a repellent because the product is made of a few strong chemicals, including naphthalene. They have a strong scent that repels deers. This strong scent also keeps a range of other animals and bugs away from your garden. 

So needless to say, it is a great product for keeping your plants and flowers safe from deers. 

2 reasons why mothballs deter deer 

Let’s take a look at some of the most significant reasons why mothballs deter deers. Read ahead to find out! 

Smell: 

Mothballs have a strong smell that repels deers. Mothballs are chemical repellents that are designed to keep deers away. Not only that but these products are also able to keep a range of other animals and insects out of your garden. 

So you will be able to draw a handful of benefits by placing some mothballs around your garden. The smell of mothballs irritates deers and other animals and keeps them away. 

However, note that these chemicals are harmful to plants as well. So you want to keep them at an arm’s distance from your plants. 

If you notice a deer invasion in your garden or yard, simply put some mothballs along the border of the garden, but not near the plants. 

Toxic: 

Mothballs are toxic to deers. And deers can easily detect mothballs and stay away from them. So this is a very effective way of keeping deers away from your garden or backyard. 

Although, you will have to remember that mothballs are also toxic to plants. So you do not want to place mothballs very close to plants. Otherwise, your plants will be damaged as well. 

How does mothballs keep deer away? 

Mothballs have a strong and strange smell that keeps deers away. These are chemical repellents that are designed to keep harmful insects and invader animals away from plants and flowers. 

These chemical repellents have a scent that spreads across a wide range of areas. The scent usually irritates deers. So deers will steer clear of the area whenever they can spot mothballs. 

In addition, deers know all too well that mothballs are toxic. So they will keep away from your yard or garden when they notice some mothballs laying around your garden. 

How long will mothballs keep deer away?

Mothballs usually vaporize into the air. While dissipating, they vaporize into a toxic gas that keeps deers away. So mothballs will only keep deers away as long as they are dissipating into the air

Once a mothball is completely vaporized into the air, mothballs will no longer be effective in keeping deers away from your territory. But the good news for you is mothballs are very small balls. And you can place quite a few of them around your garden in order to keep deers away.

So while there is no fixed timeframe that we can offer you in order to let you know for how long mothballs will keep deers away, we can assure you that these balls will surely keep them away as long as they have not dissipated completely into the air. 

After that, you will have to repeat the process of placing enough mothballs around your garden in order to keep deers away. 

How to get rid of deer with mothballs?

Let’s take a look at the steps that you can take in order to get rid of deers with mothballs. Follow the steps carefully and you will definitely see results pretty quickly. 

Watch out for deers: 

First, you will need to analyze the deer situation around your house. If you notice that there are frequent visits from deers and feel that this problem is getting kind of severe, only then you should use mothballs to keep deers away.  

Mothballs are toxic. They are chemical repellents that work on a range of animals and insects. But you will have to remember that these products can be toxic for plants as well. 

So you will need to keep them at a distance from your plants, otherwise, they will cause harm to your trees. 

In addition, you will need to keep mothballs out of reach of children. If a curious child holds mothballs or chews on them, the mothballs will cause them serious harm as well. So only use this product if you really need to, and place it very carefully. 

Place them around the garden: 

Make sure that you do not place mothballs under or near a plant. You should only place mothballs along the border of the garden. This will ensure that the mothballs are at arm’s length from the trees, which keeps them safe from toxicity. 

Mothballs will help you get rid of a range of other insects and animals as well, including snakes, rabbits, and so on. 

Take precautionary steps: 

If you have pets and children who are likely to play around in the garden, then you should take some precautionary steps. As we have mentioned earlier, mothballs are toxic. So you will need to ensure that there are enough safety measures along with it. 

Keep the mothballs in a box or a mesh container. This will allow the product to dissipate in the air and repel deers, while also refraining children and pets from swelling it. 

Final Thoughts 

Mothballs can keep deers away. These products are chemical repellents that will turn into vapor and dissipate into the air. So you will need to keep an eye on the mothballs and need to put in new batches every once in a while. Mothballs are toxic, so keep them out of reach of your children.