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Do Mothballs Keep Spiders Away? (Read This First!)

Mothballs are used for various purposes. The main ingredient in mothballs is naphthalene, which is an organic compound.

These white little balls destroy insects that are highly sensitive to the smell of any strong and harmful chemicals. Let’s see if mothballs can keep spiders away too.

Keeping spiders away with mothballs

Mothballs can keep different pests, insects, and spiders away. Spiders have a strong smelling sense. They always stay away from the smell of vinegar, mint, pepper, and the smell of mothballs. It has a distinct smell that is not harmful or bad to the human nose, but it is quite harsh for spiders.

Mothballs don’t attract any insects, including spiders. When you are leaving your home for a long time, then use mothballs to keep your home safe from these little termites or insects. Spiders love to keep themselves in the corner of the room.

To repel and to keep them from coming again to your place, again and again, use mothballs. Naphthalene is toxic to humans if they consume this orally. But, consuming through the air will not harm them on that scale.

If the fumes of naphthalene are 10 parts per million, then it is safe for humans. And the good thing is, you only leave these balls generally in bounded places, where you don’t need to stay or go. Use mothballs in the corner of your room, and in-between clothes.

You can place mothballs under your mattresses as well. That’s how you can get rid of spiders and other insects. And mothballs are quite a powerful repellent. Mothballs cannot attract spiders but they repel them single-handedly.

Mothballs have a fresh smell and they can reduce the moisture in your room. So, you can use them to get rid of humidity and the insects that are highly attracted to humid conditions.

Spiders always look for a place where they can hide and they can get enough food for themselves. But, remember if you place mothballs in your room, no other insects will come, and the spiders will not be going to get food for themselves.

Thus, the spiders will not stay in a place where there is no food for themselves. Not only insects are deterred by mothballs, but also squirrels, deer, mice, and snakes stay away from the place.

The best thing about the mothball is it doesn’t stay a long time on the surface, but they vaporize away. Moreover, mothballs are safer than all other chemical deterrents. Thus, you can use them without any natural risks.

Do spiders like or dislike mothballs?

Spiders don’t like any strong-smelling elements. Mothballs are not loveable for spiders as these balls vaporize with a strong smell and it is quite subtle for the human nose, but it is strong for those insects with strong-smelling power.

Not only the smell but mothballs are also made of naphthalene as you know, this organic element is powerful enough to eliminate a human if they swallow a solid mothball.

The toxicity of mothballs and along with the smell makes these tiny balls obnoxious to insects, animals, and pests. Spiders are not different from any of these living beings. Thus, spiders stay away from mothballs.

What do mothballs do to spiders?

Mothballs have the power to deter spiders or any other insects. It doesn’t terminate the spider as spiders don’t eat mothballs. Mothballs are made of naphthalene; this particular element can vaporize eventually.

When spiders smell mothballs, they just get away from them. Because spiders cannot take a powerful smell.

In the USA mothballs are registered as an insecticide just after the second world war. So, it’s been here for a long time. Mothballs can only stay in two forms one is solid and another is gaseous form.

So, you have to change the mothballs after each time you leave them under the cloth or in the corner of your room. Generally, in open spaces, spiders don’t come that much. But if there is humidity and darkness, then there is a high chance that spiders can build a cozy room for them.

Also, spiders search for food sources. Spiders love to eat smaller or even larger insects as well. So, if they can stick other spiders or insects with their web, they will eat them eventually. Whenever there is a strong toxic smell of any insecticides around the spider web, spiders tend to run away from this. Whatever doesn’t eliminate spiders, simply push them away. It is not harmful to spiders, but it just deters them.

Do mothballs get rid of these spiders?

Mothballs do deter spiders. But does it work for all type? Let’s find out.

Brown recluse spiders:

Whether it is brown recluse spiders or any other non-harming spiders, mothballs help them to go away. Brown recluse spiders generally stay inside or outside.

But, when that is the proper time for them to release eggs, they need a safe hiding place. At that time, they choose any dark place inside of your house. Generally, they choose the toilet.

They are not as harmful as tarantulas or any harmful spiders. But they need shelter, that’s why they choose your house. You can use mothballs to deter them.

Black widow spiders:

Black widow spiders are so harmful that you have to be careful of them. Black widow spiders have venom inside of them, and if they bite you, you have to go through a certain level of pain, and eventually, you may have to leave earth.

So, you need to keep these potentially harmful insects away from your house. Firstly, you have to keep your house clean, and you have to clean every corner of your home, to get rid of these creatures.

Using mothballs will help you to keep yourselves safe from these harmful black widow spiders.

Can I use mothballs outside for spiders?

You can use mothballs outside for spiders. But it will not be going to be as effective as using it indoors. Because the impact area will be less as mothballs will vaporize faster in open areas. But you can hide your mothballs in any holes by which different insects and animals can get in.

Most importantly, mothballs take around 3 to 6 months to dissolve fully in the air. So, a decent-sized mothball will stay as long as 6 months before it evaporates.

How to safely use mothballs to repel spiders?

There are some steps you need to take to ensure that your mothballs repel spiders properly. Let’s know about the steps.

Keep Your Children Safe from Mothballs:

Mothballs are white, and they come in different shapes and sizes. Generally, mothballs are round-shaped. Sometimes, some manufacturers use different colors as well. So, now children are attracted to everything.

They love to play and swallow anything and everything. However, when the mothballs are in different colors and shapes, this attracts children more. Remember mothballs are highly toxic for both humans and other animals.

Keep mothballs at every corner of your room:

This tip is to prevent any sort of insects from coming to your home. But remember if you have children in your house, you must keep mothballs in a safe jar and place them in every corner of your room.

Use a plastic bottle or jar and keep 1 or 2 mothballs inside and make two-three holes inside of the jar or bottle. It will help you to keep spiders away, as well as any potential risk of swallowing. Also, you might have little holes in your room, that you cannot repair.

These small holes are the gateway for spiders and other insects. Use mothballs there and stop spiders and other insects as well as mice to get inside of your home.

Keep Your Attic clean and Use Mothballs to keep spiders away:

Generally, the attic is the place where you put any extra materials that you don’t use. So, that place is generally abandoned in your house. By using mothballs, you are saving yourselves a lot of time and money.

As any sort of potential insects such as spiders, moths, wood-boring beetle, etc. will not invade. It will keep your attic safe and clean. Moreover, you need to clean your attic every now and then as well.

Use mothballs on the sink, corner of your toilet, and all the dark corners:

Mothballs are generally round-shaped. So, these balls can be placed anywhere easily. Any holes that connect your house with the outside need to be sealed. But, for air circulation you cannot seal them forever, so you can take the help of mothballs.

When you are using mothballs in the corner of your toilet, sink, and any places that your children cannot reach, you are away from any sort of tension at that point. However, use them safely, and maintain proper safety when you are using mothballs.

Final thoughts

Mothballs are created from petroleum. These small balls have toxic elements in them, and they can easily handle insects such as spiders and animals like deer or mice. As spiders cannot stand against any sort of toxic elements to them, they cannot stand against the toxic fumes of mothballs.