Natural Herbal Substitute for Moth Balls
- Failure to use a moth repellent can leave your clothes looking like this.Stephen Schauer/Digital Vision/Getty Images
Kim Erickson, in an article written for "The Herb Companion," recommends equal parts cloves and thyme. Blend the two dry ingredients evenly and then portion them out into sachet bags, one tablespoon per bag. Place the closed sachet bags in your drawers, closets and linen cupboards to protect your clothing and fabrics. - Vetiver is a grass related to lemongrass. Use vetiver oil combined with rosemary and lavender oil to keep this repellent lasting a long time. Combine the oils with cedar shavings, dried wormwood or Silver Mound leaves, dried rosemary leaves and dried lavender flowers. These ingredients are recommended by P. Allen Smith, host of a PBS gardening show. He further recommends cleaning all clothing before storing seasonal items. Vacuum your closets often and shake out your blankets regularly. Have thrift shop finds dry cleaned or run them for several minutes in a hot dryer to kill any moth larvae or eggs to prevent importing pest problems.
- Stony Mountain Botanicals lists 18 different herbs that can be effective in specifically repelling moths. These 18 different herbs can be combined as desired using some or all of the items on the list. They recommend all of the herbs listed above with the addition of basil, bay leaf, thyme, tansy, eucalyptus, patchouli, pyrethrum daisy, black pepper, pennyroyal, rue and santolina. These items can be mixed as dried herbs, essential oils, or fresh herbs that have been allowed to wilt, and then slowly simmered in olive oil. If you mix the herbs into an oil, use a dried herb sachet as a carrier to disperse the oils into your closet or drawer. Take care not to get oil on fabrics.
- You can develop your own recipe based on the ingredients here. If you find a combination that is particularly effective, make sure to write down the proportions and ingredients. Some of the ingredients will be more aromatic than others, so you can adjust the proportions according to your preference. If you enjoy the herbal aroma, add more of the fragrant herbs. If you do not appreciate aromatic herbs, use less fragrant ingredients such as patchouli, rue or silver mound.
