Moth Balls for Moles in Your Yard

Although moles don't feed on plant materials, they destroy lawns, flowerbeds and gardens with their tunnels. Because of the extent of the damage they cause, people come up with various home remedies to get rid of moles. Some such remedies include mothballs, bubble gum and human hair. However, these remedies usually don't work.

Moth Balls

Moth balls contain naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene as the active ingredient. Sold in solid form, moth balls slowly turn into toxic vapors. The correct way of using moth balls is to place them in tight containers with clothing items to kill fabric pests, such as clothes moths. People often use moth balls for other purposes. They place moth balls in various non-airtight areas to get rid of wild animals, such as snakes and moles.

Efficacy

Moth balls don't effectively control the mole population in your yard. For moth balls to release enough vapors to be lethal to insects, you have to place them in airtight containers. Simply placing moth balls in mole tunnels may not lead to fume concentrations that are high enough to kill moles. Additionally, moles can simply remove moth balls from their tunnels by placing the moth balls above the ground.

Safety

Using moth balls to control moles in the yard is dangerous and illegal, according to the National Pesticide Information Center. You can only legally use moth balls as specified in the product label instructions. If moles place the moth balls above the ground, children and pets may mistake them for food and eat the moth balls, possibly leading to serious health problems. The toxic fumes may also pollute the soil, plants and water in the area.

Alternatives

Since moth balls can't remove the moles in your yard, you need to use other methods to get rid of them. Seattle Times recommends using traps, especially scissors-type traps to capture moles. Your local cooperative extension may be able to provide information and advice on trapping moles. You may also use insecticides to reduce the moles' food supply and castor oil repellents. If you can't get rid of the moles yourself, professional pest controllers can use poison baits and toxic fumigants to kill the moles.