Do mothballs or ammonia help repel bats?
If you are plagued by a bat infestation, chances are, you are
willing to try anything to get rid of them. You have probably tried
a handful of the “guaranteed” gismos designed to keep bats away, and
they didn’t work. Now you have them nesting in your attic or walls.
I am sure you have had a group of well-meaning family, friends, and
neighbors offer their favorite home remedies from hanging aluminum
foil to Christmas lights to spraying the nest with water. Two of the
most popular “natural” repellents that home remedy aficionados swear
by are moth balls and ammonia. These do not work. Even more
importantly, they are dangerous! First of all moth balls are a
mixture of poisonous chemicals, designed to kill bugs (moths), like
naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene. Either of these chemicals can
become a toxic gas when exposed to air. This property is enhanced if
it is hot.
These gases are irritants to the eyes, lungs, skin, and mucous
membranes as well as causing extreme headaches, dizziness and
nausea. Prolonged exposure to this pesticide can cause hemolytic
anemia which is damage or destruction of your red blood cells. There
are studies that show that these gases can damage DNA in children
and cause cancer. Ammonia, despite its pungent odor is a fine
cleaning agent if used properly, but prolonged exposure to ammonia
fumes in the air causes burning of the eyes, nose, and throat.
It can bring about severe irritation of your respiratory tract and
result in more serious conditions like blindness, damage to your
lungs, or even death. You don’t want to use anything like these
deadly agents anywhere around your house or loved ones. Don’t be
fooled by amateur attempts to fix your problem. Consult a
professional animal removal service and let them handle your
infestation in a quick and expert manner that won’t endanger you,
the bats, or your home. Remember – a “quick fix” is rarely a good
solution, especially if it involves something as important as your
family or home.
If you need help, we service the entire USA! Click
here for a wildlife removal specialist in your town!
Go back to the main
Bat Removal page for
more information about Do mothballs or ammonia help repel bats? .
Read more about bat control in my educational articles. Find out if a
bat house will prevent bats from entering your home, and whether or not the
city or county animal services will help with a bat issue. Learn if a
bright light or high pitch sound deterrent machine will work on bats, and if a bat in your attic will have a
nest of babies. Find out if a
pest control company will remove a bat, and whether it is
Legal to trap bats.
I can teach you how to
Locate and Remove a Dead Bat and tell you everything you need to know about
Bat Exclusion Material. Learn more about
Bat Mating Habits and the
summer maternity season. Learn how to get bats
out of your attic and the different
property modifications you can do to keep bat populations down.
Find out if
mothballs or ammonia really help repel bats and even if bats make
Good Pets. Read my thoughts on if you should ever
Poison a Bat, and my best advice on how to clean
Bat Feces out of your Attic.