Cedarwood Deters Moths

One of my regular clients came to see me the other week and noticed my box of essential oils on the table. We had a brief chat about the various oils and he told me that he uses cedarwood essential oil to protect clothing from destructive moths in his wardrobes. I was intrigued by this and decided to look in to it further.

Cedarwood is used for lining closets to deter moths. It is also used to line chests to repel vermin in the storage of valuables, especially furs and shoes according to Jeanne Rose, author of 375 essential oils and hyrosols.

You can make your very own mothballs using cedarwood essential oil. All you need is a few wooden balls which you can buy from craft stores, a piece of string, cedarwood essential oil, and a drill. Carefully drill through the middle of each wooden ball and thread onto the string tying a knot at one end to secure them in place and make a loop at the other end so that you can hang it on a hanger in the wardrobe. Place a couple drops of cedarwood essential oil on each wooden ball let it soak in, then hang it up in your wardrobe, or place in your chest of drawers. This is a great alternative to the shop bought mothballs which often contain harmful chemicals.