Does Camphor Repel Moths? Camphor vs Mothballs vs Cedar

Camphor has a long reputation as a moth deterrent, but we could not find a controlled trial of camphor oil against clothes moths. What university extension sources do support is washing or dry-cleaning wool, then storing it in tightly lidded containers. Mothballs and tight cedar chests have documented roles. Camphor oil is best treated as scent inside sealed storage.

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Start with what is actually eating the wool

Most repellent comparisons begin with the repellent. A practitioner would begin with the pest. The Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook describes the webbing clothes moth, Tineola bisselliella, as an insect whose adults are yellow or tan, about half an inch across the wings, and avoid light. The larvae are the feeders, and they may be encased in silken tubes. The same handbook states that soiled cloth is more likely to become infested than clean cloth.

That detail changes the advice. If larvae are the problem and soiled fabric is the invitation, then the order of work is: clean, seal, and only then think about scent. A repellent does nothing for a sweater that went into the drawer with eggs already on it, and a camphor-scented drawer full of unwashed wool is still a bad drawer. We would rather tell a buyer that than sell a bottle as a fix.

What the extension and regulatory sources support

Here is the same ground in table form. "Our read" is our judgment from the linked sources, nothing more.

Method	What the sources say	Container needed	Main hazard	Our read
Wash or dry-clean, then lidded container	Recommended in the PNW handbook for woolens before storage, with tight-fitting lids.	Yes	None specific	The foundation. Everything else is secondary.
Freezing	PNW handbook: 72 hours of cold at minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit has been found effective.	Sealed bag	None specific	Useful for a small item you suspect; a home freezer may not reach that figure, so check yours.
Cedar chest or cedar blocks	PNW handbook: cedar chests may prevent infestations if the chests are tightly fitted.	Tight fit is the point	Low	The chest matters more than the wood. Loose cedar in an open closet has no support in the source.
Mothballs (naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene)	PNW handbook: effective in tightly sealed containers, long-term exposure may have human health effects. NPIC: EPA-regulated pesticides, label defines legal use.	Yes, by label	Vapor exposure, accidental ingestion, off-label misuse	Effective by the extension account, but a pesticide to be handled by the label.
Camphor blocks or crystals	No controlled trial against clothes moths found in our search.	Sensible, untested	Ingestion by a child or pet	Traditional use. Unproven here.
Camphor oil on a carrier	No controlled trial found. Related lab work is on other insects.	Sensible, untested	Ingestion, skin contact, fabric marks	A scent, not a moth control.

Our search covered extension handbooks and the research we could open. It is possible that a moth study using camphor exists and we did not find it. If you have one, send it to us and we will update this page. Until then, the claim that camphor oil repels clothes moths should be read as tradition, not as a result.

Mothballs: effective and regulated, and not a place to improvise

Mothballs are the comparison readers actually care about, so we will be direct about them. Mothballs sold in the United States are pesticide products regulated by EPA. The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) explains that the label tells users to place them in a tightly closed container so fumes do not accumulate where people and pets breathe, and that using a mothball in a way the label does not specify is illegal and can harm people, pets or the environment. Scattering them in an open closet, a basement or around a house is exactly that kind of misuse.

The trade-off is plain. If you have a valuable wool coat and a lidded plastic or cedar chest, an EPA-labelled mothball product used by its label has a documented place in the PNW handbook. If you want a fragrance-only approach and no pesticide in the house, camphor oil does not replace it on evidence. We sell camphor oil as an aromatic material, not a pesticide, and we would not tell a buyer otherwise. Anyone with children or pets in the home should read the mothball label and the pet safety evidence before storing either product anywhere reachable.

Why camphor might help, and why that is not proof

Here is the reasoning, flagged as reasoning. Camphor is volatile. NIOSH lists a vapor pressure of 0.2 mmHg, so in a closed container the vapor concentration will rise over time. That is the same logic that makes mothballs work in a sealed container. What nobody can say from that physics is whether the concentration camphor oil reaches in your drawer is high enough to deter a moth, and the PNW handbook does not mention camphor at all.

Laboratory evidence shows the oil can act on insects. A 2015 Journal of Insect Science study put red imported fire ant workers in sealed 1 dm3 glass cylinders with a commercial camphor oil on cotton yarn and reported a 24 hour LC50 of 1.67 micrograms per millilitre for minor workers. That oil was 36.61 percent camphor with about 30 percent cineole and 5.15 percent safrole. Fire ants are not clothes moths, the cylinder is not a drawer, and the study did not test repellency of fabric. It shows biological activity in a sealed jar. It does not show a closet result.

Our position, then: camphor oil is not a substitute for cleaning and sealing, and a seller who tells you it is has no source behind that sentence.

What we would do, by situation

You are packing wool away for the season

Wash or dry-clean it, let it dry fully, and seal it in a container with a tight lid. That is the extension recommendation. If you want scent, add a small cotton pad with a few drops of camphor oil in a dish that sits apart from the fabric. Our closet and wardrobe guide and the DIY sachet recipe cover the mechanics. Treat the result as fragrance.

You already see damage or silk tubes

A scented drawer will not undo it. Remove everything, clean each item or freeze small ones, vacuum the storage space and re-seal. If it keeps returning, call a licensed pest professional. The PNW handbook also advises against spraying clothing directly with pesticides.

You have children or a free-roaming cat

Choose the clean-and-seal method with a tightly lidded container on a high shelf. Neither mothballs nor camphor should be anywhere a child can reach. Camphor is toxic to small children if swallowed, and the Pet Poison Helpline notes that camphor is readily absorbed across the skin of dogs and cats. For a swallowing exposure, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

You want to compare camphor formats

If you are weighing oil against blocks, our format comparison sets out how they differ. For damp-smelling storage, read why moisture comes first, because a damp closet invites the same problems you are trying to avoid.

If you buy camphor oil for scent in storage

Choose the grade carefully. The heavier brown and yellow cuts of camphor oil are where safrole concentrates, and the fire-ant study above shows a commercial camphor oil that carried 5.15 percent of it. Our oil is described on our pages as the white fraction, 100 percent pure and undiluted, distilled and fractionated in China by a producer held on file against each lot, and supplied in dark amber glass with a tight closure from 0.5 oz to 400 lb. Our posted certificate for batch CMPQGACCCNC003A gives a specific gravity of 0.878, a refractive index of 1.467 and an optical rotation of +5.80 degrees, and it carries no GC/MS or safrole figure. A safrole result at or below detection is asked for on each lot and given when you ask, per Inside the Still. You can see the sizes in the shop; a 0.5 oz or 1 oz bottle is plenty for a few drawers.

Quick answers

Is camphor oil the same as a mothball?

No. Mothballs are EPA-regulated pesticide products, normally naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene. Camphor oil is sold here as an aromatic material and carries no pesticide registration.

Does cedar work better than camphor?

The PNW handbook supports tightly fitted cedar chests and does not mention camphor, so on the sources we could open, cedar chests have the stronger record. The tight fit is doing much of the work.

Can I use camphor oil and mothballs together?

We would not. Combining two strong volatile materials in one container adds exposure, and we found no evidence of added benefit. Follow the mothball label for anything it says about other products.

For the wider household picture, see our overview of camphor oil uses around the home.

Last reviewed October 2026. This is an evidence review, not pest-control or medical advice. For a persistent infestation call a licensed pest professional, and for a poisoning concern call 1-800-222-1222.