There are scores of products and prescriptions available that are nontoxic and less noxious than mothballs, but they are only moderately effective. Old standbys (like cedar), commercial products (like Moth Away, a mix of peppermint, rosemary, thyme, and cloves), and home recipes (such as sachets of whole cloves, lavender, or dried orange peel; or tempting traps of cotton balls soaked in fish oil and stuck on flypaper) may prevent the depositing of eggs, but they will not destroy eggs that are already there, leaving them free to hatch into ravenous larvae. And, as with mothballs, the scents need to be highly concentrated to repel adult moths.

Cedar— by way of closets, chests, liners, blocks, balls, and sachets— is the most common natural repellent. Although cedar-oil vapor in high doses will kill small larvae, it cannot kill larger larvae or eggs, and cedar loses its oil within a few years of being cut.