what's with the moth balls?

We presume that hotel housekeeping staffs are unaware that the state of California has found moth balls to contain carcinogens (though whether that's napthalene or paradichlorobenzene - or both - we can't remember).

Yup, the housekeepers are the proverbial canary in the coalmine when it comes to monitoring the bug spray & eau de urinal toxicity levels.

Another use for moth balls ...

My southern USA grandmother always had a vegetable garden. A common and easily grown vegetable is squash ... both "yellow summer squash" and "zucchini squash". But these low growing, vining plants are susceptible to the dreaded "squash bug". I don't know the scientific name of this beast, but they are beetle-like and will destroy the blooms of the squash plant. My grandmother always sprinkled moth balls among the squash vines and ... Goodbye squash bugs!

And, of course, there is the classic ... "I didn't even know moths had balls!"
Sorry ... Couldn't resist!

I think it was at Bhuj palace, where the trophy animals each had a moth ball in its mouth, to keep it from being eaten by moths, I presume!

In California everything has that label. So don't drink or eat anything or ride in any kind of vehicle while in Californios. In fact in one community they came close to banning hydrogen dioxide..

The question was about mothballs in sinks, Nick! So...

"Is it polite to pee in hotel room sinks?"

ps I was wondering later, I grew up with a lot of traveling, must have seen quite some campsites and hotels etc. So was this really a regional thing, or rather an international hotel thing, now perhaps again regionalized or not? (I mean I think Dani travels in the Caribbean, so she should know it there.)

No idea really, and strange the way memory works, isn't it. All I know again is that it's never given me pause when I come across it, it's only struck me since the question gets brought up here from time to time. It's certainly not unique to India, or is it?

Mach, I have traveled a lot of places, and never found the moth balls in any other place but India, at least in the drains, also in cabinets/closets and even scattered randomly along the walls on the floor of the room. Never seen it in the Caribbean. And never in a really good hotel in India, just lower to middle end ones. With that much poison around, (and worrying about crawly & creepy critters) it was practically impossible to sleep or even function for long. (I hated leaving that hotel too! I was the only foreigner there! ) Another place, a bed & breakfast, I stayed for several days and didn't wish to hurt anyone's feelings, so just "lived with it" but it wasn't easy.

Exactly, that's what I was thinking, and so do many here. So question now remains, why has it never struck me as odd? No idea really, maybe I have nothing against moth balls, or these little sanitizing balls? Beats me.

I hate the smell of moth balls. I have not come across the use of moth balls in bathroom sinks anywhere except in India. In cupboards, as a moth deterrent, yes, they are widely used in Greece. So much so in fact, that in public places when people are wearing winter woollens there is a distinct "eau de moth-ball" whiff.

I grew up with the smell of them emanating from elderly relatives - and they were all English!

Mothballs do work against cockroaches, and also mice. I had storage boxes full of roach droppings after a year, and a heap of jumpers gnawed through by mice (who also left droppings...). I cleaned out the boxes and re-stacked them with liberal quantities of naphthalene flakes. Two years later, not a dropping to be seen. Other boxes, that I'd assumed roaches wouldn't be interested in so didn't fill with naphthalene, were, again, full of mouse and roach droppings. Anecdotal, but it's proof enough for me

naphthalene is horrible stuff, be sure to wash your hands! We use it to gas Gladioli sometimes, it's well toxic.

There's also an ubiquitous insecticide dust/powder that Indian booksellers apply to ward off the silverfish, firebrats et al. Does anybody know what exactly it is that they use? It's got a pretty unique odor to it & does not seem to dissipate too much over time/years ......

Monster!

USA rules Nick, NO nematoids!!!