Have you looked at your city ordinances and codes to find out if noxious fumes are included as a sanitary nuisance? Perhaps contacting your state or local environmental agency for backup?

Mothballs are regulated by the EPA for how they can be used and contained. She might not know that these are toxic and that they are regulated by the EPA. You could share this information from the National Pesticide Center http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/ptype/mothball/regulation.html

She's being passive aggressive because she knows she's wrong and she knows she's harming somebody else but she doesn't want to take responsibility for it. I'm sorry she's a tragic neighbor.

@jenk thank you, I actually sent an article to her from that site — in case she didn’t know the fumes are carcinogenic. We have two little kids running around and while I don’t think they’re going to get cancer from breathing in these toxic fumes, I do think it’s bad for them and bad for the birds, bees, butterflies that we e worked so hard to care for in our California native plant garden 😢

Contact the California Department of Pesticide Regulations: https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/enforce/enf_auth.htm

They are responsible for monitoring and enforcing both state and federal pesticide regulations. I'd bet they'd be pretty interested in a federal violation that was such a health hazard!

I don’t want to escalate the disagreement but would rather try to convince her with a more effective and compelling solution.

Has anyone successfully kept skunks at bay? Is our open compost pile something we should volunteer to get rid of? Maybe that’s a good source?

Sorry— FOOD source?

Dress in all black, wear gloves, and steal them at night, repeat as needed.☻

so sorry. I have a neighbor who is a bit more than difficult to deal with or to accept, so I can really emphasize with your problem. I can feel your aggravation and understand fully.

Some of thess things that disgruntled neighbors can get up to are not illegal despite that we thing that they ought to be.

One example is that is not illegal to engulf your neighbors house in purposly lit fire smoker chimmey if you can claim that you are just cooking some dinner. Codes like that only govern town houses and not single famly houses. Code address only fire safety in town houses, not noxious purposely created smoke from some waste product and in strategically placed as to have the most impact on you and for no other reason. so, yes, I can relate to your problem with a nasty neighbor.

By the way, I had to get rid of my open compost pile because it was attracting rats and I have never had rats here before in all of the 40 years, until just a few years ago. Always had an open compost. No more. It had to go.

Not a solution, but the Paint Odor R95 masks work to protect against noxious fumes. 3M used to make a gray one that worked well. It’s hard with high temps and almost impossible to carry on a conversation in one, but if you have one available, it might make you less angry when you go outside, and you might be able to tolerate being out there long enough to do what you need to do. Other disposable masks don’t work against strong smells.

I can relate to what you are going through, and I hope it gets resolved soon.

If it were me, I would look into legal options. You can investigate without acting on them if you want to think about it or wait until the renovation is complete. (Do you think your renovation has affection the critter population? Were there digging or landscaping changes?) It might make sense to wait until after the renovation is complete to see if things settle down critter-wise. At least the equipment will be gone and the neighbor won’t have that to complain about.

A long time ago, I got a dog barking complaint from animal control and I acted on it. So if someone else in your community chimes in (law enforcement or neighbor), it might help. If your community uses nextdoor.com or has a facebook group, maybe you could start a discussion about pest control safety that ventures into the mothball discussion. It can be tense, but sometimes those discussions end up with partial consensus or distinct opposing positions being agreed upon. It will give you an idea of what neighbors think, and some neighbors may offer better solutions for critter control.

Hi - what a yucky problem!

And I understand skunks fear nothing and nobody, which could make it hard to find something that repels them. I agree that it might be best to try to help her repel them more safely. Perhaps framing it as being concerned for her safety and wanting to help her would be more persuasive?

Well look at this - from Lowes.com:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EPIC-Skunk-Scram-5-5-lb-Shaker/5000151305?cm_mmc=shp-

EPA

Jessica Jones:

That's one of the funniest posts I've ever read here. Thanks.

A big hunkin' leaf blower has multiple uses, but blowing mothballs isn't one I've seen advertised by manufacturers. I suspect it will be in the future when they identify a new marketing opportunity. Could even be a new twist on paint ball.

I invested in a really big backpack-mounted leaf blower (it came with a coupon deck from a local chiropractor.) I've found it to be effective for blowing leaves and debris from my yard into my neighbors'. I suggest purchasing the biggest one you can find so you don't need to leave the safety and security of your front or back steps to accomplish the task. As always, wear the proper personal protective equipment whenever operating it.