Quite right that the two are not the same. But I must share my
funny story on that subject.
A long time ago, at a tea of newcomers to Paris, France, one of the
young wives inquired how she might ask for mothballs in French. No
one knew so we went to the dictionary of English to French. Nothing
there under mothball, so we proceeded to moth. Voila, it said,
“mite” pronounced meat - Ah, we can ask for “miteballs ?” After we
all stopped rolling on the floor laughing, we did decide that
naphthalene should do it. Someone had produced a box giving that as
the ingredient.
Pat