Dear Abby: When the neighbors open their garage, we have to flee

"Every time they open their garage door, we get blasted with the stench. It is so pungent we must retreat inside our house, which is about 80 feet from their property. We can't open our windows, sit on our deck or do yardwork until their garage door comes down. I don't know how they stand it. How can we let them know it's affecting our quality of life without causing a permanent rift?"

"Contact your local health department to report what you are enduring and to share your concerns. Mothballs are not supposed to be used in the manner you have described. If you live in an area with a homeowner's association, it also may be able to help. However, if there isn't one, you may have to bite the bullet and ask these neighbors to close their garage door more quickly because the scent of mothballs is making you ill."

"My husband and I are raising our 7-month-old daughter together, and we generally get along well. I love him very much, but he has a habit that worries me. He's constantly on the lookout for a new job. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but every couple of months he says he's bored and wants to work somewhere else. These are decent-paying jobs, but they never pay much more than what he's earning now."

An elderly couple uses mothballs in their garage and believes they repel ants, but opening the garage releases a pungent odor that drifts about 80 feet and forces neighbors indoors. The smell prevents nearby residents from opening windows, sitting on their deck, or doing yardwork until the garage door closes. Recommended responses include contacting the local health department, notifying a homeowner's association if applicable, or politely asking the neighbors to minimize exposure by closing the garage door more quickly because the scent is causing illness. Separately, a spouse repeatedly seeks new jobs every few months, sometimes in other cities or states, creating potential relocation, childcare, and financial burdens when the new positions offer little additional benefit.

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