How To Get Rid of Mosquitoes in the House: Make an Indoor Mosquito Trap

Georgette Kilgore headshot, wearing 8 Billion Trees shirt with forest in the background.Written by Georgette Kilgore

Pest Control | December 6, 2023

Man being bugged in his sleep wonders how to get rid of mosquitoes in the house and how to make 3 types of indoor mosquito traps, and other killing mosquito tips, as well as when to call an exterminator for mosquitoes

Learning how to get rid of mosquitoes in the house increases the quality of your sleep at night and protects your family from deadly illnesses.

According to Statista, mosquitoes cause about one million deaths yearly through mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, Zika virus, and yellow fever.2

It’s unbelievable that a tiny insect like a mosquito can cause so many deaths. But the good news is, there are many ways to control mosquitoes in the house, including home remedies for mosquitoes that work effectively.5

In fact, you can make your own indoor mosquito trap.

This complete guide explains how to get rid of mosquitoes in the house, three ways to make an indoor mosquito trap, and other steps to keep mosquitoes away.

Mosquito Pest Control

If you live in an area where mosquitoes are prevalent, you can approach mosquito pest control in two ways: keeping them away from your house using repellents and killing them.3

Repellents make the conditions unfavorable for mosquitoes, making them go away to a different place. For example, if you apply a mosquito repellent cream on your skin, mosquitoes may come close to you but won’t bite you.

Indoor mosquito trap graphic shows that using combinations of baking soda and vinegar, yeast and sugar, and dishwashing soap and light will help attract and kill mosquitos.

Both approaches go hand in hand because some mosquitoes still find their way into your house, even with all the measures you take to keep them out.

Secondly, it’s impossible to kill all the mosquitoes around your home so they don’t bother you anymore.

For that reason, how to get rid of mosquitoes in the house or mosquito control is a continuous process that ensures your home is free of mosquitoes.

How To Get Rid of Mosquitoes in the House: Control Using an Indoor Mosquito Trap

An effective mosquito indoor trap incorporates the different things a mosquito loves when looking for food or a suitable place for reproduction.9

For instance, a mosquito considers a wet area a good breeding ground. When looking for food, a mosquito may follow a sweet scent or a bright light.

With this in mind, you can easily create an indoor mosquito trap by combining more than one element. Here are three ways to make an indoor mosquito trap to help you how to get rid of mosquitoes in the house:

1. Use Dishwashing Soap and Light

Most dishwashing soaps have an attractive smell that mosquitoes may love. So, this method of making an indoor mosquito trap combines light, moisture, and a sweet scent to attract the mosquitoes.6

To make one, add some water in a bowl and mix it with dish soap to make some foam at the top. Introduce a light source on the side and leave it.

2. Create a Yeast and Sugar Solution

When you mix yeast, sugar, and water, you create a solution that begins to release carbon dioxide within a few hours. This concept targets a mosquito’s liking to carbon dioxide.1

If you use a one-liter container to prepare the solution, add ½ a cup of warm water, two tablespoons of sugar, and 1/3 teaspoon of yeast. Stir your mixture thoroughly and leave it for a few hours.

3. Use Baking Soda and Vinegar

Baking soda and vinegar also release carbon dioxide, which attracts and kills mosquitoes.13

Prepare the solution in a bottle and hang it in a room where there are mosquitoes. The mosquitoes will likely follow the smell of carbon dioxide and land into your mixture.

How To Get Rid of Mosquitoes in the House: How To Keep Mosquitoes Away Using a Natural Mosquito Repellant

Mosquitoes are attracted to some scents and are appalled by some.

For example, the Allium flower has a strong, pungent smell that repels mosquitoes.10

Graphic of natural mosquito repellent showing a combination of lemon and eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass oil, lavender, thyme oil, and cinnamon oil will help to keep mosquitos away.

Some other plants, oils, and herbs that repel mosquitoes include:

  • Lemon Eucalyptus
  • Peppermint
  • Lemongrass oil
  • Lavender
  • Thyme oil
  • Cinnamon oil

Besides clearing bushes and draining the stagnant water in your home, you can plant some of these plants and herbs to repel mosquitoes from your homestead.11 Better still, you can start an indoor garden with some of the plants that repel mosquitoes.

Mosquito Control: How To Kill Mosquitoes

The first instinct everyone has when a mosquito bites is to slap it so hard that it dies. It’s no wonder that many mosquito control measures work by killing mosquitoes.4

Closeup shot of a plant's leaf showing a mosquito hanging from it.

(Image: Syed Ali14)

Here are methods you can use to kill mosquitoes:

Using Insecticides Designed for Mosquitoes

Mosquito insecticides are usually packaged as aerosols, coils, or mats.

Most of the aerosols in the market are “adulticides” meant to kill adult mosquitoes in the house.12 However, others are designed to kill mosquito larvae in stagnant water before they mature into adult mosquitoes.

For coils and mats, you have to burn them so they can release the insecticide. These usually target adult mosquitoes, which die after inhaling the smoke.8

Insecticides can pose a health risk to you and other animals in the house. So, ensure that you leave the house once you’ve sprayed the insecticide or provide good ventilation when burning coils and mats.

Electrocuting Mosquitoes Using Electronic Zappers or Swatters

Electronic zappers emit a radiant UV light that attracts mosquitoes and then electrocutes them. Although this method is quite effective, other beneficial insects attracted to the UV light may suffer the same fate as mosquitoes.

On the other hand, electronic swatters hit flying or resting mosquitoes and electrocute them immediately. You can swing your swatter at the mosquito whenever you see it and kill it.

When To Call Exterminator for Mosquitoes

While knowing how to get rid of mosquitoes in the house through home remedies, natural methods, and other chemical solutions, some situations call for professional extermination services.

A pest exterminator fumigating a property for mosquito control.

(Image: Refat Ul Islam15)

For instance, if you notice increased mosquitoes around your home and all other methods of controlling them have failed, consider contacting a professional.7

Also, if there is a known outbreak of a mosquito-borne disease, it’s crucial to call an exterminator to help you clear out all the mosquitoes in your home as soon as possible.

Exterminator prices vary depending on your location, the size of your homestead, and the level of infestation.

Even after putting so much effort into getting rid of mosquitoes in your house, they always find a way to return, especially during the rainy season. However, if you learn how to repel mosquitoes, you can use natural methods to keep them away from your house.

Other methods of how to get rid of mosquitoes in the house, like creating indoor mosquito traps, are effective, but you can also remove the areas around your house (like gutters and basins) with standing water, which will also decrease the pests.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Get Rid of Mosquitoes in the House

Does Alcohol Kill Mosquitoes?

Yes, if you spray 70% isopropyl alcohol in a mosquito-infested area, it kills the mosquitoes. You can also use it as a repellant by pouring some in a bowl and placing it in an open space within your house.

What Are the Ways To Learn How To Get Rid of Mosquitoes Breeding Areas?

Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water and bushy areas that have dumpy conditions. To get rid of these areas, drain the stagnant water and clear the bushes.

What Kills Mosquitoes Best Naturally?

While smashing the mosquitoes between your hands may be a sure way to kill them naturally, it can only get a few. To improve your efforts, make an indoor mosquito trap as an effective way of how to get rid of mosquitoes in the house.


References

1Buiano, M. (2022). 3 DIY mosquito traps that actually work, according to pest control experts. Martha Stewart. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.marthastewart.com/diy-mosquito-traps-7483062#toc-how-to-make-a-diy-mosquito-trap-with-yeast-and-sugar>

2Elflein, J. (2022). Deadliest animals globally by annual number of human deaths 2022. Statista. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.statista.com/statistics/448169/deadliest-creatures-in-the-world-by-number-of-human-deaths/>

3Home Depot. (2023). How to get Rid of mosquitoes. Home Depot. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.homedepot.com/c/ab/how-to-get-rid-of-mosquitoes/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90c4977a49>

4Houlton, L. (2023). How to get rid of mosquitoes inside the house naturally – expert tips. Homesandgardens. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.homesandgardens.com/solved/how-to-get-rid-of-mosquitoes-inside-the-house-naturally>

5India Today Web Desk. (2020). How to get rid of mosquitoes inside the house: 7 ways for a mosquito-free home. India Today. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.indiatoday.in/information/story/how-to-get-rid-of-mosquitoes-inside-the-house-7-ways-for-a-mosquito-free-home-1717035-2020-08-31>

6Lucas. (2023). 8 ways to prevent and get rid of mosquitoes inside your home. Lifeafterbugs. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.lifeafterbugs.com/8-ways-to-prevent-and-get-rid-of-mosquitoes-inside-your-home/>

7McDonald Pest Control. (2023). Best ways to eliminate mosquitoes in the house. McDonald Pest Control. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.mcdonaldpestcontrol.com/mosquitoes-in-your-house/>

8Mosquito Squad of Greater Washington DC. (2023). How to get rid of mosquitoes inside the house. Mosquitosquad.  Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.mosquitosquad.com/greater-dc/about-us/blog/tips-prevention/how-to-get-rid-of-mosquitoes-inside-the-house/>

9ROS Team. (2023). How do you get rid of mosquitoes in the house/apartment? NYrentownsell. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.nyrentownsell.com/blog/how-do-you-get-rid-of-mosquitoes-in-the-house/>

10Sahinturk, D. (2018). 7 Natural ways to prevent mosquito bites. Everydayhealth. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.everydayhealth.com/skin-and-beauty/natural-ways-to-prevent-mosquito-bites.aspx>

11Swatirathore. (2022). 10 natural tips and tricks on how to get rid of mosquitoes at home. Livspace. Retrieved September 12, 2023, from <https://www.livspace.com/in/magazine/how-to-get-rid-of-mosquitoes-at-home>

12Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Adulticides. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from  <https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/mosquito-control/community/adulticides.html>

13Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Controlling Mosquitoes at Home. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 13, 2019, from <https://www.cdc.gov/zika/prevention/controlling-mosquitoes-at-home.html>

14Syed Ali. Unsplash. Retrieved from <https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-and-black-insect-80a3A_BFeic>

15Refat Ul Islam. Unsplash. Retrieved from <https://unsplash.com/photos/a-kid-playing-baseball-xeo1csXebMQ>