Indoor mosquitoes inside an apartment are a nightmare.
Their bites are not only itchy but also bring a risk of serious diseases like the West Nile virus, Zika virus, malaria, yellow fever, and dengue.
In this guide, you’ll learn to keep mosquitoes out of your apartment using the natural ways that work.
Plus, there are also some hidden hacks that even kill mosquitoes!
And a lot more. Let’s dive right in.
How To Kill Mosquitoes In An Apartment
The most straightforward and reliable way to kill mosquitoes in an apartment is to use mosquito spray in all rooms of your home.
For the spray to be effective, it’ll be best to use it just before sunset.
Mosquitoes become active inside the house or apartment after sunset.
Using it before sunset ensures that it kills mosquitoes that would have become active in the evening.
Even the Centers for Disease Control highly recommends this process.
However, you’ll have to do it daily, especially during the mosquito season, which is from late spring to early fall.
Mosquitoes can be active even during winter, especially when your home is warm.
Use the spray in the cluttered areas of your home. Do not use mosquito spray on kitchen utensils, food, or pantry shelves.
Some places mosquitoes can hide in your apartment are sinks, bathroom drains, underneath sinks, and cluttered storage sections.
Also, mosquitoes lay eggs in clogged drains. Clean the drains and use the spray in the drains too.
Mosquito sprays contain harmful chemicals. So, please read the safety instructions, and follow them on the spray bottle before using them.
Natural Ways To Keep Mosquitoes Out
Using mosquito repellents that work and preventing mosquitoes from flying inside are keys to a mosquito-free apartment.
Here’s how you can do that naturally.
Keep Mosquito Repellent Plants Inside Your Apartment
Rosemary, sage, lavender, basil, marigold, catnip, lemon grass, and citronella plants repel mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes hate their smell. Simply plant any of these plants in each of the rooms of your apartment to keep mosquitoes away.
Citronella plants are the most effective among all of them. Extracts of citronella plants are used to prepare citronella candles.
Lighting up citronella candles inside the house keeps away mosquitoes and many flying pests that invade homes and apartments.
Spray Essential Oils To Repel Mosquitoes
Eucalyptus, lavender, citrus, and, most importantly, peppermint oil are natural mosquito-repellent products.
Mosquitoes hate the smell of these oils. And the essential oils of these herbs are great for repelling mosquitoes.
But to use them, you’ll need to prepare a mosquito repellent spray.
Add a few drops, preferably 5-7, of these essential oils in two cups of water.
Add 2-3 drops of coconut oil to the mixture. Coconut oil is a carrier oil that helps these essential oils mix well with water.
Stir the mixture well. And pour it into a spray bottle.
Use the spray in all areas of your home.
Do not forget to use it in your bathroom, kitchen, and underneath sinks, door frames, windows, and porches.
Use this method daily to keep mosquitoes away from your apartment.
Prepare Homemade Mosquito Traps
You can prepare the best mosquito trap to lure all the mosquitoes in your apartment and entrap them.
Snare mosquito traps are so effective that people use them in their yards to keep mosquitoes away.
Here’s what you’ll need to prepare the mosquito trap –
- A 2-liter plastic soda bottle
- Yeast
- Water
- Sugar or brown sugar
- Scissors
- A bowl
- Adhesive tape
- Black cloth
To make a homemade DIY mosquito trap –
- Take the scissor
- Cut the soda bottle into half
- Boil water in the bowl
- Add sugar to water
- Stir the water to dissolve the sugar
- Let the solvent cool down
- Add yeast to the mixture
- Pour the mixture into the bottom half of the soda bottle
- Remove the cap from the top half of the soda bottle
- Insert the top of the soda bottle inside the bottom half with yeast and sugar solvent in it
- Use the adhesive tap to seal the conjoining area between the bottom half and top half of the bottle
- Warp the outside surface of the structure with a black cloth
The snare mosquito trap works like magic.
Mixing yeast with sugary water triggers a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide.
And the carbon dioxide that you exhale attracts mosquitoes and many other flies that bite humans.
The carbon dioxide from the trap will also attract mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes will enter the trap. They’ll try to reach the water in the bottom half of the bottle to reach the source of CO2.
Result? The mosquitoes will drown in the water because they fail to fly out of the funnel.
You can prepare multiple snare mosquito traps and keep them in your home’s rooms.
These traps will significantly reduce the mosquito population in your apartment.
Use Window Screens With Fine Mesh
It’s a known fact that mosquitoes enter apartments and houses through open doors and windows.
Even the thinnest cracks and holes on the windowsills enable you to crawl through them and enter your home.
So, install window screens with fine mesh on the windows to stop mosquitoes from entering your apartment.
Window screens prevent many other flying pests from entering your apartment, especially the ones that light attracts.
Use Bug-Repelling Lightbulbs
Mosquitoes are attracted to light. The light bulbs glowing inside your apartment will attract mosquitoes.
The solution is to use light bulbs that don’t attract bugs and flies.
You can use these light bulbs in your living room and rooms with windows.
Using these light bulbs in terraces also prevents mosquitoes from entering the apartment.
Install Bug Zappers Near At The Apartment Terraces
Bug zappers divert the attention of flies trying to make their way inside the apartment and electrocute them.
Installing one on your terrace will immensely reduce the number of mosquitoes getting inside the apartment.
Use Coffee Grounds In Stagnant Water To Kill Mosquito Larvae
Many apartment buildings have standing water in the outdoor areas.
Water storage containers lying outside, rain barrels, and pet bowls hold water, especially after the rain.
These standing waters are a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Tiny adult mosquitoes will lay eggs in them.
Larvae hatch out of the mosquito eggs. And they quickly mature into adults.
Standing water is a source of mosquitoes.
Put some coffee grounds into stagnant water. It kills the mosquito larvae.
Its presence also prevents mosquitoes from laying eggs in the stagnant water.
A swimming pool can also be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. But don’t put coffee grounds in the swimming pool.
Ask the maintenance to remove the mosquito eggs and larvae from the pool.
Standing water is the source of mosquitoes. And it’s essential to remove standing water to make the house or apartment mosquito free.
You can also use the coffee grounds on the damp soil beds of your indoor potted plants to kill any larvae and eggs on them.
Prepare A Garlic And Cloves Spray
Both garlic and cloves have several properties. One of them is that they’re mosquito repellents.
And using them together is one of the easiest natural ways to get rid of mosquitoes.
Crush a few cloves and garlic. And boil the crushed garlic and cloves in water.
Use a strainer to remove the garlic and cloves from the solvent. And pour the solution into a spray bottle.
Use the spray in all areas of your home, especially in moist and humid places like the kitchen and bathroom.
The smell of garlic and cloves can be strong for some people. But it goes away after a few hours.
Dry Ice
Another natural mosquito killer is dry ice. Place dry ice inside a container and keep the container in the room.
Dry ice emits carbon dioxide, which attracts mosquitoes.
But when mosquitoes reach the dry ice, it chokes them, and they die.
Camphor Tablets
Put some camphor tablets in a water bowl.
And keep the bowls in all the rooms of your apartment.
The strong scent of camphor repels mosquitoes.
And it also keeps mosquitoes away at night, which helps in preventing mosquito bites while you’re asleep.
But ensure that your children and pets don’t ingest it. Camphor is harmful when ingested.
You can also prepare a mosquito repellent by preparing a spray out of camphor oil and water.
How To Treat Itchy Mosquito Bites
Using over-the-counter anti-itching balms like antihistamines gives relief from itching.
Using ice on the bitten portion also reduces mosquito bites’ itchy and burning sensation.
You can also use peppermint essential oil on the bitten wound. Peppermint soothes the itch.
You can use peppermint oil on the skin to prevent mosquito bites. Mosquitoes and many biting bugs like bed bugs hate the peppermint smell.
Skin-friendly and safe chemical repellents also keep away mosquitoes from biting. And they work great outdoors.
Sleeping inside the mosquito net is also one of the most common ways to prevent mosquito bites.
But don’t intensely itch and scratch the bitten portion. It can rupture the skin and can cause an infection.
Conclusion
Mosquitoes are annoying and biting flying pests that invade apartments from open doors and windows.
The best way to kill mosquitoes instantly inside the house or apartment is by safely using a reliable mosquito spray.
But to prevent mosquitoes from coming back, you’ll need to implement natural mosquito repellent products.
And this guide revealed what they are.
Nang Chen is an Entomologist and Arachnologist who is associated with Vienna’s museum of natural history. He’s also a consultant with real estate groups, insecticide conglomerates and law enforcement groups as a forensic entomologist. Nang Chen holds an M.S. from South China University and he’s a regular contributor to our site.