Are you sure they are mosquitos? Usually it's sewer flies.

I thought mosquitos require STANDING water for their larva to hatch.

Whatever they are, wouldn't just a good swipe with a cloth and a bit of bleach water take care of them? How are they getting into your bathroom in the first place?

-Babka

>I thought mosquitos require STANDING water for their larva to hatch.

Yes, whatever they are, they aren't mosquitoes. I agree with Babka about the treatment.

use a glove and catch some, put them in a jar and take to local Orkin distributor or similar to find out what they are and how to get rid of for good. Any local colleges with biology students - future entomologists?

What exactly are sewer flies?

Sewer flies, drain flies:

Some set up shop inside of the septic tank. They usually stay there until warm weather shows up, then they may migrate up the waste pipes and can show in the drains of the plumbing fixtures.

Some live within the first few feet of the drain inside the drain lines.

They like the organic crud in the pipes. A lot of treatments will kill the adults but not the larvae or eggs. Your best defense is to clean out the first few feet of your drain lines with a snake or a brush if you have one.

If you treat beyond that, you'll probably need multiple treatments. Usually all you'll kill are the adults, the unhatched or larvae may be immune. So even if you don't see any adults, keep the treatments going every few days for a few weeks to get each generation as they hatch.

Oh, boy. Learn about something new everyday. I Googled "sewer flies" and there are many treatments, from home remedies to drain cleaners. Thanks, Mongoct! Never new there was such a thing.

-Babka

Here is a link that might be useful: Sewer Flies...remedies and photos too!

Some things you just don't WANT to know about. lol

yes they are mosquitos. When they land on you and bite, it's not anything other than a mosquito. Maybe they are hatching out of the tank and use the holes to the bowl to get out. At any rate, I still have mosquitos, we do not have septics here, the ground is caliche, hard as a rock and too expensive to dig, also does not drain well. Still, any ideas for removal of mosquitos? Have used bleach to clean out bowl. Maybe I should try in the tank?

If that's the case, then maybe you have a bit of stagnant water in the rim? Maybe a few restricted holes in the rim?

You can try cleaning out the holes to make sure none are blocked, than tossing a mosquito puck in your tank. It'll take several weeks to fully dissolve so it'll do it's business over a good length of time whenever you flush.

If for some reason you think that portions of the rim are not getting flooded with the treated water, then you could put tape over most of the holes in the rim, then flush. With the rim holes restricted, the entire rim will bet a good flooding of treated water.

Not the definitive solution. Just an idea.

The toilet was new when we moved in, installed by previous owners. How it got mosquitos in it, I don't know, they were here when we moved in. I tried again with the bleach, took lid off, swashed it off with bleach, put some in tank, wiped out inside of tank, then flushed it. I know I have mosquito dunks here somewhere, hubby isn't as organized as I am, they're in his workshop somewhere. How do I find the holes, as you suggest? Any idea what I could use to clean them out? Thanks for the suggestions. much appreciated.

The holes are on the underside of the rim of the toilet bowl. That is where the water from the tank goes to fill the bowl to make it flush. If they are clogged, your toilet wouldn't flush very well. A skinny bottle brush or screw driver or bamboo skewer poked up there might dislodge any blockage. If when you flush, water comes easily out all those holes, they aren't clogged.

I still don't get the idea that mosquitoes could live in a toilet...unless you never use that toilet. Is this in a vacation house that sits vacant? How often do you flush it? They have to feed off of something, and if you can keep them away from a food source (your bod), they will die. Do you have another toilet you can use, and cover this one with plastic for the life cycle of a mosquito (guessing a couple weeks).

-Babka

Duplicate post.

This post was edited by Babka on Fri, Aug 2, 13 at 12:13

I don't understand this whole deal either. Mosquitos live in stagnant water, right, but nevertheless, they are still in my toilet. Twice last week, I lifted the lid, once there was one mosquito, next day, there were two when I lifted the lid. This was a new toilet when we moved in, 1.6 gal. flush, and appears to only have one outlet to the bowl. I knew if I posted, I'd get a bunch of weird comments, I think it's really weird too. This is our main bath, closing it off even temporarily is not an option. If I can't locate those mosquito dunks, I'm off to the hardware for some. One got me this morning, and left such a big welt, it woke me up when I was scratching it. My brother in law thinks they are as weird as I do, they are large, black and fly fairly slowly, so are easy to catch out of the air. Thanks for the help, we all appreciate it! Wish me luck with the dunks. :)

I'm starting to think that somewhat pricey Toto I just bought that sends all the water from two large holes on the side instead of dozens of tiny holes underneath the rim, was a good investment...

IF you don't have a Toto with cyclone flushing like lee676, you have to stick your head into the toilet bowl to see the holes under the rim. OR you could use a mirror. What brand of toilet is it? Sleuthing....

DH just had a thought. You said this has been happening for the last couple years "during mosquito time". What is your water source? A pond? A storage tank? If it is a municipal water source it is time to call them to answer how the mosquitoes are getting into your water supply. Assuming you have screens on your windows. ;-)

-Babka

Have you called your County Extension Agency? I would ask them what they know about insects in toilets. The Extension Agencies are part of the land grand university systems. You live in Arizona, right? Then Arizona State University has an Extension agent that can find out from an Entomologist at the university about this. And it probably is free, unless there is a fee for insect identification.

I have never seen anything like this, but I live in the midwest. We have a million mosquitoes but never in the toilets that I am aware of, only outside in stagnant water, etc.

This is an interesting discussion. Do you have any proof the mosquities are actually hatching from the toilet and not just flying there to the water from another area of the house? Mosquitoes do lay their eggs IN water...so they may be attracted to the toilet. IF you have mosquitoes actually hatching from water in the bowl of your toilet, you would be able to see the wriggling larval stage in the water for a few days before they hatch. I don't believe it's possible to "raise" mosquitoes in your toilet if it's flushed at least once every two or three days. I'm assuming the water for the toilet is from a chlorinated public water supply or from a deep well. If you are on a private shallow well, maybe you have mosquitoe larvae in your well and they are being pumped into your house with the water.

Guess what I found on my bathroom wall today :) I caught the little guy and I just know it is a drain fly also known as a sewer fly, or a moth fly.

I looked up on several university sites and found info. I will link them. I also read on Wikipedia that our flies do not bite, but there are species in arid regions that do, but I don't know if they are in the western hemisphere.

To find out where they are coming from you put a plastic cup over the drain over night. Coat the cup with oil or Vaseline (for stickiness). Then you will see. There are treatments. This is the first time that I am "aware of" seeing these flies. I only found one. The flies lay eggs where ever there is stagnant water. So this one could have come from somewhere on our farm...or from my drain.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/environmental/sewfly.shtml

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef615.asp

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/mothfli.html

Thanks for all the suggestions. I did use a mirror, looks like a slot under the rim, unable to see holes. I closed the sink drain and tub drains after using bleach. Then I begged and begged hubby for the mosquito dunks. Broke them up into sink and tub drains. Put 1/4 piece into tank. It appears to have worked. Haven't seen any mosquitos in several days. Strangely enough, there has never been a problem with the other bath. And again, no we do not have sewer flies here, just cockroaches big enough to carry away the cat! Thanks again for all the suggestions. I have my remaining supply of dunks hidden away for next year, hoping I won't need them!

You never did say what your water source is. Consider calling a pest control company to see about the cockroaches. There HAS TO BE a way mosquitoes are getting into your water system from other than inside your house. If you have slits under your toilet rim where the water comes out when you flush, then stick a bamboo skewer in there to clear those out.

I think about your problem at night (!) as I doze off to sleep. There MUST be an answer to your very weird situation. I also get welts from mosquitoes...they love me.

-Babka

I have just Google about mosquitoes in the toilet and was brought to this site. I live in Mesa,Az and have been noticing a,few pesky persistent mosquitoes for about a wk or 2. Can't figure out why. They seem to be increasing. My grandson told me tonight after he lifted the lid in main toilet to use it hr started noticing alot of them flying around. I hadn't thought about it, but I do see them in my bathroom to only a few here and there. I also notice them by my kitchen sink. I'm interested to know if the person from Tucson is still experiencing this problem. I hope you still have access to this site so I can get an answer. I have to figure out what's going on it's just too much.

A little chlorine (Bleach) will kill them in the tank. They like stagnant water. Flush more often! Do you have screens on all your doors and windows? They need water to breed. Standing water anywhere?.

-Babka

Yes I have screens. Both toilets are used often. I will put bleach in tanks today. I will go to home Depot and get that dunk stuff too. Our water source is city water. Tomorrow I'm going to call them too. The main toilet is only about 7mths old, not likely plugged. Ive been in this house 21 yrs, first time this has happened. Thank you for your help.

Oh for heaven's sake! The mosquitoes are coming in your front door or a crack in the house. They're attracted to the damp toilet only after they're inside. They aren't hatching from your toilet. Bleach won't help.

Call your county extension agent. They need a good laugh.

My friend, if I live in Minnesota and have this happen to me ALL WINTER, and into the next year, then it is not a laughing matter. There ain’t no mosquitos comin in a crack of my house when it 10 below. And we have checked for standing water around the house for a year. I am going to try the Vaseline cup trick in the bathroom drains and then get me some oil. Then bleach. As has been suggested on other sites. Thank you to everyone who has given ideas!

Mosquitoes can't survive in a used toilet. They're breeding somewhere else. Got a sump? That's a likely place.

Please look up what mosquito larvae look like. They are easy to spot.

I have the same problem in my bathroom with the tiny mosquitoes. I keep the tub drain closed tight and the tub is never used anyway. I keep a folded rug over the shower drain. I think the water is run too often in the sink for them to be breeding there and the toilet is flushed a lot. Maybe they go in that room because of the water in the toilet. I don't normally keep the lid closed but will try that. It is the worst place to have them because you are exposing parts of you that don't have mosquito repellent on them.

I would try a chlorine tablet (the kind used for a hot tub) in the back tank. That will continually fill the bowl with chlorinated water. It should only saturate the water a certain amount, allowing the tablet to last. Should prevent mosquitoes from being able to survive let alone breed in there.

Please help me out..how do i get rid of mosquitoes in my toilet bowl. Am really sufering

HU

Are you the original poster from 7 years ago!!!!!!

What gives? Did you get a new toilet?

I had a similar problem, but in the kitchen with fruit flies. They were attracted to the fruit bowl and to our compost bucket even though both were washed regularly. We finally washed the compost bucket and left it outside and quit keeping fruit anywhere but the refrigerator. I was also religious about washing up dirty dishes. Still, the fruit flies came!!! When the pest control guy came for his quarterly inspection, I told him about our problem. He immediately put on his rubber gloves and pulled out the rubber drainer on the garbage disposal side of the kitchen sink. Sure enough, the fruit flies had turned the underside into a nursery! The problem — I had neglected to remove and clean the rubber drainer often enough. So...I agree, the pest control folks probably know the answer or can find out!!!