# Mosquitos/gnats mostly in bathroom



## JBosarge (Jan 21, 2012)

Hi my first thought was to post this under pest control but I tend to think problem could be related to plumbing issues. I live in south louisiana in a rural area so no stranger to mosquitos but this is getting ridiculous! House is almost 20yrs. In doing a re-fi on our home had appraisal done. So we did some small home improvements before appraisal. painted bathroom changed faucets in bathroom and removed front of whirlpool jacuzzi to repair a crack in front panel with epoxy. When we removed the front had a ton of what appeared to be inactive ant beds. Which I'm not 100% convinced it was dirt from ant bed but seemed to fit as we had had an ant problem in that bathroom for a while and finally treated around and inside house enough that problem went away. Cleaned dirt from behind panel repaired crack replaced panel. 2 days AFTER (thank goodness not 2 days prior to appraisal) septic tank backed up and created a lovely mess! Had system completely pumped out and inspected by very knowledgable company. Was impressed with how well he examined and explained everything as he went. Verdict was system was working fine and in good condition just had not been pumped out in 20 years. Oops on us for not realizing this should have been done several times through the years. But all is working fine since then. 

Some time during all of this we started noticing an abundance of Mosquitos and gnats that seemed to be in higher numbers in all 3 bathrooms! In reading post on this site I read about sewer flies. Well in looking at them I could be wrong but I really think they are your common mosquito and they bite like common mosquito. Because sewer backed up into all but one of the 3 bathrooms we changed the wax rings and of course cleaned tubs sinks floors etc. After doing all this set off foggers through out the house. Looked like Mosquitos were gone for a couple of days...but they r back! Seems to be worse in master bath which is closest to where main sewer/drain line goes out of the house and was opened up to unclog. Top of tank was completely removed and replaced to clean system out. I don't know where else they could come from? I did walk around house this evening and look 2 things I saw could be issue but idk. One is I noticed the boot cap around the PVC vent pipe from master bath has lifted on one corner. We replaced that boot cap couple years ago after hurricane because it started leaking. It appears corner has lifted also noticed that we need a new roof and soon! (oh joy! $$) lol second thing I noticed is it appears there is a small piece of plastic that broke off septic tank but truthfully this has been like that for years just didn't realize husband had not closed it up. But at this point I'm looking at every possible way Mosquitos could be entering house. 

Question is am I looking in wrong direction on thinking it is somehow plumbing related? Would not have thought plumbing related if it hadn't started when we began disturbing things in bathroom and then sewer back up. Any input or suggestions of where to look next would be greatly appreciated! By the way I did try a suggestion think I saw on site and placed clear plastic packing tape over drains and around toilets thinking if that was entry point tape would catch them and caught nothing. 

Thanks for any input or suggestions.


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## Alan (Apr 12, 2006)

Those little gnats are usually present in my area when we see a leak in the drainage system. I had some at my house, then when I pulled my toilet, I found that it was weeping a bit. Resetting it to where it was not leaking got rid of the darn things.


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

I've heard to pour boiling water down the drain.


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## JBosarge (Jan 21, 2012)

Haven't tried boiling water yet. I did run hot water which i keep hot water heater pretty hot but I will be trying boiling water very shortly! Did reset toilets when we changed wax rings and trust me I looked to see if I could see any evidence of gnats coming from under toilet didn't see any but like I said at this point I'm at a loss on where else to look. We are on a well system for our water supply haven't had any problems with well or water but figure I'd mention it in case I'm missing something there also.


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## JBosarge (Jan 21, 2012)

Well we shall see poured boiling water down drains sprayed a little Bengal bug spray to kill existing Mosquitos and closed bathroom doors with exhaust fans on. Prob be a day or 2 if I know if it worked Bengal is great at killing them just have to see if they come back. If this and the 2 things being fixed identified in my previous post (boot cap and hole in side of sewer tank) don't work I'll go to next school of thought. Which is they are getting in to house somewhere else and migrating to bathrooms due to availability of water. Friend asked if it was possibly just from people going in and out and they are coming in through doors but I say not in the numbers I am seeing. It's only my husband and I in the house now that kids are grown and gone and he is at wk most of time. So can't imagine small amount of traffic in and out of house would bring this many Mosquitos and just all of a sudden an issue. So idk where I'll look next. Thinking I'll call a pest control service and maybe someone who specializes in identifying leaks/cracks/openings in home. Raised 4 kids in this house with kids in and out constantly and never had this kinda problem. So really can't imagine it's through normal in and out traffic of myself and husband going in or out. But I'm at a loss. Worst part about this problem is just about time I fall asleep one of those suckers comes and buzzes right in my hear or just circles around close enough to drive me crazy! Lol


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## Homerepairguy (Aug 1, 2010)

JBosarge said:


> I don't know where else they could come from?


Have you ever seen mosquito wrigglers in the toilet bowl's water?

Just a thought,
HRG


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## JBosarge (Jan 21, 2012)

Homerepairguy said:


> Have you ever seen mosquito wrigglers in the toilet bowl's water?
> 
> Just a thought,
> HRG


Nope even got up and double checked before answering just to be sure. Lol like I said I am open to all suggestions cause this has got to end! Lol 

BUT when I went to check toilet bowls I looked around and thought ok what am I missing here? Again because they seem to be isolated to the bathroom area (all 3 of the homes bathrooms) I have been focusing on the bathroom. Well as I looked around I thought ok what's new or different in here since this started and it hit me. I ran out of time and didn't order the nice rugs I wanted for bathroom to match new paint and curtains etc. before the appraisal. I bought these cheap a$$ rugs to throw down just to have finished look in bathroom for appraisal. They are solid colored and looked fine for a temp fix. Well procrastination I haven't ordered rugs and still have cheap rugs down. Idk if its possible but I can't help but wonder could it possibly have something to do with those cheap rubber backed rugs. I put a set in all 3 bathrooms. I actually put 2 sets in master bath due to size and masterbath seems worse the other 2 baths I may be way off base but that is my last thought on what was changed since this started. Going to pull them out put in sealed bag in shed and just see if that changes anything. Like I said I maybe way off base and grasping at straws but at this point it can't hurt and if it ends this mess I'll be a happy camper!


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## JBosarge (Jan 21, 2012)

Oh and on a side note if you don't think life has a funny sense of humor think again. We were worried about appraisal because we had heard stories about with state of housing market homes coming in much lower then people anticipated and we had house appraised before and never thought it came in where it should have for a one owner 4bedroom 3 bath home on 2 acres but we are in a rural area not a neighborhood and that seemed to hurt us when compared to homes in the area. After all the work that was done house came in well above what we had hoped and all was good but imagine how pleased I was when there was a note on the appraisal that master bath could use some upgrades due to the fact that it does still have linoleum and not tile like other bathrooms in the house! Lol thanks for that kick in the pants life! So to that all i can say to life's little sense of humor is something my 2 year old grand daughter picked up god only knows where and says to me all the time "u funny? U not funny! I funny!" Lol


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## Javiles (Dec 12, 2011)

If you be leave they are coming from the plumbing drainage system find someone in your area that can perform a smoke test. Do some research


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## ahoney13 (Jul 29, 2013)

Hi - I just came across this forum and was wondering if you ever found out where the mosquitoes were coming from or how to get rid of them. We are having the exact problem, killing 15-20 a day, mostly in our bathroom and around our kitchen sink. It's been going on for a few weeks now and we can't seem to figure out how to solve the problem. Thanks so much!!


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## JBosarge (Jan 21, 2012)

Sadly no :-( it had gotten better and even went away for a while but seems to be back again! :-( we had or septic system back up and had to have it pumped/cleaned out shortly before it started and they inspected system and said was in good working order just had not been pumped out in 15 years :-/ starting to think maybe I need to have the lines in the house cleaned/jetted. Actually when I saw your post I was logging into plumbing forum to research any applicable advice. Was thinking of trying a smaller blow bag/water baffle (not sure if that's technical name) but we did have some success in unstopping main sewer line with the large blow bag while waiting on septic tank guy to arrive to pump out. Just a little Leary of putting pressure through drain lines the way my luck runs I'd be quickly looking for solutions to fixing a busted drain line under my slab. May be wrong but I will research extensively before I do try blow bag on inside drain lines. Where as I am not afraid of DIY and wholeheartedly love the success of saying I DIY that being said I am not a fool and known somethings I MUST call in a pro! Not that I learned that one from firsthand experience! (~Whistling~) lol I do seem to have an area where 2 of my 3 baths back up to each other and seem to be temperamental at times. It all the time but off and on draining and flushing quirks. Septic guy was great very informative and showed me as he explained with written diagram of how my system is setup and works fine just needed maintenance. He did say would not surprise him if after he left I realize have a smaller or partial clog inside house due to sewer back up. But because when he finished he checked and water was flowing freely through to septic system and all fixtures drained/flushed fine he said give it some time and if a problem arose call him. Then he told me he was selling his business due to he was a one man operation and ready to retire! :-(( very disappointed in my area it's a shame but more sewer guys with bad reputation then good. I'll definitely check out whoever I call beforehand. The fact that this guy took time to physically show me and draw out a diagram with references of where I could go and look to verify my set up was as it should be and in working order I was very pleased. He set the bar high for whoever takes over his business! Now could all that I just described be causing the Kant problem that's the million dollar question!


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