Mosquitoes Entering Via Aircon

[bowerboy]

We have a real mosquito problem in our house right now.

Last night in our bedroom and adjoining bathroom I killed 13 mosquitos. During the afternoon we sprayed the room and I am 99% certain there were no mosquitos by that time.

Turn on the airconditioning tonight and within 20 minutes we have killed 9 mosquitoes.

Now the thing is that you cant see them entering through the aircon BUT i cannot possibly imagine that have come in from anywhere else. How can a room free of mosquitoes suddently have 9 within 20 minutes when the windows have been shut and no place to enter. They could of already been in there but I doubt it as we were so through.

Can Mosquitos enter through the Aircon??? Its like this night after night and I cant think of any other explanation as we keep all the doors and windows closed religously now while we are trying to fix the problem

Note: A lot of mosquitoes come in with your laundry but we have remedied that now so it is no longer an issue.

Anyone else have a similar problem with mosquitos coming through the aircon (i mean through the aircon itself, not through gaps at the side as we don't have any gaps)?

Any thoughts or advice is hugely appreciated as right now my entirely life is spent walking round the house with a tennis racket zapper trying to kill mosquitos (we have a 3 month old baby and a 2 year old boy). I cant live this way...seriously and no joke.

[steve187]

The aircon only has a pipe coming through from the outside, if that is sealed they must be coming in elsewhere.

[Anthony5]

The aircon only has a pipe coming through from the outside, if that is sealed they must be coming in elsewhere.

Aircon also has a drain, which is moist and a breathing place for mosquitoes.

[Aussieroaming]

make sure the aircon unit is draining properly, it sounds like you have wáter pooling

[Rooo]

Moved to housing,

[wayned]

You have water pooling somwhere in the drain system, might even be in the contianer in the inside unit if it not draining properly. If you dont have a pressure washer, it would be best to have someone with the proper equipment come and clean it. They can/will (if you ask) disconnect the drain and wash it out under pressure. Otherwie, if you're mechanically inclinded take it appart and do it yourself.

[BoneRanger]

I wouldn't be spraying poison all over the place. The mosquitos won't kill you but that spray might.

[sdanielmcev]

Let's start at the beginning. What type of A/C unit do you have?

[nputman]

They hide in dark spots. Most likely blowing them out when you turn AC on.

Cover your household drains as they come in thru there if you don't have a water trap in the system.

[2fishin2]

You left a window open....and you have a phobia of mosquitos evidenced by the counting of dead bodies.

[trogers]

A window type aircon has direct access to outside air. A split type aircon does not.

Edited January 9, 2015 by trogers

[ToddinChonburi]

Some of the new ac have an outside air mode vent. this needs to be closed. if hose not draining they could have eggs there hatching.

[jcisco]

I wouldn't be spraying poison all over the place. The mosquitos won't kill you but that spray might.

Highly doubt it since most if not all chemicals sprays sold for killing pests use the metabolic processes of the target organism to manufacture the poison from the chemical ingested.

So unless your body does the conversion (which it does not) you may suffer toxic effects from the spray but you certainly arent spraying poison around to which you maybe effected.

[bowerboy]

They COULD be coming up through the drains I guess and that is something i thought about.

I am going to throughly check the outside aircon units this weekend and see what the situation is.

I am convinced it must be the aircon (it is standard Thai style with compresseor outside and ac unit inside). Last night I am 90% sure the room was completely clear and then we turned on the aircon and bang, suddenly there are 4 or 5 mossies.

Having said that the bathroom also had 4 or 5 mossies and it seems less likely they came through the aircon.

It really is driving me crazy...wouldnt mind so much but with a yound baby we can't really use those plug in Mosquito repellers...we have got 2 x Black Hole devices but they are completely useless (the biggest ones).

[Briggsy]

Ventilator / Extractor fan in bathroom.

[NCC1701A]

mosquitoes hide under beds, behind headboards, behind any furniture that is up against the wall with a gap behind it, under drapes, sometimes under anything that has a gap under it. Very hard to be sure you have no mosquitoes.

they will hide all day and wait for you.

you can buy mosquito nets that hang above your bed and drape over the side of your mattress.

it could work for children's bed as well.

i have screen doors on all the the INTERIOR rooms of my house. It is like "mosquito tight compartments" so as I move about the house, they are contained somewhat.

if you have any control over your yard or exterior area, it goes without saying you need to drain off any standing water. a small amount of bleach will kill the larva.

here in Hua Hin two of my friends who live in town have come down with dengue fever. they were in the hospital for 5 days. not fun.

Edited January 9, 2015 by NCC1701A

[BoneRanger]

I find a mossie in my bathroom once in a while. Maybe I'm getting slow but I try whacking them and often miss.

Now I spray them with a windex cleaner. That really slows em down. And my place gets cleaner at the same time...

[phetphet]

If you have any standing water outside the house, it can act as a breeding ground. Best to remove or drain any water lying in empty pots etc. I have read somewhere that you can put a few drops of any oil on the surface. It will spread out in a fine film, and apparently prevents the mosquito larvae from breathing. I don't recommend that for fish tanks or ponds. It might kill the fish.

Getting rid of them at source will hopefully lessen the numbers getting in.

[lemonjelly]

just buy one or two of those electric mozzie repellents...... the kind with a bottle of liquid that is heated and evaporates ...... cheap and effective.

I'd post a pic of the one i have, but have no idea how to post a pic here.

[piston broke]

They COULD be coming up through the drains I guess and that is something i thought about.

I am going to throughly check the outside aircon units this weekend and see what the situation is.

I am convinced it must be the aircon (it is standard Thai style with compresseor outside and ac unit inside). Last night I am 90% sure the room was completely clear and then we turned on the aircon and bang, suddenly there are 4 or 5 mossies.

Having said that the bathroom also had 4 or 5 mossies and it seems less likely they came through the aircon.

It really is driving me crazy...wouldnt mind so much but with a yound baby we can't really use those plug in Mosquito repellers...we have got 2 x Black Hole devices but they are completely useless (the biggest ones).

i got one too - never seen it trap a single mozzie.....

[HooHaa]

I wouldn't be spraying poison all over the place. The mosquitos won't kill you but that spray might.

Highly doubt it since most if not all chemicals sprays sold for killing pests use the metabolic processes of the target organism to manufacture the poison from the chemical ingested.

So unless your body does the conversion (which it does not) you may suffer toxic effects from the spray but you certainly arent spraying poison around to which you maybe effected.

then why do they recommend it no be used in ventilated areas, or that you leave the house when spray bombing or fumigating.

bug coils and sprays give me a blinding headache and the certainly don't do people with asthma any favours,

to say the stuff is harmless in remarkably naive

[sdanielmcev]

Go around the exterior of your home and look for holes, then plug/fill them.

[jcisco]

I wouldn't be spraying poison all over the place. The mosquitos won't kill you but that spray might.

Highly doubt it since most if not all chemicals sprays sold for killing pests use the metabolic processes of the target organism to manufacture the poison from the chemical ingested.

So unless your body does the conversion (which it does not) you may suffer toxic effects from the spray but you certainly arent spraying poison around to which you maybe effected.

then why do they recommend it no be used in ventilated areas, or that you leave the house when spray bombing or fumigating.

bug coils and sprays give me a blinding headache and the certainly don't do people with asthma any favours,

to say the stuff is harmless in remarkably naive

I didn't say they were harmless, but they aren't poison to you, at all, not ever. They can have toxic effects but they are not poisonous, and before you attempt to refute that, know that

a MSDS for water instructs one to wash out the eyes or if consumed too seek medical attention and so forth.

Bombing and fumigation, depends on the chemical, but its unwise to as a human be in any environment where beyond several % of the content of what you are breathing is not nitrogen and oxygen. So if they were simply spraying the room with water, or beer, you think its wise to be an environment saturated with it?

As for bug coils, not withstanding there are several types now on the market, they are traditionally manufactured from crysthanamum yes, the same crysthanamum used in drinks and other things, quite common to even find the flowers in some parts of asia.

I would suggest you are a bit sensitive and get yourself a bubble, might also give you a bit of time to read what I write and attempt to shove words in my mouth. I do not appreciate that, and will be most terse if you try any of that crap again. Thank you

[wayned]

A window type aircon has direct access to outside air. A split type aircon does not.

Yes they do. it's called a drain pipe and in many installations the installer does not connect it to a drain outside, it's just left to open air. A perfect place for mossies!

[BoneRanger]

I wouldn't be spraying poison all over the place. The mosquitos won't kill you but that spray might.

Highly doubt it since most if not all chemicals sprays sold for killing pests use the metabolic processes of the target organism to manufacture the poison from the chemical ingested.

So unless your body does the conversion (which it does not) you may suffer toxic effects from the spray but you certainly arent spraying poison around to which you maybe effected.

then why do they recommend it no be used in ventilated areas, or that you leave the house when spray bombing or fumigating.

bug coils and sprays give me a blinding headache and the certainly don't do people with asthma any favours,

to say the stuff is harmless in remarkably naive

I didn't say they were harmless, but they aren't poison to you, at all, not ever. They can have toxic effects but they are not poisonous, and before you attempt to refute that, know that

a MSDS for water instructs one to wash out the eyes or if consumed too seek medical attention and so forth.

Bombing and fumigation, depends on the chemical, but its unwise to as a human be in any environment where beyond several % of the content of what you are breathing is not nitrogen and oxygen. So if they were simply spraying the room with water, or beer, you think its wise to be an environment saturated with it?

As for bug coils, not withstanding there are several types now on the market, they are traditionally manufactured from crysthanamum yes, the same crysthanamum used in drinks and other things, quite common to even find the flowers in some parts of asia.

I would suggest you are a bit sensitive and get yourself a bubble, might also give you a bit of time to read what I write and attempt to shove words in my mouth. I do not appreciate that, and will be most terse if you try any of that crap again. Thank you

"They can have toxic effects but they are not poisonous,"

[jcisco]

"They can have toxic effects but they are not poisonous,"

Sorry for my oversight, My intent was to contrast the toxication pathway as separate from that cause of discomfort or illness in humans. So yah...

[Chao Lao Beach]

Do you have receased ceiling lights, they have a hole in the top to realse hot air, some biiger than others. Some houses have heaps of mozzies in the ceiling, then at night they are attacted to the light I think and come in that way. Used to have this problem in a prevous place, got some wire and covered it in mosquito screen and paid a local to go into the roof and place them over the lights, instantly the problem was solved.

[wpcoe]

Do you have receased ceiling lights, they have a hole in the top to realse hot air, some biiger than others. Some houses have heaps of mozzies in the ceiling, then at night they are attacted to the light I think and come in that way. Used to have this problem in a prevous place, got some wire and covered it in mosquito screen and paid a local to go into the roof and place them over the lights, instantly the problem was solved.

Wish I had thought of that solution. My problem was not mosquitoes but other critters, mainly spiders. I live on the top floor of a condo building and above my gypsum ceiling is nothing but a wide open attic space. My solution was to replace my recessed ceiling lights with fixtures that have a glass lens. I take the lenses off every couple months to remove dead insect carcasses, but the number of spiders in my condo has dropped considerably.