How Do I Get Rid of Mosquitoes in My Room at Night?

Quick answer

To get a mosquito out of your room tonight, point a fan at where you sit or sleep — mosquitoes are weak fliers, and moving air both pushes them off course and scatters the carbon dioxide they track you by. Then close the gaps: window and door screens, and drain any standing water nearby (even a plant saucer) so no new mosquitoes hatch. Light-colored bedding helps a little, while most folk remedies (garlic, coffee grounds, camphor) do very little. For ongoing relief without a nightly hunt, run a CO2 bait-and-trap like Mosquito TNT 2.0 nearby.

What actually works (rated by the evidence)

There’s a Mosquito in My Room Right Now: What to Do

If you’re lying awake listening to that whine, here’s the order that works best.

Step 1: Find it. Turn on the lights and check the walls and ceiling near your bed, then the spots the CDC says mosquitoes like to rest indoors: dark, humid places such as closets, under furniture, and in bathrooms and laundry rooms. A flashlight held close to the wall makes a resting mosquito’s shadow easier to spot.

Step 2: Swat or catch it. Wait for it to land, then swat it against the wall with something flat, like a magazine or a slipper. A handheld vacuum works well for high corners and ceilings. If it keeps escaping, don’t chase it around the room all night; move on to Step 3.

Step 3: If you can’t find it, make yourself harder to bite. Point a fan at the bed, cover exposed skin with light sheets or loose long sleeves, and, if you want protection through the night, use an EPA-registered repellent according to the label. Mosquitoes are weak fliers, and moving air also scatters the carbon dioxide they use to find you.

Step 4: Stop the next one. The CDC’s advice for keeping mosquitoes out of the home is to install or repair window and door screens, close doors (including garage doors) rather than propping them open, use air conditioning when possible, and empty and scrub anything that holds water, indoors and out, once a week. The CDC adds that an indoor insecticide only makes sense after screens and standing water are handled, because a spray alone won’t keep a home free of mosquitoes.

Wondering why they show up at bedtime? Our guide to when mosquitoes are most active explains which mosquitoes bite at night.

Can You Sleep With a Mosquito in Your Room?

You can, but you’ll probably get bitten. A hungry female will keep looking for a meal, and a sleeping person breathing out carbon dioxide and giving off body heat is an easy target. If you can’t catch it, make biting harder: run a fan pointed at the bed, cover exposed skin, and use an EPA-registered repellent according to the label. A mosquito net over the bed is another reliable barrier if mosquitoes are a regular problem in your bedroom.

If you wake up with bites, here’s why mosquito bites itch. And because bedroom mosquitoes usually come from somewhere close by, check for standing water inside and around your home, including plant saucers and vases (see where mosquitoes lay their eggs in a house).

Why the fan trick works (the science)

It feels too simple, but a fan is one of the most reliable things you can do in a bedroom. Mosquitoes are weak fliers — roughly 1 to 1.5 mph — so even a moderate breeze knocks them off their flight path. Just as importantly, the airflow breaks up the plume of carbon dioxide you exhale, which is the main signal a mosquito uses to find you in the dark. In a 2003 Michigan State University study, fan airflow strongly reduced the number of mosquitoes caught in traps that were specifically baited with CO2. Point the fan toward the bed, and you're hitting a mosquito's two biggest tools at once. (Terminix · AARP)

Your bedroom is your sanctuary, not a place where you have to worry about mosquito bites. While achieving 24/7 mosquito protection throughout your home might be challenging, there are more than 100 ways to repel mosquitoes effectively. 

With the right combination of ideas and techniques, you can transform your bedroom into a haven free from these flying pests. Here are some ideas for indoor mosquito traps you can start using right now in just 5 minutes:

Use High-Speed Fans

Having a fan located near your bed, but pointing away from you, is a great way to deter mosquitoes for two reasons. First, the fan’s breeze messes with the mosquito’s equilibrium, turning the devices into practical mosquito repellents as they literally blow them away. Second, a fan can dissipate the carbon dioxide (CO2) you breathe. That takes away a major cue, as mosquitoes are drawn to CO2. That's the simplest way to protect your home from mosquitos.

Use Mosquito Repellent Plants

Any plant that contains citronella is a plant you want in your bedroom because mosquitoes dislike its scent. What’s more, a peer-reviewed field study says that citronella, when applied topically, keeps mosquitoes away from your skin.

Tougher Than Tom’s Mosquito Eliminator insect repellent sprays use the compound for that reason. But if you don’t fancy spraying yourself before bed, pop some citronella plants (along with lavender and tea tree leaves) on your bedside table. Or, failing that, use citronella candles – keep the candles away from flammable materials – or essential oil reed diffusers to keep pumping the compound’s scent into the air.

Sidenote – Basil, lemongrass, and citronella grass are all great choices if you go down this route. Crush a few leaves to release their oils — an untouched plant does very little, as we explain in our guide to plants that repel mosquitoes.

Do Birds Help Control Mosquitoes?

Maybe you don’t need a man-made mosquito killer in your bedroom.

After all, you could use a natural one. There are plenty of birds that eat the buzzing nuisances, including wrens, barn swallows, tree swallows, and even the humble hummingbird. So, putting out bird feed, such as dried leftover fruit, in addition to leaving plant matter in your garden could attract these mobile mosquito mashers so they eat the bugs for you before they ever get to your bedroom.

Get Rid of Any Potential Mosquito Breeding Ground

Sometimes, a strong defense is the best form of offense, which is definitely the case when you take on the breeding grounds that mosquitoes use to lay their larvae and multiply.

Look for standing water.

Puddles and ponds are obvious places for mosquitoes to breed, so try placing nets over ponds and draining puddles wherever you can. It’s also worth checking out any old equipment or yard furniture you have lying around, especially if it’s typically in a dark place. Any small crevice could become a place for water to gather and, by extension, a place for mosquitoes to breed.

Use Light-Colored Bedsheets and Curtains

Research suggests that mosquitoes are attracted to darker shades, likely due to these dark colors trapping heat, thus drawing the mosquitoes in. Thankfully, that fact gives you some recourse in the bedroom, as you can use lighter shades to potentially repel mosquitoes. Or, at least lower your chances of attracting them.

Use white or cream bedsheets and curtains – a trip to Livspace or a similar retailer gives you all that you need. If you want to go overboard, you could even try painting or wallpapering your walls in light colors, too.

Install Window and Door Screens

One of the oldest methods for keeping mosquitoes out is still as effective as it ever was – install screens over your windows and doors to create a mosquito-free house.

Granted, this is a more costly method. You have to pay a fair amount of money to have screens fitted for every potential opening in your house. Plus, the size of the gaps in the screens is an issue, as you want air to flow but have to account for the fact that mosquitoes can squeeze through gaps as small as 9mm (about 0.35 inches) when they’re determined to get inside. But even if the gaps in your screens aren’t quite that small, they can still serve as deterrents to mosquitoes who can’t figure out their way through.

Attack the Mosquitoes Using Odors

You’ve already seen how citronella repels mosquitoes because of its smell. The same goes for a few other things you may have around the house, including alcohol and apple cider vinegar. The latter is proven to have a repellent effect when it’s of a high enough concentration (hint – don’t water it down). As for alcohol, there aren’t real studies supporting the technique but anecdotal evidence suggests that leaving a dish of alcohol in your bedroom could deter the irritating little bugs.

You could even apply garlic spray if the situation gets desperate – your room will smell but garlic is actively toxic to mosquitoes. The same goes for cloves and sliced lemons, by the way. Mosquitoes avoid both because they’re basically poison to the bugs.

Use Camphor

Distill the bark and wood of a camphor tree and you get camphor oil – sometimes used as a mosquito repellent. The evidence for camphor is limited, though, so treat it as a minor extra rather than a reliable fix.

Use Coffee Grounds (As Long as They’re Roasted)

Despite claims to the contrary, regular old coffee grounds don’t appear to have any repellent effects against mosquitoes. But once you’ve roasted the beans, it’s another story. Evidence suggests that female mosquitoes are far less likely to lay eggs in areas where roasted coffee beans are present.

So, you could try placing the beans near standing water that you can’t clear up – ponds and puddles, for instance – as well as potentially using them as deterrents in your bedroom.

Keep Mozzies Out of the Bedroom

There are other methods you could try if none of the above natural remedies for mosquitoes (along with a few practical ones) don’t work. EPA-registered repellents like DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus do work on skin — we compare them in our guide to the mosquito repellents that actually work. Always follow the label, especially for children, and keep repellents away from pets. Some companies also sell mosquito repellent patches or bracelets, which typically rely on citronella or a similar scent, though the protection only reaches a small area around the band.

But if you want the most effective way to keep mosquitoes away from you in the bedroom, look to Tougher Than Tom. A combination of its Mosquito Eliminator Spray (packed with citronella) and Mosquito Eliminator Lamp should be more than enough to keep the bugs at bay, especially when combined with some of the methods discussed in this article.

Related reading

• Mosquito season: when mosquitoes come out and where they go in winter
• Why do mosquito bites itch? The science of the welt

Frequently asked questions

Why do I only notice mosquitoes in my room at night?

Indoors, mosquitoes are sheltered from heat, wind and predators, so they stay active longer — and at night there's less to distract them from the CO2, heat and scent you give off while you lie still. Artificial light can also keep some species biting later than they would outdoors.

Does a fan really keep mosquitoes away?

Yes, and it's one of the best low-effort options. Mosquitoes fly at only about 1–1.5 mph, so moving air pushes them off course, and it scatters the CO2 trail they follow. A 2003 Michigan State University study found fans strongly cut the number of mosquitoes reaching CO2-baited traps.

How do I find a mosquito hiding in my room?

Check the warm, dark, sheltered spots: under the bed, behind curtains and furniture, near the ceiling and in corners. Turning off the lights and using your phone torch, or sitting still so it comes to you near a fan, can help you spot it.

Do plug-ins, citronella candles or coffee grounds work indoors?

They have limited, short-range effects at best. Citronella can take a small edge off right next to it; camphor, coffee grounds and garlic are popular online but aren't well supported. Use them as extras, not your main defense.

What's the most reliable way to keep mosquitoes out of the bedroom?

Stack the methods that actually work: screens on windows and doors, no standing water nearby, a fan aimed at the bed, and a CO2 bait-and-trap such as Mosquito TNT 2.0 running for ongoing relief.

Will light-colored sheets actually help?

A little. Mosquitoes are drawn to dark, long-wavelength colors, so lighter bedding makes you slightly less of a visual target — but it won't hide your breath or body heat. More on this in what colors mosquitoes hate.

How do I kill a mosquito in my room?

Turn on the lights and check the walls and ceiling near your bed, plus dark spots like closets and under furniture, then swat it with something flat once it lands. A handheld vacuum helps with high corners. If you can’t find it, point a fan at the bed and cover exposed skin until morning.

Is it safe to sleep with a mosquito in your room?

You can sleep, but expect bites if you don’t deal with it. A fan pointed at the bed, covering exposed skin and an EPA-registered repellent used according to the label all reduce bites, and a mosquito net over the bed is a reliable barrier.