Picture this: you’ve just finished a long day at work and want to hop into the shower to finally relax and unwind. You can’t wait to use your favorite shower gels and feel the warm water on your skin.
But when you open the door, you’re greeted by the least relaxing thing on the planet—persistent, aggressive wasps flying around waiting to give your tender flesh the most unpleasant sting!
Now, this situation sounds extreme and doesn’t usually happen when you find insects like wasps in your home. But there’s no arguing that finding wasps in the bathroom is the thing of nightmares.
So, what brings them there in the first place? And more importantly, how do you get rid of these pesky wasps inside your bathroom? That’s what we’ll tackle today.
What Kind of Wasps Usually Enter Homes?
Wasps are part of the Hymenoptera order, which is a group of insects that includes hornets and bees. Some wasps, like yellow jackets, even look like honey bees because of their black and yellow cylindrical bodies and tiny waist.
The wasps that enter your bathroom are likely worker wasps trying to look for food to give back to their queen wasps. All these wasps are female and don’t mate. Instead, all they do is gather food.
Thankfully, these worker wasps don’t hang around forever. Their life cycle is quite short; they thrive in the summer and then die off in the autumn and winter, around September onwards. That means finding wasps in the bathroom won’t be a problem all year.
Notice that there are more wasps around in the middle of summer, but fewer wasps in the winter.
Wasps aren’t usually aggressive and prone to attacking humans. But if they feel threatened—like if you try to disturb their beloved nests—they may whip out their stinger and try to attack you.
Why You Keep Finding Wasps in the Bathroom
Wasps like to settle down and build their nest wherever they find a suitable void, like holes in the ceilings or wall cavities. Most of the time, though, wasps find themselves in bathrooms not because they were born there or nesting there, but because of something else entirely.
Here are some possible reasons why you keep finding wasps in your bathroom:
1. They get in through the bathroom vents
It’s easy for wasps to enter bathrooms through airflow vents, exhaust fans, windows, ductwork in the ceiling, and other openings that allow them to fly into the room.
Because wasps are very small, they can get inside your bathroom even through the smallest entry points, like holes in your window screen.
If you’re unlucky, they might even build their nest near these vent pipes and bathroom fans. These areas are quite warm, and they have the instinct to find warm places as the months get colder.
2. They like your sweet-smelling bath products
In the wild, wasps hang around flowers to collect their nectar. Their primary purpose in life is to look for sweets to feed their queen wasp. This leaves them addicted to sweet-smelling, sugary things. That’s why they gravitate towards juices, sodas, honey, desserts, and more.
If your bathroom has a lot of sweet things, wasps might be more attracted to the area. If you have sugar scrubs or fruit soaps and shower gels, it might be the culprit of your wasp situation. Floral, fruity, and gourmand scents can lure these creatures into your bathroom.
3. They’re attracted to the bright lights
Wasps are prone to phototaxis, a natural behavior that compels them to physically follow strong, bright light sources. This is common in many insects but is especially noticeable in wasps.
When it starts to get dark outside and they see a bright LED light shining from your bathroom window, they might try to fight their way in just to get to the light source.
Creating DIY Wasp Traps at Home with Water Bottles
Getting sick of the wasps that show up in your bathroom daily? Here’s a fun trick to help you trap and kill them once and for all. All you’ll need are some string, scissors, empty water bottles, and sugary kitchen ingredients to use as bait.
- Cut across the top of the bottle, about 3-4 inches down from its mouth. This will give you two parts to work with—a funnel-shaped end and a bowl-like part that still stands upright.
- Place the funnel-like cut-out on top of the remaining part of the bottle and tape it there to secure it.
- Poke some holes at the top of the bottle and tie some string there. This will allow you to hang up the trap in various parts of the bathroom later.
- Now for the fun part—fill the bottle with your bait of choice. A mixture of honey or jam and water always works well. Fruit juice or soda with a drop of dishwashing liquid is fine, too. The goal is to lure the wasps in and then make it difficult for them to get out.
- Hang up your trap and leave it in the bathroom for a few hours. When you come back to check on the trap, you should find some dead wasps in your sweet solution.
Check out how Bob’s Odd Jobs uses this trap technique to capture wasps at home. He experiments with different kinds of sweet solutions to see which will be most effective at luring in the wasps. Can you guess which worked best?
Other Ways to Get Rid of Wasps in the Bathroom
The last thing you want to do is swat the wasps in your bathroom. They may feel threatened and try to sting you. If you’re looking for other ways to get rid of the wasps in your bathroom, here are some better ideas:
1. Use a wasp spray to kill them
There are plenty of commercial wasp spray options you can buy from your local store. These chemical-based sprays are toxic to wasps and can kill them in seconds. Spraying directly into the air they breathe almost guarantees that you’ll kill them every time.
This is an effective way to kill wasps instantly if you only find a few of them lurking in your bathroom. However, it’s not a permanent way to get rid of a nest that might be in your vents or wall cavities.
2. Seal all possible vents and access points
It’s also a good idea to physically lock the wasps out. Assess your bathroom for all the vents, fans, pipes, and other entry points the wasps have access to. If you can, seal all of these points, whether it’s holes in a damaged window screen or gaps in your walls.
Consider buying vent caps and covers to make sure the wasps can’t get in through the vents. These covers have nets on one end, which prevents even small insects from entering your bathroom through these points.
3. Get rid of your sweet, sugary shower gels
A smart way to discourage wasps from paying your bathroom a visit every day is by getting rid of the sweet things that attract them there in the first place.
If you can, switch out your fruity and gourmand shower gels to something like herbal or no-fragrance soap. That way, the wasps will have less of a reason to fight their way into your bathroom.
4. Keep your home clean
Wasps are more attracted to homes that have exposed garbage cans hanging around outside, or lots of food debris lying around. To ensure that you never attract a colony of wasps again, keep your home tidy and make sure all garbage cans are closed properly, especially biodegradable bins.
5. Trap them with vinegar
The acetic acid in vinegar has been proven to kill wasps. Strangely, its strong, sour smell attracts wasps. But when they come closer to it, it would kill them. Instead of building a DIY trap with sweet bait, try doing a vinegar and water mixture instead.
6. Call professional pest control for help
Finally, call for professional help by contacting your local pest control expert.
This is a must if you have issues with entire wasp nests infesting your wall cavities, or if the wasps in your bathroom have been stinging you. These professionals are way more equipped to handle extreme wasp situations like these.
Conclusion
Although wasps aren’t usually dangerous to people (unless you attack them first), they’re still a nuisance to have in the bathroom. There are many reasons they found themselves there, from wide-open vents and entry points to being attracted to your favorite sugar scrub.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to get rid of these wasps once and for all. The quickest way to do it is by killing them with a bug spray, but you can also get creative and set up traps to kill them slowly.
Some adjustments like keeping the home clean and switching to a shower gel that doesn’t smell too sweet can help by a mile, too.
Although finding wasps in the bathroom can be anxiety-inducing, know that there are plenty of solutions out there. You just need to find the right one, and these pesky wasps will never bother you (or hijack your beloved bathroom) again.