The Complete DIY Guide To Bathroom Pest Control

Our bathroom is supposed to be our sanctuary and place for privacy. A place to get clean, do your "business", or relax in a tub after a long day. No one wants pest intruders crawling around this essential space.

Unfortunately, though, the moisture and dampness of a bathroom are exactly what pesky insects are attracted to because of all the access they get to water for survival.

It’s not uncommon to see cockroaches scurrying by behind your toilet or a trail of ants going to your dripping sink to get a drink. As annoying as it might be to have unwanted company when you’re using the bathroom, there are ways to eliminate pests from your bathroom once and for all.

In this guide, we will show you how to pest-proof your bathroom with a combination of integrated pest management measures and our professional-grade chemical insecticide products. Before we get into that, however, let’s map out the usual suspects when it comes to bathroom intruders.

Identification

While there are all types of insect pests that can venture into a home and find their way to a bathroom, there are three particular insect types that are found more commonly than the rest:

Ants: Ants can be commonly found in restroom cabinets, around sink areas, or marching along the bathtub in a trail with other worker ants.

There are various species of ant that like to hang around bathrooms in search of food and water sources, which means that different treatments may be necessary depending on what ant species is present. Proper identification is important in this respect.

Cockroaches: Like ants, when there is water that hasn’t been dried around bathrooms, cockroaches will not be far behind. The usual suspects in residential and commercial bathrooms are German cockroaches and the occasional American cockroach who wanders in from outside looking for food and water sources.

If you’re getting out of a shower soaking wet to grab a towel, make sure to wipe up the puddle you create of else you’ll be seeing a lot more of these invaders.

Silverfish: Silverfish thrive in areas that are humid. If there is moisture, it's almost a guarantee that Silverfish will most likely be there. If you just finished taking a steamy bath or shower, make sure to let the steam air out or else it will create a perfect are for silverfish to lounge around.

Other Occasional Pests: Depending on the time of the year and the weather, there may be various other pests that may look to your kitchen for moisture such as springtails or a spider. 

Inspection

Once you have identified the specific pest that is in your bathroom, you should proceed with an inspection to pinpoint where the pest is hiding, how severe of an infestation is present and any possible points of entry that is giving the pest easy access into the bathroom.

Where To Inspect

To track down ants, look along the edges of toilets, sinks, bathtubs, pipes and baseboards. They can often be seen marching along in a trail to the water or food source.

Silverfish are unable to climb on surfaces that are smooth, so they can’t be crafty and maneuver in any nooks and crannies. Silverfish are almost always found in sinks and tubs, unable to get away. 

Cockroaches can be found underneath sinks, behind toilets, in vents, and other dark and damp areas of the bathroom

Springtails and other occasional invaders need moisture to survive, so they often congregate around sinks and tubs. Look for cockroaches underneath sinks, drains, rubber mats and in dark, damp places.

Treatment

Once you have performed the inspection and figured out where you pest is most active in your bathroom it is time to apply treatment. Before applying or handling any pesticide chemicals, it is important to protect yourself by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) like chemical gloves, face masks, and safety glasses.

To treat for most of the mentioned bathroom invading pests we recommend three products that are effective in eliminating most common pest problems: Supreme IT Insecticide, Pyrid Aerosol and Novacide Aerosol.

Supreme IT can be applied as a barrier treatment to keep pests out of your bathroom by spraying along the cracks and crevices of window frames and along the floorboards and corners of your bathroom. For direct treatment of located pests or flushing them out from hiding spots, use Pyrid Aerosol. Finally, Novacide Aerosol will deliver continued control of these common pests and also interrupt the reproductive cycle of pests like cockroaches with an IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) so they don't continue to multiply.

Step 1 - Spray Supreme IT Insecticide

Supreme IT is a powerful insecticide concentrate and repellent that can be safely applied to cracks and crevices in bathrooms to kill over 70 different common pests for up to 90 days. In a sprayer, add 0.33 to 1 oz. of Supreme IT in 1 gallon of water to treat 1,000 sq. ft. area.

Agitate the water and Supreme IT concentrate to ensure the product is well mixed and then apply the product to cracks and crevices along your bathroom floor. You should also spray under the sink since this is another area that can accumulate a lot of moisture and hiding areas for pests. Once this is performed, keep people and pets away from the area until the product has fully dried. 

Step 2 - Spray Pyrid Aerosol

Pyrid is a great insecticide Aerosol for treating bathroom invading pests because it delivers a quick knockdown with no residual. To apply Pyrid, make sure the white applicator is firmly attached. Shake the can well and spray in swift sweeping motions. 

To apply in the cracks and crevices where you have noticed pests crawling into and hiding, replace the white applicator with the red crevice application tip. Shake the can well and spray in a sweeping motion along the length of the crevice. Keep people and pets away from treated areas until dry and vapors have dispersed.

Step 3 - Apply Novacide Aerosol

Novacide Aerosol is both an adulticide that kills a variety of pests like cockroaches, spiders and ants but it also contains Pyriproxyfen which is an insect growth regulator that breaks the insect pests' life cycle. The best this about Novacide is that it can stop reinfestations for up to 7 months. In a bathroom, Novacide should be applied to the bathroom floor so that when pests crawl over the floor, they come in contact with the product and are affected.

Aim the Novacide can downwards to spray and use a sweeping motion to apply the Novacide and back away from treated area while holding the can 36 inches away from the area being treated. An area of 100 sq. ft. (10 ft. x 10 ft.) can be treated by spraying across the area for 10 seconds. Vacate treated areas during application up until the spray has dried.

Prevention

After you have performed treatment and addressed an infestation, you need to implement some preventative measures so your bathroom is not invaded again by pests. Start by keeping your bathroom as dry as possible. If there is no water lingering around in your bathroom, then it wouldn’t be such a hot spot. It is often due to the moisture which accumulates when hopping out of a shower or letting sink faucets or shower nozzles drip that makes your bathroom a popular hangout spot for pests.

Whenever you use the bathroom, make sure everything is kept totally dry to discourage these common bathroom loving insects from frequenting. Keeping consistent with drying your bathroom is half the battle of keeping the pests away. If you have a plumbing issue or a leak, address it immediately as well.

Additional measures to take are sealing off cracks and points of entry with caulk. Supreme IT and Novacide Aerosol can also be applied preventatively as needed to keep pests away.

Key Takeaways

• Ants, Cockroaches, Spiders, Silverfish and other moisture-loving pests often invade bathrooms when the conditions are right for their harborage.
• To get rid of pests in your bathroom, use a combination of Supreme IT Insecticide, Novacide Aerosol and Pyrid Aerosol.
• To prevent future infestations, keep your bathroom dry, caulk and seal cracks and crevices and other points of entry, and apply Supreme IT and Novacide Aerosol preventatively as needed.