Do LED Lights Attract Bugs?
We all enjoy the warm summer nights spent in our gardens. It’s the perfect set-up to socialise with our friends and family. But, nothing is worse than a bunch of bugs flying your way attracted by your LED garden lights.
Whilst there are some light bulbs that attract more bugs than others, unfortunately, all lights, including LED lights, attract bugs. There have been several experiments to find out what lights attract the most bugs.
In this article, we will dive into the findings of these studies to discover what LED lights attract the most insects.
Do LED light bulbs attract bugs?
LED light bulbs attract bugs though they tend to attract fewer bugs than other common light bulbs, such as halogen globes, CFL, or even ‘bug lights’.
If you want to avoid attracting bugs to your house, you should opt for a warm-colored LED light over bulbs with cool colors.
Though LED lights attract insects, other types of outdoor lights usually attract a larger number of bugs and spiders. In fact, just a few years ago, the University of North Carolina did an experiment to find out what lights attract the most bugs.
The study consisted of using different bug traps for each kind of light bulb at night time. The summer-long experiment concluded that the following light bulbs attract the most bugs:
- Incandescent bulbs
- CFL
- Halogen
So, though LED lights still attract insects, they are your best choice if you want to avoid inviting bugs to your house and garden. You can use a warm LED light bulb, such as a warm yellow-orange light to avoid attracting a large number of bugs to your property.
Why do LED lights attract bugs?
There are several factors that contribute to the attraction of bugs to certain LED lights and light bulbs. These factors include:
LEDs Color
The defining factor of the light bulb that attracts bugs is the color of the bulb. Bugs are attracted to different color spectrums, which means, different types of bugs will be attracted to different colors.
There have been several studies on the color that attracts the most amount of bugs. Most studies agree that cool colored LED lights, such as bright blue lights, tend to attract the most bugs.
LED Light Range
Like any human being, bugs can only see a certain range of electromagnetic radiation. This is commonly referred to as ‘visible light’. This means that bugs will only be attracted to the lights they can actually see.
The problem is that humans and bugs share a very similar range of ‘visible light’. Consequently, there is not much we can do when it comes to this factor.
Lighting Temperature or Heat
Bugs are attracted to the lighting temperature that LED light bulbs emit in the form of ultraviolet radiation. So, bugs will usually be more attracted to light bulbs that have higher temperatures.
Whilst this factor can be difficult to control, there are some lights that actually emit higher temperatures than others.
Do solar lights attract bugs?
This is one of the most common questions from our readers. The truth is you can't determine whether solar lights attract bugs without knowing what light bulbs are used.
Solar lights are any lighting fixtures that are powered by solar energy. The attraction of bugs to lights can not be determined by the type of energy that powers the light. This means that generally solar lights alone don't attract bugs.
How can LED lights help?
Since LED lights tend to attract less bugs than any other light bulb, opting for LED lights for your garden or yard will help keep the bugs away from your home and outdoor leisure areas.
To benefit even more from the use of outdoor LED lights, you should opt for light bulbs with warmer colors as bugs usually are more attracted to the cold color spectrum. A perfect choice for an LED light bulb would be a color in the range of warm yellow-orange.
If this blog post has answered your question or if you would like to learn more about all things related to outdoor lights, feel free to visit our lighting blog.
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