How Your Outside Lighting Attracts Unwanted Pests

Most of us believe that a light is something that brightens a space. Simple. Well, believe it or not, different kinds of lights placed on the exterior of your home can attract unwanted visitors. There are also preferred ways to position the lights so that you can minimize flying insects and bugs invading your home.

There’s no need to worry about stink bugs and other crawling insects, however, as they don’t pay much attention to the lights because they are usually found much closer to the ground.

Let’s take a look at the best solutions for outside lighting, and how to keep the unwanted pests out.

UV Lights

source: https://pixabay.com/photos/bug-stink-bug-rough-stink-bug-1613450/

Most insects and bugs are attracted to UV brightness. A majority of traps for insects contain a UV light so that they can attract the little critters easily. Insects can only see three colours when it comes to light; blue, green, and UV. The brighter they are, the more they swarm towards them. Other colour lights, like yellows and oranges, are the least attractive to flying bugs. 

Many professional pest control services will try to encourage you to install light bulbs with colours that aren’t inviting to bugs, but this comes with its own set of problems. Colours like red and orange are great to keep insects at bay, but these darker colours make it harder for humans to see at night.

Consider if darker lighting is ok for your home, or perhaps consider a different type of light.

LED Lights

LED bulbs are generally the more robust solution. They don’t have a filament, and often there’s no glass, so they are the safer option. An LED light is a great solution if you’re looking for an energy-efficient solution too.

LED lights make use of a mix of colours to produce one specific colour. Several colours are used to create white light, but it’s not constant throughout different products. One LED light can display more of one tone than another, making it risky if you choose to use LED’s globes outside. An LED light that emits a purer white tone will attract way more bugs into your home than warmer lights. 

More and more LED lights that are targeted for residential use emit almost zero UV light, specifically so that insects aren’t attracted to the light. It makes sense to mention this to the shop assistant when you’re purchasing exterior bulbs for home.

It’s also interesting to note that LED lights are becoming more affordable, and with changes in technology, they are emitting less heat than before. Heat is naturally enticing to bugs, so the less heat there is in and around the light, the better.

Stop the Bugs for Good

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to keeping every type of bug out of your house, but having the correct lighting solution can go a long way to minimizing unwelcome crawling and flying insects at home.

This can mean a LED light in the right tone to keep bugs at bay, or a bright UV light if you want to catch them. Always opt for darker and warmer tones if you don’t want critters near your home.

Take the time to ensure you have the right solution on the outside of your home when it comes to lighting. That way, you can use your time to focus on more important matters instead of trying to take care of pest control.