How often have you seen string lights in restaurants, parks, and even in houses which create stunning effects but then you observe bugs wandering around them?
You must have thought once about these bugs who love to move around these string lights. But most of you get annoyed by observing bugs on lights.
It is true that string lights not only make your place beautiful and bright but also attract bugs towards it. These alluring string lights seem captivating for everybody, so they are the cause of attraction for bugs too.
Here we will discuss the factors that appeal to bugs towards light and how to keep bugs away from string lights.
How to Keep Bugs away from String Lights?
There are several ways to keep your yard bug free and clean during the nighttime.
It seems very exasperating to see hundreds of bugs around your string light in our garage, corridors, etc.
To enjoy the string lights’ beauty and light, you must use an alternative to white string lights as there are many string lights available in the market in different colors.
Using these string lights in dull colors having a wavelength above 600 nm can keep bugs away from the lights.
Many string lights with small LEDs installed in them are available, which do not emit sufficient heat for the bugs.
Besides LED light bulbs, yellow-colored string lights are not much appealing to bugs to see clearly. These lights do not provide them with a clear path, so they are attracted towards a bright light in which they can visibly see the colors.
However, these yellow to red-colored lights are found to be the most effective lights for repelling bugs as they cannot detect colors other than those which fall in the UV spectrum.
Also, the LEDs bulbs having a color temperature of 2000 to 3000 kelvins can help in keeping the bugs away from your area.
Still, if you are interested in buying brighter string lights, you can use repellents and sprays, which are mainly made to keep bugs and insects away.
What Type of String Lights that Repel Bugs?
Mostly the red and yellow colored string lights are hated by the bugs. These lights are not much helpful for bugs in the night to find their proper orientation.
As such light-colored strings are not clearly seen by the bugs, so yellow-coated bulbs not only repel the bugs but also emit such warm-colored illuminations, which creates a captivating scenario.
LED string lights also repel the bugs away from the area. Sticking to the idea of hanging warm color string lights in the porch and the outside area of your interest reduces the number of bugs for sure.
Best Products to Repel Bugs in Backyard with string Lights
The best products which can make your backyard bug freed with string lights are:
2. Using a citronella candle
Why Do String Lights Attract Bugs?
If you are looking for string lights that beautify your place, you must have known that string lights do attract bugs.
Not all the string lights attract the bugs, but still, there are some string lights that will be the source of attracting bugs to your yard, home, or wherever you place string them.
But why do these bugs really get attracted to string lights?
The primary reason for the attraction of bugs to string lights is their navigation through the bright light in the night.
These light sources enable them to seek the right direction and locate their destination which is a nest for them. During moon nights, bugs mostly use the moonlight for orientation.
Another reason for the attraction of bugs to string light is the emission of heat from lights which causes the bugs to attract to the light source. Even this heat emission makes these lights more attractive to bugs than navigation.
What Color String Lights Attract Bugs?
Not all kinds of colored string lights attract bugs.
Some of the string lights having small LEDs in them do not cause any attraction towards bugs.
Similarly, solar string lights emit radiation of the wavelength, which does not fall under the visible category of the Ultraviolet radiations are not the source of attraction for bugs.
Warm-colored lights are usually repelled by bugs.
So, here the question arises which type of light can attract bugs towards it?
String lights can be brighter or lighter, but the bugs are attracted to mainly bright colors because of the wavelength and heat emitted by these lights.
If we talk about the various wavelengths emitted by different lights, bright colored lights emit shorter wavelengths.
Similarly, the longer wavelength is emitted through light-colored lights, which is not usually liked by bugs. These bright colors include blue, white, and orange. All these colored lights emit waves of shorter wavelength ranging from 400 to 600 nm.
Hence, for attracting bugs, string lights must emit wavelength radiation under the specific range of visible light.
Conclusion
What we can conclude after the whole discussion is that bugs are attracted towards the string lights of vivid colors but are not attracted by the light-colored lights.
So, if you want a bug-free place, then you must try string lights in yellow or some other color.
String lights with small LEDs installed in them are a good option too.
