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Picture this if you haven't experienced it already: You’ve just settled into your favorite patio chair with a glass of something cold. The sun has dipped below the trees, the string lights are glowing softly overhead, and then - buzz. Followed by another. And another. Suddenly, you're in a battleground between you and an army of insects zeroing in on the lights.
It’s a familiar frustration. For as long as we’ve had outdoor lighting, bugs have been uninvited guests. You may have heard that LED lights are less likely to attract bugs than traditional bulbs. Let’s explore whether that’s true, why it happens, and what it means for your outdoor spaces.
Most insects are phototactic. This means that they're drawn to light. Moths are the classic example, but they’re not alone. Beetles, mosquitoes, gnats, and other flying pests are all known to make a beeline toward artificial light sources - but why?
Insects use natural light from the moon and stars to navigate. Artificial lights can confuse their sense of direction. Before they know it, they're spiraling around bulbs as they look for warmth, food, or a mating signal (depending on the species).
Here’s where it gets interesting: Bugs don’t respond to every type of bulb the same way. LED lights have some characteristics that are less attractive to insects.
Traditional incandescent bulbs give off a lot of heat and broad-spectrum light, including UV. Unlike incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, however, LED lights do NOT emit much heat or ultraviolet (UV) light - two things that bugs find especially appealing.
In fact, LEDs produce light through a completely different process and can be engineered to emit a very narrow spectrum of visible light. The cooler the light color, the less likely bugs are to notice or be drawn to it. To be clear, this does NOT mean LED lights are bug-proof. They’re just bug-friendlier than older lighting technologies.
Let’s just get to it and break it down by bulb type:
It's worth mentioning, however, that some inexpensive or poorly made LED lights may still emit minor UV or heat if not properly designed. That’s why quality matters when choosing outdoor and landscape lighting.
While LEDs are less attractive, they do attract certain types of bugs. Moths and beetles, for instance, are the most phototactic insects and can still be attracted to LED lights if the color temperature is too cool. Gnats, of course, can still show up around any light source. Mosquitos, surprisingly, aren’t particularly drawn to LED lights. They’re more attracted to heat, carbon dioxide, and body odor.
At Abulous Lighting, we have a cumulative decades of experience customizing and installing indoor and outdoor lighting solutions. Whether you're looking for more safety and security, better aesthetic and living, or a bit of everything, the team at Abulous Lighting is here to help from initial consultation to finishing touches.
When we tackle and outdoor project, we keep those winged visitors in mind. We often advise warm-temperature LEDs with fixtures that direct light downward instead of outward. We pay particular attention when working near entrances so that we keep bugs far away.
If you'd like to start planning and designing your outdoor lights with everything in mind, then work with the professionals who have a proven track record. The team at Abulous Lighting is happy to take your call or message today.
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Absolute Lighting installed my outdoor flood lights 2 years ago and they are beautiful! They did such a great job that I used them to setup and take down the Christmas lights for the past 2 years. I would highly recommend them. Frank always responds to questions and automatically puts me on the schedule for set up and take down of the Christmas Lights.
We love Abulous lighting and have been using them for years They are very responsive and professional and will come back no questions asked for any follow up work Good pricing and highly trustworthy Frank, the owner, is a true stand up guy. I recommend without reservation
Frank and the team at Abulous were great to work with. They came out and retro-upgraded some previous lighting that we had done a few years back and made it look as seamless and continuous as possible. They also worked with us on the best (& most economical) way to light up a hard to reach area of our yard. They also followed up with us after we had another group of workers "disturb" some of the lighting wires and came back out and fixed everything back up again. Very friendly, dependable local resource who do great work. Highly recommend.
After reviewing multiple companies we contracted with Abilous Lighting to create outside accent lighting for our home, backyard patio, walkways, & fire pit. Their ideas and design were the best! It was a pleasure working with Frank Hasty, who did the design, and his crew of Brandon & Rusty who performed the work. All were excellent to work with. We are very happy with Abulous Lighting.