When buying an LED light for daily use, you don’t want it to attract a lot of insects. It is also guaranteed by many LED manufacturers. But is it true that LED lights don’t attract bugs? If so, why do some insect killer lamps employ LED as the light source? If you are confused about this, or simply want to know whether LED lights attract insects, you can find the answer in this article.
Why are bugs attracted by light?
The stimulation of light triggers the adaptive behavior known as phototaxis in insects. When the visual organs (simple eyes and compound eyes) of the insects receive the light, they will send signals to the central nervous system, leading the insects to fly towards light. The visual organs of different species of insects in different habitats have great variations in function, so the bugs have different reactions to light.
Despite of the species of bugs, there are other factors that affect whether the lights will attract bugs, such as the wavelength of light, the heat generated by the lamp, etc. That is why, when discussing this question, you will find some say yes and others say no. Let’s analyze the influence of different LED lights in detail.
What factors determine whether LED lights attract bugs?
Species of the bugs
Some bugs may be attracted by LED lights, while others won’t, because they have different preference of the wavelength of light. For example, some studies have found that some fruit flies prefer 460 nm blue light, 360-440 nm purple light, and 498-562 nm green light. In another research report, Pan H, Liang G, and Lu Y. mentioned the preferences of several common insects for different wavelengths of light.
- Coleoptera (mainly beetles) and Lepidoptera (mainly noctuids): They show a clear preference for LED lights with wavelengths of 395 nm UV lightand 418 nm purple light.
- Hemipterainsects, such as aphids: Most of the aphids in the experiment were attracted by 440 nm blue light.
- Coccinellidae insects, such as Japanese ladybugs (Propylea japonica) and predatory ladybugs (Harmonia axyridis): They usually show a higher preference for short-wavelength light, such as 395 nmUV light.
- Coleoptera, such as some types of beetles (Staphylinidae and Carabidae): Some Coleoptera insects like the light with a wavelength of 395 nm UV light.
- Diptera insects, such as hoverflies, prefer light with a wavelength of 395 nm UV light or 572 nmorange-yellow light.
Since most LED lights will emit a certain amount of blue light, they can be attractive to some species of bugs. You need to figure out what type of bugs are bothering you first.
Spectrum and color temperature
Human visible light with a wavelength of 400 to 680 nm includes a variety of colors. Most insects prefer violet light of 380–450 nm, blue light of 450–495 nm, and green light of 495–570 nm. This can also be inferred from the research above. An insect light trap uses ultraviolet LEDs to attract insects. This type of LED light is specially designed to attract insects. But the LED lights in our daily life don’t contain that much UV light, so they won’t attract as many bugs as them.
LED lights with higher color temperatures look more blueish, and the proportion of long-wavelength light increases. Compared with lights with lower color temperatures, which look more yellowish, they are more likely to attract bugs.
LED lights with a lower color temperature attract fewer bugs.
The components of LED lights
The white LED lights on the market have three major types. The most popular type of LED lights use blue light LED chips and phosphor, which can emit yellow light on top to produce white light. The second type is full spectrum LED lights, and they use purple light LED chips and RGB phosphor to produce white light. The proportion of blue light in the second type of chips is lower than that in the first type. Red, green, and blue chips make up the third kind of LED lights. These lights adjust the brightness of these three light to combine into white light. This type of light is generally called a dimmable RGBW LED light on the market.
According to the study of Roksana Wilson and other researchers, among these three types of LED lights, white light composed of blue light and yellow light (BY white light) is the most attractive to mosquitoes, while white light composed of the three primary colors of red, green, and blue (RGB white light) is less attractive to mosquitoes.
Dimmable RGBW LED light and full spectrum LED lights attract fewer bugs.
Heat
Another reason why light attracts insects is that they emit the heat bugs like on cold nights. If you use traditional lamps, you will find many bugs fly towards them because incandescent lamps, high-pressure sodium lamps, and other lamps generate a lot of heat when they are working. This is good news for LED lamp users because LED lamps feature their little heat generation. They will not attract insects due to heat.
LED lights attract fewer bugs because they emit little heat.
How do I stop LED lights from attracting bugs?
Now you know what type of LED lights don’t attract bugs, but what if you have bought LED lights that are attractive to bugs? Here are some tips for reducing the negative effects of your lights.
Install filter cover
You can install filter covers of appropriate materials and colors on LED street lights. They will help filter out blue and violet light of LED lights, making it less attractive to bugs. They can also prevent bugs from entering inside the lamps.
Dim the light at a specific time
You can set the timers, making LED street lights darker, or turn them off during periods of high insect activity, such as dusk and dawn.
Use low-color temperature LED lamp beads
You can replace the LED chips at any time with those with a lower color temperature. It is an efficient way to keep bugs away.
Conclusion
Do LED lights attract bugs? The answer is related to many factors. Generally speaking, they will attract a certain amount of bugs, but fewer than traditional lights. Those LED lights that attract fewer bugs may use RGBW chips, full spectrum chips, or apply a lower color temperature. Whether the bugs will be attracted is also determined by their species. We hope that after reading this passage, you can learn what type of LED lights to buy or how to solve the troubles caused by the bugs. Contact us to know more about the LED lights that attract fewer bugs!
