Nobody enjoys being overrun by bugs when they open their front door late at night, but the warm glow of the porch light seems to attract them. What should a homeowner do? Fortunately, you can do a few things to help lessen the number of unwelcome insects congregating near your front door.
The only way to keep pests away from a porch light is to turn it off, but there are occasions when it’s useful. The best you can do is to avoid light sources that attract insects, including white incandescent light bulbs.
While certain insects have distinct preferences for flying toward light sources, hues in the yellow-to-red light spectrum attract fewer insects than light in the white-to-blue range.
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Why Do The Lights Attract The Bugs?
The reason why flying insects are drawn to lamps is quite simple. Most flying insects’ vision is to seek out and locate the brightest light source in the night sky, which they utilize for orientation and nesting.
For thousands of years, the moon or the North Star was the most vital light. The heat created by many lighting fixtures also attracts bugs, making them more appealing.
Porch lights emit heat and light, which act as a homing signal for bugs, thus, leaving them in the dark is the most straightforward approach to lessen their numbers. Wait until there isn’t enough light outside to see before turning on the light. While you’re eating outside or doing something else on the porch that necessitates vision
So, let’s look at these more effective bug-repelling porch light alternatives.
Ways To Keep Bugs Away From Porch Light
Choose An Alternative Lighting Option
If you have many bugs buzzing around your porch light, switching to a new type of lightbulb is one of the simplest and cheapest fixes. UV radiation is emitted by incandescent, halogen, and compact fluorescent lightbulbs.
Bugs are drawn to the UV light provided by the porch light because they use UV light from the moon to navigate. Switching from an incandescent or halogen bulb to an LED bulb will not only extend the life of your lightbulb, but it will also make your porch light less apparent to bugs.
Use High-Quality Bug Repellents
Make a homemade insect repellent with essential oils to keep bugs away and spritz it around the porch light. It’s vital to note that you shouldn’t spray it directly on the porch light because it could cause the light to short out, putting you and your home in danger.
To make an essential oil spray, combine a few drops of lavender, mint, rosemary, thyme, eucalyptus, or cloves with some soapy water in a spray container. Spritz the area around the light with the solution. Due to the increased humidity in the summer, this may need to be done several times a day.
Use Candles Also For Lighting
Aromatic candles are beneficial in keeping winged intruders at bay. They’re also a beautiful secondary light source, so it’s a win-win situation. Arrange your candles on a table or railing right below the problematic porch light for the best effect. Citronella candles are one of the market’s most popular and effective bug-repellent lighting options.
They can be obtained at almost any store that sells home and garden products.
Install A Bug Zapper
Insects are attracted to bug zappers because they emit blue light. An insect zapper on your porch might attract bugs away from your porch light and toward it. A few feet away from the porch light, hang the bug zapper.
This method might not be the ideal alternative for you if you don’t mind periodic zaps of electricity disturbing your supper or tranquil porch sitting. This can be a cost-effective way to keep bugs away from your porch light if you don’t mind.
Add A Ceiling Fan In The Porch
One or more fans may be necessary if your home has a wrap-around porch with an overhang. They’ll not only provide aid to lessen the number of flying critters by physically blowing them away, but they’ll also keep your surroundings more relaxed and inviting throughout the hot summer months.
Keeping the air circulating outside helps to disperse carbon dioxide, food particles, and other human scents in the environment, which attracts bugs for closer inspection.
Don’t Let The Water Stand Around Your Porch
The ideal breeding environment for insects like mosquitos is standing water. You should identify and eliminate the source of the bugs to prevent them from congregating on your porch in large numbers. You can lessen the number of mosquitoes near your home if there is no standing water since mosquitoes lay their eggs in and around standing water.
Birdbaths and rain barrels frequently include standing water, defined as not moving or flowing. If you have buckets, turn them over to eliminate any standing water. Pet bowls left outside can also be brought inside and birdbaths removed.
If you have a fountain, ensure the water is running before draining and covering it. If there are any ponds near your house, you can stock them with fish like koi that consume mosquito larvae. To keep ponds and bird baths active and fresh, incorporate running water into them.
Install A Metal Mesh
Tightly woven mesh screens can provide a year-round bug barrier for more extensive porches and other outdoor sitting areas. Choose a sort of screening that is small enough to prevent gnats and other tiny pests from sliding through the cracks when outfitting your porch.
An expert contractor can screen an exposed porch in a single day for as little as a couple of hundred dollars. If you’re adept with a toolbelt, you could install a screen with a method like Screen Tight.
Use LED Lights As The Best Alternative
While no light is guaranteed to keep bugs away, several light bulbs can significantly reduce the number of bugs attracted to them. While yellow-tinted “bug lights” help lessen the number of bugs congregating around your porch light, the ideal light bulb is a warm-colored LED light.
When illuminated, this light bulb emits a yellow tone, which bugs dislike.
Spray Mouthwash In Your Porch
The most unusual method of preventing bugs from landing on your porch light is mouthwash, but it does not lessen its effectiveness. An alcohol-based toothpaste can deter insects from landing on your porch if you don’t have access to any rubbing alcohol or scented fragrances.
Using this technique, you should spray mouthwash all over your best outdoor furniture and the porch border, filling a spray bottle with the liquid halfway. Even though alcohol evaporates quickly, this can keep pests away and leave behind a nice smell. However, frequent reapplication may be necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Lights Attract The Bugs In Your Porch At Night?
Of course, yes! Porch lights are the main source of attracting bugs to your porch, especially at night. Because they cannot see yellow, insects avoid sitting on yellow lights. Install low-wattage LED lights if you don’t like yellow light bulbs. Insects are not drawn to the UV rays emitted by LED lights.
What Is The Best Way To Kill Bugs Attracted To Porch Lights?
Additionally, UV light sources in bug zappers aid to draw insects. On the other hand, Zapper lights have electric grids that kill insects rather than bug traps.
Which Lighting Options Are Suitable For Outdoor Areas To Keep The Bugs Away?
LED, compact fluorescent, and halogen bulbs are outdoor lights that don’t draw pests. So long as they emit longer wavelengths of light, LED lights produce little to no UV light and very little heat, which makes them less appealing to pests.
Conclusion
Bugs can be aggravating, especially when there are preventative measures available. If you try one of the ways above, the number of insects that swarm your porch and porch light will likely decrease significantly.
You may need to combine some with others, but you should be able to develop a viable solution that works for you. For further consideration, you can surely follow the discussed methods and tips.
