How to Keep Bugs Away From Porch Light (2024)

FAQs

What can I use to keep bugs away from my porch light? ›

The best option is going to be a yellow compact fluorescent light (CFL). Yellow is the point where the wavelengths start getting longer. CFLs offer the best energy efficiency and emit less heat. Other yellow-tinted light bulb options that go unnoticed by insects include sodium vapor and halogen bulbs.

How can I keep June bugs away from lights? Switch your light fixtures to LED or yellow “bug” bulbs to prevent attracting them. You can also set up a large bug zapper near the light source, or place a beetle trap (like the Bag-a-Bug) next to your lights.

Lights are warm: While bugs aren't as prone to hypothermia as other living things, they tend to be drawn to warmth. Traditional light bulbs emit a lot of heat, which bugs find attractive. Because of this, they'll fly towards that warmth and hover around it.

The EcoSmart 60-Watt Equivalent A19 Yellow Bug Light E26 Medium base LED light bulb will help to keep the bugs out of your outdoor spaces. The yellow light repels bugs, making this bulb a great alternative to bug repellant sprays.

Change the light bulb

Using yellow or red LED lights will repel bugs even more because these colors make it hard for bugs to see. However, cool-white and warm-white LED lights will also repel bugs.

Yellowish, pinkish, or orange (sodium vapor, halogen, dichroic yellow) are the least attractive to most insects. When white incandescent bulbs were all that was available, the advice was to change them to yellow incandescent bug bulbs.

Are bugs less attracted to yellow light bulbs than blue light bulbs? The simple answer is yes. Insects see a smaller portion of the Visible Light Spectrum than humans.

Spray Mouthwash around your patio

If you don't have rubbing alcohol or essential oils, an alcohol-based mouthwash can be another effective way to repel bugs from a patio. Just load some mouthwash into a spray bottle, then spray down the perimeter of the deck, or even your patio furniture.

What keeps bugs away at night? ›

Light Citronella Candles and Torches

Citronella plants produce an oil that serves as a natural insect repellent. You can light citronella candles or torches to keep bugs away from your patio.

Moths are best known for being drawn to light. However, other insects like flies, crane flies, mayflies, and beetles also fly toward light. Sometimes smaller animals that eat insects, like frogs or spiders, can also be seen near lights looking for food.

LED lights serve as one way to dramatically reduce bug presence. That's right, when compared to other light sources, LEDs will reduce the presence of bugs; they will not transform an outdoor area into a bug-free zone. There have been many studies done about the correlation between lighting and bug presence.

LED lights do not attract bugs the way incandescent lights do. But they do help make bug lights more efficient. The LED options are also quieter than traditional bug zappers. If bug zappers aren't an option for you, color lighting is an alternative.

What color LED lights do not attract bugs? Bugs can see Ultraviolet (UV), blue and green. That is why they are attracted to white or bluish lights such as mercury vapor, white incandescent, and white fluorescent. On the other hand, yellowish, pinkish, or orange are the least attractive to the bugs.

Bugs naturally are attracted to vibrant colors such as orange, yellow, or white. Colours such as blue and green will not register as vividly when viewed in the ultraviolet spectrum, which deters bugs away from those colored items.

Bug lights do not kill bugs (you'll need a bug zapper or Paraclipse fly trap for that), nor do bug lights repel bugs. Bug lights simply attract fewer bugs than other light bulbs. In short, a bug light will not magically solve your bug problem, but it will make you and your home less visible to most flying insects.

Yellow and amber LED lights will attract the fewest number of insects and bugs. White and blue LED lights attract the most amount of bugs, with ultraviolet and green LED lights also attracting bugs. Red LED lights are the least appealing to bugs—but unfortunately can be less useful for human use.

Mosquito Prevention & Control

Although mosquitoes are attracted to light, many people find that yellow bulbs are the best choice. Since light at this wavelength is less visible to the pests, they are less successful in using it to locate a meal.

How do I make my patio bug free? ›

Deck cleaning with vinegar is perfectly safe. It is a natural cleaning product, most commonly mixed with baking soda and then applied to the decking. Unlike some harsh chemicals, vinegar is non-toxic, so it doesn't pose any viable health risks.

Add a Deck Skirt Made of Composite Or Pressure Treated Wood

Even the best under deck screening won't stop insects from crawling around the edges of your deck. But installing deck skirting can cover the gap between the edges of your deck and the ground, preventing bugs from getting under your deck in the first place.

Those most closely associated with repellency are citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, and catnip oil, but others include clove oil, patchouli, peppermint, and geranium.

Campfires, citronella, and incense are all great bug repellents that we've been using for years. But there are some herbs that you can add to your campfires, such as sage and mint, that will increase the fire's bug repellent capabilities.

In additional to rotting food and damp drains, gnats are often drawn to light. Using this to your advantage, you can get rid of a few more gnats using a clever trap.

Even a well-laid out patio, lighting and all, can still attract pests. These un-welcomed and misdirected insects are being thrown off by new light sources that distract their natural flight patterns and intuitions.

The color that spiders tend to hate is light blue. People don't just paint their porches light blue for the aesthetic. Painting your porch ceiling in this shade is a pretty effective way of keeping spiders away. The color is also known to repel wasps.

Can you use tape to put up LED lights? ›

Use double-sided VHB (very high bond) mounting tape that is rated for strengths of 2lbs per square inch and higher. Make sure to check if your tape is graded as waterproof if you intend to mount outdoor LED strip lights.

Attraction to Light

Some species of termites swarm late in the afternoon and early evening. Like most nocturnal insects, the pests will be drawn to light sources around the home, such as porch lamps, motion lights, and light reflected from inside. It is common to see swarms of alates around utility lights, as well.

Because June bugs are highly active during the summer months and are drawn to artificial lighting—not just in June as their name might seem to imply! It's not known exactly why June bugs are so attracted to light. Different hypotheses have been floated, including sexual attraction and light-distinction confusion.

Even though the June Bug is nocturnal, it is attracted to bright lights. They will gather around security lights, well-lit windows and porch lights. This over exposure to light is believed to sometimes kill the June Bug and they are very often found lying dead the next day under lights and brightly lit windows.

Bugs Use Light to Navigate

Many believe that insects use natural light sources like the moon or sun to help them navigate, similar to how sailors used to rely on the stars to guide their ships. So, when a insect sees your porch light, it flies towards the source.

BENEFICIAL NEMATODES

The easiest way to prevent June bug problems is to target them in their vulnerable, yet still damaging larval stage, aka grubs. Popular in gardening circles, the microscopic parasitic worms known as beneficial nematodes can help you in this arena.

A healthy, manicured lawn is also a good way to prevent June bugs and other predators from making your yard their target. Be sure to remove any thatch, as this can attract destructive insects and cause more harm to your yard. Make sure your grass is watered frequently and drained well.

Bacillus thuringiensis, usually abbreviated as Bt, is bacteria that infects and kills many garden pests, including June bug grubs, yet is harmless to humans and pets. You'll usually find Bt sold as a liquid concentrate or a powder to spray or sprinkle directly onto affected plants and turf.

Flying adult June bugs are typically inactive during the day, but they do fly around at night starting in May. Flying June bugs go away around June or July after laying their eggs.

Due to climate change and global warming, pest populations are increasing, and people in and around Northern California (and around the globe) are seeing more bugs and pests during the summer months.

What does a June bug turn into? ›

In high densities, June bugs can be serious pests of ornamental and agricultural plants, lawns and golf courses. Larvae spend at least a year in the soil, and in some cases take as much as four to five years to reach maturity. In late spring, the larva metamorphoses into a pupa, and then into the adult beetle.

Native to Maine, June bugs are harmless to humans and don't bite. But that's cold comfort to people who face night time airborne gauntlets of the beetles swarming around porch lights or lighted screen doors.

Moths are best known for being drawn to light. However, other insects like flies, crane flies, mayflies, and beetles also fly toward light. Sometimes smaller animals that eat insects, like frogs or spiders, can also be seen near lights looking for food.

Adults, as you would expect from their name, are evident most commonly during May and June, disappearing by mid to late summer, although this can differ between species. All June bugs, with the exception of the Green June bug, are inactive during the day and spend their time hiding amongst weeds or grass.

Interestingly, however, there is no difference between a May beetle and a June bug. They are simply interchangeable names that refer to the same insect. A May beetle or a June bug is an insect that seems to appear out of nowhere during late spring into early summer and disappears at the end of summer.

May beetles, or June bugs, are usually brown, rusty, or black, without patterns such as spots or stripes, and rather hairy beneath. They are nocturnal and are attracted to lights at night. They walk and fly clumsily. May beetles belong to a large family of beetles called scarabs.