Have you ever noticed bees buzzing around a bright yellow wall? Lighter paint colors tend to reflect light better than others, drawing in hoards of insects to your home. If you’re struggling with large populations of bugs, you may be wondering: Are there any paint colors that repel insects?
Bugs like moths and beetles can detect light on the UV spectrum, and bright colors draw in more insects as various bugs use color to find food or potential predators. The good news is that if color can attract insects, then it’s possible to use paint colors that repel insects.
No matter the severity of your pest problem, pest control experts provide targeted treatment based on the pest’s behavior. When choosing a color for your home, you may worry that your safe haven is an attraction to bugs.
We will help you pick the right exterior paint colors that repel insects and are least likely to attract them to your home.
What Paint Colors Attract Bugs?
Bright colors like yellow, orange, and blue can attract bees as they resemble flowers. The more reflective the color is, the more a bug will be attracted to it. Avoid bright colors as they will attract pollinating insects to your walls.
If you aren’t interested in cracking open a new can of paint, you can easily change the color of your walls just with lighting alone. If you have bright yellow walls, you can add a blue or green colored lightbulb to offset the bright hues. However, insects can’t see colors the same way as humans, so it can be difficult to predict their behavior.
When insects are plaguing your home, try relying on a quality exterior paint service that can remove the painting hassle! Andre Kazimiersky, Founder & CEO of Improovy, said, “Picking the right colors can be difficult, but Improovy makes painting easy for homeowners with its painting industry expertise.”
Are There Paint Colors That Repel Insects?
Because bugs see colors on the UV spectrum, they cannot register hues of green or blue. Painters even use blue paint to repel bees and wasps. Painting your porch ceiling in a blue tone could repel wasps, leading to fewer wasp-eating spiders around your home!
Flies and mosquitoes, on the other hand, are attracted to blue tones and repelled by warm tones like yellow and orange. They prefer dark colors because they use their heat receptors to locate warm bodies to feed on. When picking your colors, it’s important to research what works for you and find paint colors that repel insects in your area.
Are There Other Ways to Repel Bugs?
If repainting your home isn’t an option, there are other ways to repel bugs in your home. Check out our helpful tips to keep bugs away from your property!
Light Traps: UV light can lure insects and kill them simultaneously. This method is great for catching large moths, annoying flies, or stinging insects like mosquitoes.Warm-colored LED bulbs can also help reduce the number of insects around your porch this summer.
Dried Herbs and Flowers: Dried herbs and flowers can repel pests more effectively than live plants. Dried herbs can be hung near windows or placed in sachet bags inside drawers and cupboards.Lavender flowers are an excellent pest control option that doubles as beautiful home decor. This approach is 100% natural, so there’s no harm in planting flowers near your house!
Pest Control Methods: If you have tried all the possible methods but are getting nowhere, sometimes the best option is to call the proof. pest control professionals.
No one likes creepy crawlers inside of their home. With our high-quality, plant-based products and industry-leading techniques, pests will have no chance. Sleep better at night knowing that your home is pest-free and healthy all year round with chemical-free services for your home and family. Contact us today!
FAQs
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.
What color paint keeps bugs away? ›
Bugs are naturally attracted to bright colors like white, yellow or orange. Colors like green and blue won't register as vividly when seen in the UV spectrum, deterring bugs away from these colored objects.
What color is insect repellent? ›
Because bugs see colors on the UV spectrum, they cannot register hues of green or blue. Painters even use blue paint to repel bees and wasps. Painting your porch ceiling in a blue tone could repel wasps, leading to fewer wasp-eating spiders around your home!
What color do flies hate? ›
Well studies have shown that the color yellow is the number one color that repels flies. Unfortunately you would need to completely surround your home in yellow light bulbs for it to have any real effect.
What color light do bugs hate? ›
Insects generally see 3 colors of light, Ultraviolet (UV), blue and green. Bright white or bluish lights (mercury vapor, white incandescent and white florescent) are the most attractive to insects. Yellowish, pinkish, or orange (sodium vapor, halogen, dichroic yellow) are the least attractive to most insects.
What color paint does not attract bugs? ›
What color paint keeps bugs away? While it is true that green and blue are visible to insects, a dark or muted green or blue paint is actually perfect if you don't want to draw an insect's attention to your walls.
Does blue paint really keep bugs away? ›
Because porch ceilings used to be painted with milk paint containing lye, a substance known for deterring bugs, the hue mistakenly gained its reputation as a pest-repeller. While there's no guarantee that a blue porch will keep bugs and ghosts at bay, you can be sure it will attract attention.
Which color attracts most of the insect pest? ›
The results indicate that yellow attracts more insects than the other 5 colors that were tested. Out of the 2,207 insects that were trapped in the 30 bowls, White attracted 5.7%, Red attracted 4.2%, Orange attracted 22%, Yellow attracted 51.3%, Green attracted 7.2%, and Blue attracted 9.6%.
Is there an anti insect paint? ›
FEATURES: BOYSEN® BUG OFF™ has inert microscopic crystals set in the paint layer that attack the nervous system of insects that get in contact with the painted surface. PRINCIPAL USES: It is recommended for walls and ceilings inside the house where it can quietly kill insects that use these surfaces for resting.
What color do spiders hate? ›
By contrast, spiders seem to hate the colour blue, especially light blue. It is not completely clear why this is, but there are a couple of theories. Blue is the colour of the sky, and it may make spiders feel vulnerable to predators by making it seem that they are not under any protective cover.
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.
What color do mosquitoes hate? ›
To reduce the possibility of a mosquito biting you, you could consider wearing white, green or blue. Lighter colors are less interesting to mosquitos than darker shades like navy and black, red or orange. However, clothing color alone is unlikely to keep mosquitos away for good.
What colors repel mosquitoes? ›
One study found that red, orange, cyan (blue-green), and black tend to draw mosquitoes, while colors that make you more difficult to see can repel mosquitoes, including white, green, blue, and purple. Based on these findings, wearing pastels in cooler hues may reduce your risk of bites.
What color do roaches hate? ›
The results of the investigation on what color will repel the greatest number of co*ckroaches, indicate that red light repels a greater number of roaches than the other five colored lights and the control group of no light. Green light deterred the second most roaches followed by white, yellow, and blue.
What color porch light keeps bugs away? ›
To keep the bugs away, try and avoid installing lights in the cooler light spectrum. Trying switching to a warmer, yellower light. Insects don't see nearly as well in the yellow to infra-red spectrum. Since they can't see yellow lights as much, they won't be as drawn to them.
Is there a paint that repels spiders? ›
CORION REPEL®
Effective against small insects like mosquitoes, co*ckroaches, spiders and ants and many others.
Does white paint keep bugs away? ›
While darker colors may save you from bees and beetles, they can attract a different monster- mosquitos. Mosquitos see colors differently than most insects and can pick up shades outside of the UV spectrum. Therefore, using brighter colors like white, yellow, and blue can repel these pests a little more effectively.
What paint colors repel mosquitoes? ›
The best colors for repelling mosquitoes, according to researchers at the University of Washington, are white, green, blue and purple. That isn't because mosquitoes don't like these colors, but because they reflect heat and light, which mosquitoes really don't like, which is why they start to emerge at dusk.
