How Light Effects Mosquitoes
Imagine the benefits of being able to repel mosquitoes with light. Backyard barbecues would be much more enjoyable gatherings and you would not have to deal with the various chemical repellents. The possibilities reach far beyond our backyards, however, when you consider all the disease spread by mosquitoes. Malaria is still a ravaging disease in different parts of the world, so the benefits could be huge. To date, it seems that most mosquito repellents, including lights, have had limited success, but that might be changing. There really are scientists working on ways to use a “wall of light” as a barrier that mosquitoes do not want to cross! (see the video below) That may be years away at this point, but there are some creative ways that you can use light, that exist today, to make your outdoor playground more bite free.
According to Andrei Alyokhin, an entomology professor at the University of Maine on the website energycircle.com, “Insects are mostly attracted to UV light and blue light. They cannot really see red light. Warmth plays a minor, if any, role. So, insect attraction will depend on the wavelength of the LED light used by the homeowners”. This jives with many other scientists’ description of the effect of light on mosquitoes. Knowing this, we can start to figure out a way to dodge the little blood suckers.
(Blue light and Ultra-Violet light are higher frequency. Red, Orange and yellow light are lower frequency. Red being the lowest.)
LED’s are not the answer we once thought.
They give off some of the blue spectrum of light and that draws mosquitoes. It comes down to strategically using specific wavelengths, or color, of lighting to help protect you against the insects. You could perhaps place blue lights around the outside of your backyard to attract the insects, like the blue lights that bug zappers use, and then a softer, lower UV rated light around where your are gathering. You could, of course, light your gathering with a red light. It might be fun for a while, but I would expect it would feel weird after the novelty wore off. Who knows? One could experiment with orange lights. There are reports of some outdoor yellow lights being much less attractive to bugs than white lights.
Let’s discover the best trade off with the bug attractor colors vs a useful light color for humans.
It will, at least, cut down on the mosquito problem until that light barrier, that is being researched, is developed.
Light Barrier Used to Repel Mosquitoes is a Reality
Buy two cordless diffusers. Set one to always be blue to attract the mozzies. Splash some beer inside of this diffuser to mist. The biters love alcohol! Now, put this one where you are NOT going to be.
Set the other diffuser to always be red, orange, or even try yellow, and place it near where you want some light to enjoy playing cards or whatever. Put your favorite anti mosquito essential oil inside of this one to distribute into your area.