Reducing blue light in LEDs reduces their attractiveness to bugs
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028904
New York Times : Mosquitoes and other bugs that carry diseases are attracted to the shorter wavelengths emitted by lightbulbs. For that reason, developing bulbs that are less attractive to insects could help reduce the spread of disease. Travis Longcore of the University of Southern California has found that reducing the amount of blue light emitted by LED bulbs attracts 20% fewer bugs than standard LEDs. He compared new “color-tunable” LEDs with off-the-shelf LEDs and fluorescent bulbs, all of which were suspended over soapy water to trap bugs. The LEDs attracted fewer bugs than the fluorescents, which emit widely in the violet and UV wavelengths. The tunable LEDs performed best when the amount of blue light was turned down.