Owning a swimming pool is a luxury, especially if you live somewhere that has a suitable climate for an outdoor pool.
Swimming outdoors is a great way to unwind, but the downside of owning a pool is that they need maintenance – including cleaning.
You’ll need to regularly skim the pool for debris, including leaves, grass, and bugs.
Unfortunately, dead bugs will often litter a swimming pool, but why? Is it the pool lights attracting them?
Some pool lights can attract certain insect species and cause them to drown. Older lights may emit enough UV energy to attract insects, while others may be confused by the light source rather than being attracted by it.
Let’s look at this in a little more detail by exploring the following:
- Whether pool lights do cause insects to drown
- How to make the pool lights less attractive
- Other ways to keep bugs away from your pool
Do Pool Lights Cause Insects To Drown In A Pool?
In short, yes – pool lights can cause insects to drown.
That’s because some species of bugs are confused by light. Flying insects will use the moon as a navigation system – like their north star, almost.
So having a shinier bulb that’s closer can throw them off, and they gravitate toward the light in their confusion.
With both of these causes, insects are drawn to the water. And these bugs aren’t smart enough to realize that entering the water is a bad idea.
Often when they do, they can’t escape – either the strength to reach the surface or the understanding of where the surface is.
Which means they drown. And then float.
You might be wondering why this is more of an issue for swimming pools than other bodies of water – why do ponds, for example, not tend to have as many bugs?
That’s usually because of the other wildlife inhabiting ponds.
Your pond lights are laying on an insect buffet, and any fish in the pond or other animals living around it will be feasting.
Bugs can also be attracted to the heat that some lights generate, but your pool lights are submerged, so the heat won’t be strong enough to attract bugs directly.
It may gently warm the water around the lights if you don’t have a heater, but not enough to attract bugs.
How To Make Pool Lights Less Attractive To Bugs?
If you want to install pool lights without attracting bugs at night, a few options are available.
You should not install the lights on the far side of the pool from where you’ll be sitting if you’re using submerged lights.
You are correct that this will draw more bugs to the far side of the pool, but having submerged lights facing you is less safe – the headlight effect could dazzle you and create a hazard around the pool edge.
Submerged lights should permanently be installed closest to where you will be sitting, facing away from you.
But the theory is sound, so you could look at alternative lights away from the seating area that isn’t submerged.
Overhead pool lights can be just as effective as a safety device, and if they can be recessed, they’re less likely to attract bugs.
Next, consider the types of bulbs you’re using.
LEDs and yellow CFL lights are good choices, as are any lights which emit colors that are less attractive to insects – those with a higher wavelength, in the yellow to orange range.
Bugs can’t see the light as humans can and are more sensitive to low-wavelength UV lights.
Yellow-orange colors are harder for them to see.
One final option is to use covers for your pool lights. These may not be fully effective, but they can help to cover up some of the light shining upwards out of your pool.
Covers are easy to install and come in quarter-crescent or half-crescent options.
Usually, they’re used for preventing surface reflections, but they could also stop the bulb from shining upwards as brightly.
Just remember that this will also make it harder for the light to illuminate the pool edge properly.
These are best used with other overhead lights around the garden space to maintain visibility around the pool sides.
How To Keep Bugs Away From My Pool?
Beyond altering your lights, there are other things you can do to put off insects and hopefully prevent them from visiting your pool.
There are some plants that insects don’t tend to like, including gnats.
Mint, garlic, basil, and rosemary are good choices, as these aromatic herbs aren’t pleasant for insects.
Provided they aren’t being splashed by the chlorine from your pool, they also serve as a lovely herb garden for you to use while cooking.
Lavender and citronella grass are other plants that have a scent that is off-putting to insects – plant these near the pool, and you’ll have fewer bugs hovering around.
Moving away from plants, you could try peppermint oil or vinegar.
Vinegar won’t deter gnats; it’ll attract them – so you can make vinegar traps using bottles with holes in the lid.
Gnats can get in but can’t get out.
Of course, one of the most effective solutions is a bug zapper – hang one near your pool, away from where it might get splashed, and it should take care of most flying insects.
Final Words
Bugs are an unfortunate problem around swimming pools, causing a mild nuisance at times either as they buzz around you while you relax poolside or drowning in the pool and requiring a clean-up.
But there are ways you can help to deter them, both in the choice and placement of your lights and with extra deterrents or traps around the pool area.
If you’re being bugged by bugs, follow the tips above to help make your pool more relaxing.
Do you have any other home remedies for insect traps that may work?