Are Mosquitoes Attracted to Light?

I leave my porch light on at night but still get bitten — do mosquitoes even care about light?

It's easy to assume mosquitoes are drawn to a bright bulb, the same way moths seem to be. But that's not quite how it works. Mosquitoes are busiest at dusk and dawn, when the light is already fading, and don't fly toward bright lights looking for a meal. What they actually use light for is navigation, steering by the moon and stars to keep flying in a straight line. 

That raises another common question: can mosquitoes see in the dark? Their eyesight is pretty weak, and they don't see light the way we do. Instead, they lock onto the carbon dioxide you breathe out, your body heat, your sweat, and the natural scent of your skin. So even with the porch light on, it's your warmth and smell drawing them in—not the glow of the bulb.

The same goes for UV traps. Despite how popular "bug zappers" are, mosquitoes pay little attention to UV or LED bulbs. LEDs give off almost no heat, which makes them even less tempting, and these traps tend to catch other insects far more often than mosquitoes.

If mosquitoes keep bothering you, switching your lights won't solve it. Contact Gregory Pest Solutions for a mosquito control plan that genuinely works.