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Yellow Shelters

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Oct 29, 2011 at 12:05 pm #1281286

Jason McSpadden
BPL Member

@jbmcsr1
Locale: Rocky Mountains

Those of you who own and use yellow colored shelters, have you found that they attract more insects? I've heard that the some yellows tend to draw bees, wasps, etc. Has that been true for those of you who have yellow MLD or Golite tarps?

Thanks.

Jason

Oct 29, 2011 at 12:16 pm #1796403

David Ure
Member

@familyguy

That hasn't been the case for me. However, I have noticed more bugs because of the color.

Oct 29, 2011 at 1:35 pm #1796420

Richard Fischel
BPL Member

@ricko

not my experience, but for full disclosure i cannot remember the last time i set it up that it wasn't on or in close proximity to snow.

Oct 30, 2011 at 7:14 am #1796593

Gary Dunckel
BPL Member

@zia-grill-guy
Locale: Boulder

I'm thinking that the yellows and oranges do attract more insects than my Tarptent gray or GoLite green tents. I have a couple of Marmot orange/yellow tents, and it seems like I get all sorts of bugs hanging around (maybe it's just easier to see them on those lighter colors?).

Oct 30, 2011 at 7:22 am #1796595

Ken Thompson
BPL Member

@here
Locale: Right there

Yellow Shelters=Giant Flowers

Oct 30, 2011 at 8:15 am #1796601

Gary Dunckel
BPL Member

@zia-grill-guy
Locale: Boulder

I had a red REI tent back in the '70-80s, and it seemed to attract any hummingbird that was in the area. Also, the MSR Missing Link (yellow?–no, it's orange) that I use for a quick car camp shelter always has ants crawling on it during the day.

So now the question is…which color doesn't attract any bugs at all? Anybody have a black tent?

(Edit–my Missing Link is orange, not yellow)

Oct 30, 2011 at 9:56 am #1796632

Rusty Beaver
BPL Member

@rustyb
Locale: Idaho

I can't speak for shelters but we (myself & other kayaking friends) observed years ago how bugs are attracted to yellow helmets and kayaks. Either one would be covered in bugs in certain areas where as the other colors had none or few. I assume this would apply to anything "yellow" in nature.

Oct 30, 2011 at 3:06 pm #1796733

Jeff J
Member

@j-j-81
Locale: Oregon

I concur with Rusty. My first kayak spray jacket was yellow, and anytime I wore it, bugs were attracted to buzz around me. Not necessarily mosquitoes or the like, but anything with wings. A lot of bees, if I recall.

I don't take anything colored like that in the woods now. Well, a blaze orange hat during hunting season.

Jeff

Oct 30, 2011 at 5:52 pm #1796809

Nick Gatel
BPL Member

@ngatel
Locale: Southern California

Seems that when I need a shelter (rain or snow) there are no bugs. The rest of the time it stays in my pack.

But it does seem logical that bugs would be attracted to the same colors that they would normally seek out in flowers.

Oct 30, 2011 at 6:10 pm #1796818

Jim Colten
BPL Member

@jcolten
Locale: MN

I don't know about insects but a couple I know made a yellow tent from a Frostline kit (decades ago) … only to discover that it was translucent enough that they had trouble sleeping in it when the moon was full and a few days before and after.

This was a double walled tent with both walls of a heavier material than silnylon.

Oct 30, 2011 at 6:56 pm #1796840

steven franchuk
Member

@surf

Some insects are drawn to the color yellow. Others like the light brown color of my sunglasses and will hover a inch or 2 in front of my eyes for a mile or more. Others (bees huming birds and many others) are attracted to ultraviolet light (many flowers reflect UV light strongly). Mosquitoes and many other biting insects are mainly attracted to heat, CO2, and smell.

I have a yellow tent and mostly it draws the Mosquitoes when it is hit by direct sun. The interior gets hot and that draws the mosquitoes. On cool days I don' see any insects drawn to the tent.

Oct 30, 2011 at 7:35 pm #1796857

Richard Fischel
BPL Member

@ricko

yellow tents can be highly translucent, but i always found the warm glow a benifit. if you've been trapped for a couple of days in a tent the brightness can be a big mood enhancer. as far as it being too bright to sleep, if i'm tired i have no problem sleeping.

Nov 2, 2011 at 11:59 pm #1798104

KiwiMtnClmbr
BPL Member

@kiwimtnclmbr
Locale: Northeast Highlands

I found a buddy's new Nemo tent to be very attractive to insects and especially bees and wasps this past summer. Throughout NY, NJ and VT his tent next to my gray and blue beater was swarmed constantly. It sure did look nice though and was a lot easier to put up than mine…
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