Colors that repel insects?

[Yoyo]

I recall reading somewhere that light colors (white?) repel mosquitoes and other insects. But is there any real research to back up this claim? When choosing what color jacket / shirt to buy, do you really take color into consideration, or not? Thoughts?

[rOg w]

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[Will Newton]

I used to have all-black gear; I figured it was the easiest way to use my hiking clothing in as many 'civilian' situations as possible. After getting the hell ass bitten out of me on several consecutive trips, I read something similar and wondered something similar.

So two friends and I did a very unscientific test: we all wore dark baselayers and carried a white buttondown. We'd walk 4 miles in the baselayers and 4 in the buttondown, similar marshy mosquitoey terrain. We did this test twice, in Emigrant Wilderness and the PNW Cascades, both at peak mosquito season.

The difference was *remarkable*. A VERY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION in attention and bites. Particularly with mosquitoes, heat and C02 emission come into play, but we tried to control for this by having one get-your-gum-out-of-the-sewer skinny guy and one massive guy along.

These days I make sure as much of my 3-season gear is white or as close to it as I can find.

[Rick M]

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[HkNewman]

I've heard blue attracts the them but my main focus is bright (lt gray, silver, beige) colors so not absorb the summer sunlight and keep surfaces a little bit cooler. My rain jacket is black but then it's raining cats and dogs when I wear it.

[Daryl and Daryl]

Rick,

"colors that…. AGITATE insects"

Makes sense to me. I wear a large black backpack every day going to and from the gym and grocery store. I've noticed that dogs also get pretty agitated when they see me coming with the pack.

[Derek M.]

…The color of my hand as it's coming down on them… That usually repels them well enough.

[James Marco]

Yeah, as a general rule, lighter colors seem to be less attractive. Dark and deeply dyed colors are more attractive. Repell doesn't work.

[J R]

I have always heard that insects can't see yellow, which supposedly is why "bug light" bulbs are yellow. But light color and pigment color work differently so who knows…

[Mark Dijkstra]

@JR:
I have a yellow shirt that I often use when I'm working arround the house and my experience is that bees, bumblebees and butterflies often check out my shirt in search of nectar. I don't notice a real difference for mosquitos. Then again, there aren't many mosquitos where I live and when there are mosquitos they rarely come to me. They always prefer whoever is with me.

[Marko Botsaris]

Yeah, insects see MORE colors than we do, not less, in general. And don't even get me started about the mantis shrimp! This include some UV on flowers. The prettiness of flowers is to impress them, not us, and apparently with the added UV spectrum many of them are a lot more spectacular. Too bad for us.

Also I have heard it reported, and have experienced it myself that yellow is actually one of their favorites. At least it is with some of the small flys that I'm sure trout would eat. In particular my yellow original edition (before the green one) BD Firstlight tent is quite the rage with them in the spring. Lots of people report this attraction as one of the "problems" with that yellow tent, but I have never minded.

I bought a new car last year in the cool color "Vitamin C" which is basically an orange copper color, and I have noted with amusement many times (including yesterday) bees obviously checking it out and seeming confused. I think they expected it to be come kind of giant bed of tasty flowers, but couldn't find the nectar. They were doing the same double take you can see then doing on people with colorful shirts. Hummingbirds also do this but seem to figure thing out a lot quicker and take off.

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