Insects Management

[lxhipster]

Hello,

 

I am about to do an event in a Golf course (outdoor) and I am quite worried that with the amount of lights we are using

would be attracting tons of insects and cause discomfort to the guests or perhaps ruin the entire event.

 

My question is, what would be the best type of light that would attract insects so perhaps I would refrain from using them.

I was also thinking of setting a perimeter of searchlights around the event area so that the insects would go and play with those lights

outside and not come and interfere with the events but not so sure that would work or not.

 

Any suggestions is welcome and we have tried to use chemicals, incense sticks, whatever equipment/method that produces smell that would ward insects but not guests off, hiring

a fumigation company but we are still afraid that we wouldn't be able to get rid of it and swarms of insects would come in and attack the guests.

 

Cheers!

[jonathanhill]

Consider a perimeter of ultra violet lights?

[Stuart91]

Where is the event taking place? The three locations mentioned in your profile have very different insects...

 

In Scotland we are plagued by midgies in the summer months. Machines like these seem to help but I'm not sure what equivalents there might be for your locality. Midgies are very annoying but much smaller than the insects found in many other parts of the world.

[emsgeorge]

Depends where you are as has been said above.

 

We've had major issues with bugs before - in wales of all places. massive dinner and dance. Day before event was due to take place, the marquees attracted most of the worlds bugs. Sorted inside with massive amounts of bug spray and some very big sponge like blocks the pest bloke brought in, but outside was a nightmare - until ......

 

pest bloke brought us one of those electric hanging uv light killers.

 

The client turned up the next day with 2 huge boxes of them. We strung them outside the area they were using, at about 5m intervals, in trees and almost like a festoon. There were about 50 in total.

 

even in daylight, half way through the afternoon, they were killing all the bugs off at a rate of knots. By early evening, and event start, if you got close to them, you could hear a hum - not from the lights, but from the wildlife being attracted to them. By the end of the night, (and I'm not kidding) there was a foot deep pile of bugs below each one. The units were a write off - nobody wanted to go near them, as they were caked in dead bugs. But the client was very pleased, and has gone on to have this arrangement of 'bug units' every time they have an event.

[litemog]

Reminds me of a time when I was focussing a show in a field in Holland overnight. When we turned on the first PAR can it was the brightest light for miles around and it seemed like every moth and insect headed straight for it. I ended up focussing with my sleeves and trouser legs gaffer taped up and a mask over my mouth. I also remember that there was so much dew in the air towards dawn that the pages of my script became impossible to turn over without them falling apart..

[MarfaLights]

Reminds me of an art installation by Charles Stankievech done here last year using 36 bug zappers.

 

http://desperadophilosophy.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/hs1.png?w=490

 

 

 

[empyfree]

Reminds me of years at summer camp, there was a bug zapper by the nurses window, by the end of the summer there was a pile of toasted bugs knee deep!

[adam2]

Most flying insects are attracted by shorter wavelengths of light, blue, violet, and sometimes green, and of course white which contains all or nearly all colours.

 

Minimise use of these insect attracting colours so far as possible.

Blue and white cant really be avoided for stage lighting, but do consider yellow or amber for access, decorative or house lighting. White and/or blue for the actual performance will at least minmise the time during which insects will be attracted.

Most types of theatre lantern will attract insects even if fitted with deep yellow or amber gell, there is enough white spill light from them to attract the pests.

 

Deep yellow coated fluorescent tubes and amber or deep yellow coated incandescents seldom attract insects.

 

Another option for outdoor lighting is either Tilley lamps or LPG lamps, these attract insects as badly as electric lights, but the heat kills the pests.

 

The use of SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS of electric insect traps will help, especialy outside the venue, and perhaps inside as well.