Outdoor patio heaters are great for when you are hanging out with your family and family outside.
Patio heaters come highly recommended as they help to keep you comfortable during winters and cool nights. While it might be brisk outside, patio heaters keep you warm so you don’t have to worry about the outside temperature.
But here’s one question everyone wants an answer to: Do patio heaters attract bugs?
The short answer is yes, but there’s more to the story and what you can do about it.
Read on as this article gives all the information you need to know about patio heaters and attracting bugs.
Patio Heaters and Bugs
Yes, patio heaters attract bugs. And unfortunately, natural gas heaters are very effective in attracting bugs. This is because they produce carbon dioxide.
While natural gas patio heaters are effective in keeping you and your family and friends warm while you have fun in the open. The natural gas heaters tend to attract unwanted insects leaving you with a bug problem.
Bugs and other flying insects will definitely ruin your outdoor parties. So you need a solution that attracts fewer bugs or one that makes eliminating bugs an easy feat.
So should I get rid of my patio heater?
No, patio heaters help keep you warm outside and you definitely don’t want to get cold. Patio heaters can also give a stylish look to our patio and they come in different sizes and colors.
We just need to understand patio heaters are like everything else in life which have positives and also some negatives.
In this situation, the negative factor when it comes to using patio heaters is that patio heaters attract bugs and mosquitoes.
They do not just simply attract outdoor insects, most of the time we can see hundreds of bugs and mosquitoes wandering around the patio heater.
Let’s examine why outdoor patio heaters attract bugs and how you can repel bugs.
Why Patio Heaters Attract Bugs?
The major reason for outdoor patio heaters to attract bugs or mosquitoes is light. We know that bugs are attracted to light and naturally when the bugs see light due to patio heaters, they get attracted to it.
The greater or brighter the light of your patio heaters, the more bugs you attract. This is because bugs need light to help them with navigation. Artificial light from devices like patio heaters attracts them and confuses them causing night blindness in the bugs for as long as thirty minutes.
Also, due to evolution, mosquitoes and bugs tend to get attracted to devices that produce carbon dioxide. Mosquitos associate the carbon dioxide mission with their food and move towards the carbon dioxide emitting devices. Some patio heaters are big emitters of Carbon dioxide and this, in turn, attracts bugs.
Like us, bugs also like to keep themselves warm, so when they see a heat source the bugs swarm towards it. The warmth helps them survive the cold winter. Also, during night time when there is light, it attracts bugs.
How to prevent bugs?
Using Electrical Heaters
We can see from the above points that carbon dioxide emissions attract bugs so we can use electric patio heaters instead of gas-powered patio heaters or propane-based heaters. Electric patio heaters do not emit any carbon dioxide emissions and they can also provide heat with high efficiency. An electric heater is one of the electrical solutions if your patio heater attracts bugs
Using Insect Light Traps
Insect light traps are also another electrical solution to bug problems. Insect light traps make use of ultraviolet lights.
These light traps do a great job of attracting the insects and afterward kill them off by electrocution.
Using Chemical Insecticides
This is more like a temporary solution where you can kill out the bug by using chemical insecticides.
Chemical insecticides are bug spray. This bug spray does not prevent bugs instead it can give temporary relief by killing out the bugs and also help your patio heater attract fewer bugs. Spray close to your patio furniture.
One problem with bug spray is that it can be quite harmful to human beings and also the environment. It would be safer if you ensure to keep these bug sprays out of the reach of young ones.
Using Insecticide Granules
While outdoor patio heaters attract insects, Insecticide granules help you create a sexually suggestive environment for bugs.
If there’s one thing we know about most bugs is that they are attracted to sexually suggestive environments.
To make this most effective, place your insecticide granules next to your patio heaters. The heaters attract mosquitoes and the granules destroy them immediately.
Using Repellent Bulbs
These light bulbs produce light that bugs do not like hence serving their purpose which is to repel mosquitoes.
So any time the bugs find those lights in your outdoor patio, they change direction to somewhere that’s more conducive for them.
Another benefit of using these repellent bulbs is that they’re very attractive and get a lot of attention from people so you can be sure your friends and family will love them while having a great time.
Removing standing water
Mosquito larvae grow amazingly well in standing water. You’ll attract mosquitoes if your outdoor patio is close to stagnant water. When you take action by removing these stagnant water areas you are literally stopping the breeding of the mosquitoes and unwanted pests around your outdoor patio. This will help you see a huge difference in the number of bugs.
Using Plants
There are also certain plant species like lemongrass and lavender that repels insects. These fresh herbs repel most bugs. You can also burn dried leaves and generate smoke to repel mosquitos. Although bugs like heat, they get repelled by smoke.
Using Essential Oils
If you have a bug problem then essential oils may be one of the solutions that you need.
With essential oils such as lemon eucalyptus, you’re able to deal with mosquitoes effectively – leaving you with a peaceful environment.
After your patio heater attracts the bug, your essential oil will help keep the bugs away from you and your friends and family.
So how do you use essential oil to keep bugs away?
All you need to do is get a spray bottle of whichever size you want. Then pour your essential oil into this spray bottle and spray it all around your patios. Don’t forget to spray it on your outdoor furniture.
Essential oils are long-lasting and a few drops of it should go a long way.
Using Electric Diffusers
Electric diffusers are another solution that helps with keeping bugs away.
Place your electric diffuser next to your patio heater. To make this more effective, get a diffuser that makes use of liquid recharges. With this kind of diffuser, you get liquids with essential oil-based ingredients and this is great for keeping away mosquitoes and other flying insects.
Keeping your patio clean and smell free
Clean your patio properly and remove the dirt and dust in your patio. You can also use room sprays to keep your patio smell-free. This would help with keeping bugs away.
Using Mosquito Nets
If you are so worried about the bugs, you can also cover the outer area of your patio with mosquito net, although this measure reduces the look of your patio, it can be highly effective in preventing bugs from entering your patio area.
Using Citronella Candles
One major thing bugs hate is smoke. But you don’t want to choke your guests with smoke and ruin your outdoor party. This is where citronella candles come in.
Citronella candles produce smoke which is mosquito repelling. This helps you and your guest enjoy your warm outdoor patio without any disturbance.
Plus citronella oil produces a scent that’s very appealing to the human senses and that’s not all they are also quite cheap. So you get a sweet-scented outdoor patio with no bugs.
Using Patio Fans
This is one of the simplest methods that you can use to keep bugs away from your patio.
While you may think mosquitoes are quite badass due to their bloodsucking capabilities, in the presence of a few box fans they are nothing but just mere flies.
Mosquitoes are luckily for you weak flyers, so all you need to do is turn on a few fans and you’ll find fewer bugs around you. You don’t even need to set your fan to blow high, just a low blowing fan or fans in your patio will help you with your bugs problem.
Conclusion
We can see from the above points that natural gas-powered heaters or propane-based heaters attract bugs.
But luckily there are electric infrared patio heaters that do not attract bugs, unlike propane heaters. These electric infrared patio heaters are also healthy for the environment and do not emit smoke and other various harmful products.
There are also various ways you can deal with bugs ranging from electrical solutions to chemical solutions and also natural solutions such as using lemon eucalyptus essential oil.
If you’re going to be making use of any of the chemical solutions, don’t forget to clean up and dispose of whatever solution you use properly. Keep chemicals away from children as they can be quite harmful.
It is important to note that before implementing any of the solutions you need a clean patio. It ruins the purpose of these solutions if you harbor a breeding ground for mosquitoes. So clean your patios before using whichever of the above-named solutions works best for you.