# Headlamps and bugs?



## gsxrac (Jul 27, 2009)

Ok I thought long and hard about wether to post this here or general and I figured you headlamp guys are going to be the ones with the best answers. I have recently broke out some cheapie headlamps and attempted to use them while camping and fishing but to no avail because I couldnt keep the dang bugs out of my eyes. It really is a great way to use a light and im contemplating a zebralight purchase but I dont want to have to douse my face in bug spray every time I use one. 

Is there any good way to keep this from happening or how do you guys stand it?


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## Woods Walker (Jul 27, 2009)

If I point my headlamp up more the bugs don't seem to fly right into my face. I broke a PT Aurora fighting a killer moth some years ago.


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## SFG2Lman (Jul 27, 2009)

possibly putting a battery powered bugzapper on the front of the light? someone can design you a driver i'm sure


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## Sgt. LED (Jul 28, 2009)

Headlamp goes round a ballcap. Bill of ballcap is slathered with DEET. Bugs go away.


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## Foxx510 (Jul 28, 2009)

Put a brighter headlamp on the back of your head ;-)


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## DM51 (Jul 28, 2009)

If the bugs are really bad, consider getting a head net (many similar types around).


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## csshih (Jul 28, 2009)

hmm, it reminds me of a few times when I can carrying an EZAA in my mouth.

bugs fly around ezaa, i walk forward...

zup!!! 

*patooey!*


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## Limelighter (Jul 28, 2009)

I have read that green LEDs attract bugs less than white LEDs (see the article at http://www.buzzle.com/articles/when-to-use-a-red-green-or-blue-led-light.html ). I have not confirmed this myself. If this is correct, you might want to try a headlamp with green LEDs, such as the new PT Remix, which is available in that configuration. Or maybe a headlamp with a green filter would suffice as well.


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## f22shift (Jul 29, 2009)

i sometimes were my zebralight around my neck. the good thing with no hinge is that it can rotate any direction and i can rotate it forward. of course it won't follow the head but your body direction so maybe not too applicable to your situation.


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## defloyd77 (Jul 29, 2009)

Limelighter said:


> I have read that green LEDs attract bugs less than white LEDs (see the article at http://www.buzzle.com/articles/when-to-use-a-red-green-or-blue-led-light.html ). I have not confirmed this myself. If this is correct, you might want to try a headlamp with green LEDs, such as the new PT Remix, which is available in that configuration. Or maybe a headlamp with a green filter would suffice as well.



It's the blue/UV part of the spectrum that the bugs are attracted to, so red and green shouldn't attract bugs, but remember not all bugs are going to be attracted by the light (mosquitoes are attracted to carbon dioxide). Yellow seems to be the best color to use, but those aren't too good as far as output in LED if I'm not mistaken.


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## MichaelW (Jul 30, 2009)

defloyd77 said:


> Yellow seems to be the best color to use, but those aren't too good as far as output in LED if I'm not mistaken.



That phosphor converted amber from Luxeon seem interesting, too interesting


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## defloyd77 (Jul 31, 2009)

MichaelW said:


> That phosphor converted amber from Luxeon seem interesting, too interesting



Hmm, I never knew they had these.


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## Rudi (Jul 31, 2009)

Zebralight with red LED.


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## Phaserburn (Jul 31, 2009)

This is why I shun headlamps outside in the summertime.


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## AvPD (Jul 31, 2009)

I had that problem during some southern hemisphere summer camping this year, the mosquito net is a good idea, don't know why I didn't think of it at the time.

Those supposedly insect-repelling light bulbs are yellow so maybe a headlamp with a yellow LED might do the trick.


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## gsxrac (Jul 31, 2009)

Well so far im planning to try the bugspray on the hat trick for fishing and for more extended use im going to look for a headnet. Or I might just have to build a mag that can just catch all the bugs on fire :devil:


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## grnamin (Aug 1, 2009)

electric bug swatter


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## electrothump (Aug 1, 2009)

Foxx510 said:


> Put a brighter headlamp on the back of your head ;-)



Ha! I like this idea.


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## electrothump (Aug 1, 2009)

About the only thing I've found that "helps" is not having the light real bright for very long. You can also turn the light off briefly when the bugs start getting thick. I'm amazed at how fast the majority will disperse. Staying on the move also helps. But, I do not know of a cure all. Bottom line, , , bugs can be a real pain in the backside for headlight users. I still use mine every night though.


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## electrothump (Aug 1, 2009)

grnamin said:


> electric bug swatter



Hey, those electric bug swatters are the ticket for general nuisance insects. You can often catch them on sale at harbor freight for three or four bucks. A couple D cells will last all summer. I've given away ten or twelve of them, and so far everyone has been tickled with them. I keep one with me if I'm gonna be in the garden, be it day or night.


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## csshih (Aug 1, 2009)

haha, I like those electric bug swatters, but I hate it when I hit one of those extra fat and juicy flies *pop* stuff gets sprayed everywhere! :sick2:


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## defloyd77 (Aug 8, 2009)

If I had the money and skill, I'd try modding a rebel PT EOS with an amber rebel. But I don't have either, but I think that would be an awesome headlamp.


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## Ralph_S (Aug 11, 2009)

Bugs veer off at the last moment, missing my face, after first heading toward the light. Could they see some reflection of themselves in my glasses, and get scared? If so, I could enhance the effect with a piece of plastic mirror below the light. The tab on the Myo XP diffuser directs a bit of light toward my face and glasses. Maybe they suspect a trap. Really, I don't want to eat them!

Maybe I could suspend some fine mono-filament fishing line in front of my face, implying a spider web. The reflections from the fishing line probably would be too much for me. Just thinking.

I have not been in really buggy situations lately, so maybe I would get dive-bombed if there were more bugs.


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## Chade (Aug 11, 2009)

I can confirm that red leds are extremely effective for this purpose. Bugs dont even seam to notice the light. Note that this is coming from a person the generally considers most nonwhite light options a gimmick in most situations.


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## gsxrac (Aug 21, 2009)

Update: I ordered an H60 from the Zebralight site (How long does shipping normally take?) And I almost grabbed a H501r at the same time but decided against it since it was "only" 33lm on high but the whole purpose of a red headlamp for me would probably be for fishing, draining, or other urban exploration when im not trying to stick out like a hippie at a gun show.


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## traplight (Sep 6, 2009)

Sarge has the right idea... Spent my early childhood growing up on (in?) the swamps of Florida USA. If there's one place on the planet that has bugs 24/7, it's there! Couldn't really avoid the bugs at high speed on a boat (as he spits out another moth wing)... but, for pulling over ,fishing a few spots, and drinking a few... a ballcap hat with your favorite bug repellant sprayed on the bill (topside AND bottomside) was a surefire way to avoid the flying critters.


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## Phatty McPatty (Sep 18, 2009)

I agree, most night bugs are attracted to the higher Kelvin color temperatures (neutral white to blue). Off topic, but I changed all of my vehicle's forward lights to 6,000 K. white and immediately noticed more bugs flying into the headlights.Moonlight is very blue, which many nocternal insects use to navigate. Most "white" LEDs are bluish, 6,000 K., so they are naturally attracted to them. I'd also suggest using a Red LED setup, or if you want to avoid looking like your own personal military operation, "warm white" LEDs (3,200 Kelvin) if you can find one.Patrick


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## ieslei (Nov 4, 2011)

Wow, i was going to make a thread with the same subject! I had a problem making a fire couple of weeks ago using my Q Mini AA attached to my head. Millions of bugs hitting my face and i couldnt even breath.... I dont remember the situation but i think i swallowed a few :sick2: I shouldnt be doing so since Im vegetarian :huh: It makes me wonder because here in Brazil it was winter when that happened...i was trying to imagine in summer season... The bugs are going to have me swallowed up next time...lol

Thanks folks...I`ll try to use a yellow filter of some kind in the future  see if it helps


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## Bolster (Nov 4, 2011)

The only area in which I dislike headlamps, is the bug problem under discussion here.


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## varuscelli (Nov 4, 2011)

A couple of weeks ago I was out working on some equipment on the side of my garage, late at night with my headlamp the only light anywhere in the vicinity. It was pretty warm out so I was dressed for summer (shorts, T-shirt). While I was working, I simultaneously heard and felt a large flying bug land on my bare leg around my ankle. It felt like a big grasshopper or the like, and I shook it off by kicking my leg out. 

A few seconds later, it hit me again, bouncing off my shoulder then bumping off my head a couple of times before landing on my shirt. 

I looked down and it was one of the biggest cockroaches I have ever seen. 

I've got a real aversion to roaches (especially large ones), so I slapped it away as quickly as I could. But it came right back, swooping into me, bouncing off my head and shoulders as I hightailed it around the edge of the garage while ripping at my headlamp to get the bright cockroach attractant off my head. 

From life experience living on the Texas gulf coast, I feel that only the most desperate or insane of cockroaches take to the air, sounding much like an erratically hovering and diving buzz bomb when they do. It was a most unsettling experience. I don't mind small bugs much at all...they're just a nuisance. But a large, flying cockroach...ugh, that's one of my few real bug fears in life. I really felt as though this one was going for the kill...and the target was me (well, OK -- maybe the target was my headlamp, but still...). :ironic:


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## Ian2381 (Nov 4, 2011)

I always use my headlamps during my mountain hiking trips and there are times that I have problems with bugs so I just make sure that my headlamps have a clip to attach to my waist when bugs are abundant, you never know when you'll need your hands free. AT camp I just have a bright Flashglight with diffuser attached to a tree and let the flies fly around it,I never did encounter a situation we got infested with too much bugs.


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## MikeAusC (Nov 5, 2011)

Chade said:


> I can confirm that red leds are extremely effective for this purpose. Bugs dont even seam to notice the light. . . . .



Years ago before I had any LED lights, I removed a European Wasp Nest using a torch with red cellophane over it.

Seemed to be invisible to them.


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