Lighting your own garden creates a sense of security and atmosphere, particularly when you can enjoy the plants in the soft glow of the lights. You can use lighting in a way that meets both your needs and the needs of the environment.
Lighting should not cause insects and other animals to lose their sense of direction and, for example, struggle to find food. After all, without insects, our beautiful trees and flowerbeds will not be visited and cannot be pollinated.
So what can be done to make the garden more insect friendly whilst still providing lighting? One solution lies in choosing the right light colour.
Lighting should not cause insects and other animals to lose their sense of direction and, for example, have trouble finding food.
So what can we do to make the garden more insect friendly whilst still providing lighting? One solution lies in choosing the right light colour.
Nocturnal insects are attracted to light that contains a particularly high proportion of blue wavelengths. We refer to this light as ‘cool light’. Neutral white light falls within the areas of 3300 to 5300 Kelvin, whilst daylight white light is above 5300 Kelvin. So the colder the light, the more likely insects are to be drawn to the lights, causing them to fly towards them disoriented and without any food.
The more red light there is, the less attractive it is to certain nocturnal insects; however, Gold Light (or Amber Light) also has other benefits for us. The warm white light is reminiscent of a sunset, bringing a cosy, relaxing atmosphere to the garden! The colour temperature of Gold Light ranges between 2200 and 3000 Kelvin.
The effect depends not only on the light colour but also on brightness, radiation, lighting duration, location and insect species. Warm light with a low blue component can reduce the attractiveness to many nocturnal insects, but it is no substitute for comprehensive nature conservation.
2. Where should I direct my light?
In the garden, we like to highlight the things we’re proud of: neatly trimmed shrubs, stately trees and our favourite flowerbeds. To avoid disturbing wildlife, it’s important to consider how the light is directed.
Animals move around their territory under cover of night in search of food. Outdoor lighting can create so-called ‘light corridors’, which restrict their territory and can therefore affect their foraging behaviour. To avoid this, it is sufficient not to illuminate the entire garden, but to create unlit areas where animals can move about undisturbed. Furthermore, the interplay of light and shadow lends the garden additional depth
and makes it look more interesting!
3. How can we use lighting responsibly?
Many animals are nocturnal and move about under cover of darkness. If we now light up the garden later into the night, the animals are unable to go in search of food; we are disrupting their natural routine. For this reason, it is important to light only those areas that are actually used: if you’re barbecuing on the patio, you don’t need light in the front garden.
Whilst some areas require light for orientation, in others it creates an atmospheric ambience. When choosing lighting for these areas, make sure to select surfaces that do not reflect light unnecessarily. Dimmable lights help to adjust the brightness and create an atmospheric ambience that reduces the impact on wildlife. You can find out more about dimming in our lighting lexicon.
When the evening on the terrace or in the garden is over and you are leaving the garden, the lights should be switched off. Trees, shrubs and flowerbeds, in particular, should not be left on overnight. If you do not need to go out again at night, switch off any additional path lighting as well.
For lighting paths where it is necessary, lights with built-in motion detectors are ideal; these switch on as soon as someone approaches and switch off automatically after a few seconds. In this way, a responsible approach to outdoor lighting not only protects the environment but also saves you money.
Information on the effects of light pollution on nocturnal animals from the German Electrical and Digital Industry Association (ZVEI)
Recommendation from BUND Schleswig-Holstein: Warm light colour: Warm white and yellow light colours (below 2700 Kelvin) attract fewer insects than cold, bluish-white light. So-called amber LEDs with amber-coloured light (1800 Kelvin) are ideal.
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“Amber lights prove their worth in tests”: Study “BAhnhofsLicht insect friendly” July to October 2023 and April to June 2024, The project partners are the German Centre for Railway Research (DZSF) at the Federal Railway Authority, the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) at the Museum Koenig in Bonn, and Deutsche Bahn InfraGO AG. Source
Three studies by the WSL (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research) and EKZ (Zurich Cantonal Electricity Works)
2017: Insects prefer dim lighting
2019: Warm light attracts fewer insects
“The analysis showed that amber-coloured light attracts significantly fewer insects than light with a colour temperature of 3000 to 4000 Kelvin.”
2021: Influence of light colour and luminaire shape in dark locations
Study period: Mid-June 2021 to the end of August 2024, each summer. Source
Star Park UNESCO Rhön Biosphere Reserve + Dark Sky Working Group of the Association of Stargazers: Recommendations for reducing light pollution
Private lighting: “Only warm white light with colour temperatures below 3000 K, preferably 2200–2700 K, may be used.” Source
The attractiveness of modern light bulbs to nocturnal insects: Results of a field study in Tyrol
Mag. Dr Peter Huemer, Mag. Hannes Kühtreiber, Mag. Dr Gerhard Tarmann; Innsbruck, December 2010. Source
Study on the attraction of nocturnal insects to street lighting, including LEDs
Gerhard Eisenbeis and Klaus Eick: Natur und Landschaft 86, 2011, p. 298
Licht.de – an industry initiative of the German Electrical and Digital Industry Association (ZVEI e.V.) regarding the Insect Protection Act within the framework of the amendment to the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG): “For street lighting, the colour temperature must not exceed 3,000 Kelvin and its light emission above 90 degrees must be zero.”
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