Organic Answers Column - June 1, 2022
Haint Blue Paint or Repelling Bugs and Evil Spirits
Wasps are beneficial, but when they build nests too close to human activity, they can be dangerous. Other insects are just messy. Spraying repellents does not work very well, but something else does work – very well.
It's called "haint blue" paint. This blue paint helps keep bird nests, spiders, bees, wasps and other insects away. It seems to be a spiritual and cultural custom in the South where it is painted on the door frames, porches and window sills of many homes. This blue/green color or "Haint Blue" is also calming and aesthetically pleasing.
Haint blue paint is reported to have been first used by freed slaves to secure the entry of their homes from spirits. It originated with the Gullah people, African Americans in the Low Country region of the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina. Haint blue color was thought to represent water which spirits cannot pass over. Another theory is that it mimics the sky, tricking the ghosts into passing through. The sky idea is probably what fools the insects and birds. Haint is an alternative spelling of haunt, historically used to refer to spirits, ghosts or witch-like creatures.
The blue pigment was originally made from crushed indigo plants – a common crop on plantations in the American South. Milk paint formulas in the early days were mixed in pits dug right on the properties where the painters were working. One ingredient in the milk paint formula was lime. Some think that lime in the blue paint mixtures was what deterred the insects, not the color itself. Most modern paint formulas do not contain lime, but still seem to work. I think it's just the color because my haint blue paint is inexpensive blue latex and works beautifully.
 Historical drama filmed at a location with haint blue on the porch ceiling. |
The Savannah Historical Society authorized the use of two haint blue paints in 1980. Haint Blue Light is almost a mint green. Haint Blue Dark is a mid-tone teal. Haint blue is probably more of a culturally iconic hue that falls in the light blue to blue-green range rather than an actual, specific color. Some homeowners, me included, like the relaxing feel it creates. Haint blue can be seen today on doors, shutters, and entire buildings but most commonly on porch ceilings and eaves all over the world today.
Haint blue is more of a cultural iconic hue that falls in the light blue to blue-green range rather than a specific color. Here are paint chips of these two colors, but it seems to me that any light blue color is effective.
 Haint Blue Dark |
 Haint Blue Light |
My opinion is that it is worth a try, especially on porch ceilings, gazebo ceilings, etc. And yes, I still recommend allowing the mud daubers and wasps to be present and help with insect control, but this method might help controlling them in high use areas. I continue to be fascinated how clean haint blue surfaces remain - very few insects, webs, wasp nests or bird nests of any kind.
If it works on "haints," that's fine with me, but I know it works on insects and birds. My opinion is that it is worth a try, and yes, I still recommend allowing mud daubers and wasps to be present and help with insect control, but this method helps keeping them out of high use and high visibility areas.
People have used haint blue in work sheds, boathouses, gazebos and other structures. One of our listeners has even painted the inside of his creeping cattle feeder as an experiment to see if it would keep the mud daubers and wasps out of the feeder. So far – success!
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