Home made Moth Trap for under £15 (1 Viewer)

[janetclark]

Hi folks,

I’ve been busy making my moth trap, the whole thing has cost under £15, I bought scrap peaces of wood used for skirting-boards for £1-50, and the back off an old wall unit (easy to get for nothing from your local tip) one sheet of 2mm Perspex 15” by 15” for £5-27, and the 100w Actinic bulb and mount for just under £4, I still have to buy the electric cable tomorrow witch wont be over £3.

I didn’t use any plans I made it up as I went along, I made a couple of small mistakes, and had to backtrack a bit, but I’m pleased with how it turned out, it’s taken two days to make but I have enjoyed myself.

Janet.

 

[Angus T]

Hi folks,

I’ve been busy making my moth trap, the whole thing has cost under £15, I bought scrap peaces of wood used for skirting-boards for £1-50, and the back off an old wall unit (easy to get for nothing from your local tip) one sheet of 2mm Perspex 15” by 15” for £5-27, and the 100w Actinic bulb and mount for just under £4, I still have to buy the electric cable tomorrow witch wont be over £3.

I didn’t use any plans I made it up as I went along, I made a couple of small mistakes, and had to backtrack a bit, but I’m pleased with how it turned out, it’s taken two days to make but I have enjoyed myself.

Janet.

Fantastic work Janet.

My traps are similar. For rain I left out the wooden bottom and put some weed suppressing fleece in instead. This reduced the weight of the trap as well as letting the water out and keepimg moths in.

If you look at this link, you can see the mention of vertical baffles along the entry slot. These considerably help to keep moths in, so you may like to consider adding them in.

All the best

 

[Surreybirder]

I'm impressed with your DIY skills, Janet!
Did you say 100W actinic bulb? I didn't realise such a thing existed. Or is it an ordinary household 100W bulb? Or an MV ultraviolet bulb (in which case it will need a choke)??
Whatever it is, good luck!
Ken

 

[Grampy Bustard]

Hi folks,

I’ve been busy making my moth trap, the whole thing has cost under £15, I bought scrap peaces of wood used for skirting-boards for £1-50, and the back off an old wall unit (easy to get for nothing from your local tip) one sheet of 2mm Perspex 15” by 15” for £5-27, and the 100w Actinic bulb and mount for just under £4, I still have to buy the electric cable tomorrow witch wont be over £3.

I didn’t use any plans I made it up as I went along, I made a couple of small mistakes, and had to backtrack a bit, but I’m pleased with how it turned out, it’s taken two days to make but I have enjoyed myself.

Janet.

Hi Janet
Well done to you, and using recycled/reclaimed wood is admirable. I am a little confused over the bulb/mount bit as you say it is a 100w actinic. Are you sure you are not using an MV bulb which would run very hot, and need a ballast, and would melt a plastic mount?

A good guide for bulbs can be found at:
http://www.angleps.btinternet.co.uk/guide.pdf

Good luck anyway, and best regards

 

[janetclark]

The Bulb

Hi Mocha & Ken,

I’m sorry I should have been clearer in what bulb I’m using; I asked for an Actinic bulb witch the shop didn’t have but they had another make witch they assured me gives the same lighting effect as the Actinic; it’s a Craftlight 60mm dia. Blue BC-B22d. 240v it looks like a standard blue 100w bulb and doesn’t burn as hot as an MV bulb. I bought two of them and put one in the light on the fence to see if it would work, but it’s done nothing but rain since I put it in, but I’ll let you know how it works as soon as it dries up. Thanks for the tip on the baffles, I'll have a look at them in the morning.

Janet.

 

[Andrew]

The mention of Baffles really baffled me, can anyone please post a pic of them in place and what they look like?

 

[Andrew]

Your moth trap is pretty neat.

How did you cut your perspex without cracking them? I had to have about three attempts!

 

[Angus T]

The mention of Baffles really baffled me, can anyone please post a pic of them in place and what they look like?

I took screenshot of the relevant part of the guide I gave link to in post #2 above, but I couldn't upload it because it was to big, though it was only 18kb in size. When I reduced it, it became illegible.

Anyway have a look at fig 3
and this text
Cut two pieces of perspex 475mm in length by 45mm in depth. These will form the vertical baffles of the trap and can be dropped into the vertical slots in the blocks cut in 2.

I don't have pictures of my traps, so can't show you, and they are not obvious in the picture of the skinner trap in the guide.

 

[Andrew]

Hi Angus,

Are we talking something like the profile sketch attached?

 

[Angus T]

Hi Angus,

Are we talking something like the profile sketch attached?

:clap: excellent, you got it exactly.

 

[janetclark]

Cutting the perspex

Hi everyone,

Firstly thank you all for you kind comments, Andrew asked how did I cut my Perspex, the sheet of Perspex I bought came with a sheet of plastic film on both sides (I don’t know if all Perspex has this on it) but I left the plastic on it, and just used my electric saw that I cut my wood with, I took it slowly and it worked fine. It’s the first time I’ve ever bought Perspex so I had no idea that it might crack and I’ve got the of-cuts left witch today I will fit as baffles.

Janet.

 

[Jamie D]

Hi,

if your bulbs are what I think they are they are just standard light bulbs but with a light blue instead of clear glass. I think they are supposed to simulate daylight better so colours are more natural. I therefore assume that they will be no more effective that a standard light bulb but I could be wrong.

If you want a solution with no choke I think the best solution may be to use a mercury blended tungsten light such as the ones shown at http://www.pwbelg.clara.net/mercury/mbt/index.html

Regards,
Jamie

 

[Andrew]

Thanks Angus and Janet. I did take it slowly but unfortunately got a few cracks and had to start over again.

 

[Angus T]

For cutting the perspex, I did it in a similar manner than if cutting glass, though I don't have a glass cutter.

With a stanley knife and using a straight edge such as a straight length of timber, I repeatedly etched a groove. After a couple of goes the knife tends to stay in the groove.
Maybe after 10 goes of this, you may be a 1/3 way through. Clamp it between two straight pieces of timber with the groove at edge of timber and bend. It should snap along the groove. You needed be too shy with the bending, and you have to bend quite a bit before it snaps.
With the making of the groove, concentrate a bit more at either end. just make it a bit deeper as sometimes the edge didn't snap cleanly.

Hope you can make sense of my clumsy explanation.

 

[Andrew]

Sounds like a good idea mate, I would even do a groove on the other side. I once cut a circular piece like this with a compass point.

 

[Corax67]

Thanks for starting this fantastic thread Janet,

I have been mulling over building a moth trap as I am dying to try out my new Macro lens - you have now given me the incentive to spend the weekend rummaging in the shed in the name of scientific discovery (should get me out of trouble with the family!!).


Angus - your link to the mothing guide is brilliant, easy to understand with a wealth of information - thanks.


Jamie - mercury blended tungsten sounds like a good idea as I have seen these used at a number of ringing sites where moth trapping was also being carried out.

 

[janetclark]

The finnished trap

Hi all,

Here is the finished trap including the baffles, I hope that I haven’t been coned over the light bulbs, I’m hoping to use the trap for the first time tonight, if the bulbs no good I’ll let you know, I can order a MV bulb for between £6 & £7, but buying the ballast might put it up to more than I can afford, if it does I will try to get a proper Actinic bulb. The photos are only 400pix to make it easyer to open.

Janet.

 

[Andrew]

Best of luck tonight janet! :t:

 

[John N]

Good luck Janet. Keep us informed.

 

[Surreybirder]

It's very impressive, Janet. You deserve to catch some good moths.
Keep us posted.
Ken