Your moth trap set up (1 Viewer)

[Oleander]

Here's some pictures of my new trap that I've built. I am really proud of it! o I have no water proof choke so it is screwed to the bottom. I think mine is one of those that usually lampposts have.

Would be fun to see other traps and the area where you trap!

 

[honeym]

Hi Kalle

To get the ball rolling, here are some photos of my set-up at two of the locations where I trap - the Wildlife Garden at the Natural History Museum and at the London Wetland Centre, London.

The trap is a standard Robinson with a 125w mv bulb.

Martin

 

[honeym]

... and here's a pretty awful photo of one of my traps in operation on the dunes at Es Comú, s'Albufera, Mallorca.

Best wishes

Martin

 

[Birdspotter]

Here's some pictures of my new trap that I've built. I am really proud of it! o I have no water proof choke so it is screwed to the bottom. I think mine is one of those that usually lampposts have.

Would be fun to see other traps and the area where you trap!

A very nice job there:t:

As someone who has also constructed a very similar trap I am very interested to know just what you used as the fixings/struts for your rain shield as I am trying to work out how to rig up my rainshield without much luck.
I did buy two L shape shelving brackets with the idea of fixing the rainguard to these but they proved to be too small, leaving very little gap between the top of the bulb and the perspex rainguard.

Any ideas?

cheers

Calum

 

[Oleander]

A very nice job there:t:

As someone who has also constructed a very similar trap I am very interested to know just what you used as the fixings/struts for your rain shield as I am trying to work out how to rig up my rainshield without much luck.
I did buy two L shape shelving brackets with the idea of fixing the rainguard to these but they proved to be too small, leaving very little gap between the top of the bulb and the perspex rainguard.

Any ideas?

cheers

Calum

Hi, Calum!

You have to excuse my English here, I am not very comfortable with all these words but I'll try to explain how I did it. It's not complicated!

I bought 2x of 1m threaded rods that I cut into 4x 30cm rods. Then I drilled 4 holes in the plywood (with the same diameter as the rods), which the lamp is placed on, and 4 holes in the perspex. Then I just used screw-nuts to hold it together. 16 nuts, 4 on each side of the perspex and 4 on each side of the piece of ply.

Very simple and it looks great! The perspex I used was cut into 35x35 cm and my trap is 45x45 cm. I think that will do to protect the bulb.

Hope that helps!

 

[Birdspotter]

Hi, Calum!

You have to excuse my English here, I am not very comfortable with all these words but I'll try to explain how I did it. It's not complicated!

I bought 2x of 1m threaded rods that I cut into 4x 30cm rods. Then I drilled 4 holes in the plywood (with the same diameter as the rods), which the lamp is placed on, and 4 holes in the perspex. Then I just used screw-nuts to hold it together. 16 nuts, 4 on each side of the perspex and 4 on each side of the piece of ply.

Very simple and it looks great! The perspex I used was cut into 35x35 cm and my trap is 45x45 cm. I think that will do to protect the bulb.

Hope that helps!

Hi Kalle,

Perfectly explained and in perfect English too, thanks for that.

With time getting on I really need to get the rain shield sorted, especially as I will need it living here in Scotland.

Thanks

Calum.

 

[Surreybirder]

I've not really got the hang of taking a photo that shows the trap in use but here are a couple of pix.
The green one was made by our county recorder, which he lent me for a few years... it gradually deteriorated as the perspex was getting very brittle. You can see that it attracted a hornet.
I bought the commercial Robinson a year ago.
Also, a reminder of the delights of counting large yellow underwings :-O
Ken

 

[joshjenkinsshaw]

This is my trap, Skinner Moth Trap - 240V MV bought from Alana ecology.

http://www.alanaecology.com/acatalog/MV_Skinner_Moth_Trap.html

 

[The Hairy Highlander]

I've just purchased an inverter and a 'black light' for my home made trap so I'm gonna try it out tonight at my local NR, Calluloe in fife, fingers crossed it'll bring me my first moths of the year!! I'll try and get some pics and post the results tomorrow....

 

[Atricapilla]

Hi, Calum!

You have to excuse my English here, I am not very comfortable with all these words but I'll try to explain how I did it. It's not complicated!

I bought 2x of 1m threaded rods that I cut into 4x 30cm rods. Then I drilled 4 holes in the plywood (with the same diameter as the rods), which the lamp is placed on, and 4 holes in the perspex. Then I just used screw-nuts to hold it together. 16 nuts, 4 on each side of the perspex and 4 on each side of the piece of ply.

Very simple and it looks great! The perspex I used was cut into 35x35 cm and my trap is 45x45 cm. I think that will do to protect the bulb.

Hope that helps!

That's a really great design,can you tell us what the gap measures between the 2 sloping pieces of perpex at the bottom as I would like to try and make one.
Thanks

 

[Oleander]

That's a really great design,can you tell us what the gap measures between the 2 sloping pieces of perpex at the bottom as I would like to try and make one.
Thanks

Make the gap about 2,5 cm. Not too big for the smaller moths to find their way out, and not to small for the hawks to get in!

 

[Atricapilla]

Make the gap about 2,5 cm. Not too big for the smaller moths to find their way out, and not to small for the hawks to get in!

Thanks a lot,construction has begun !!!!! :t:

 

[rob lee]

Heres mine that i built a couple of years ago now. I originally started building a skinner type & then somebody gave me the tub so i used that instead. The top is plywood covered with sheet plastic. I may get some thicker gauge plastic & make a robinson type collar that would shed the rain/dew off, otherwise its fine as it is. Total cost about £45 with the electrics.

 

[Birdspotter]

Hi Guys,

Here's a photo of my recently finished 125 MV trap, plans of which can easily be obtained from the web.

The Electrics priced c £70 I sourced from Paul Batty, as I was not happy at putting my own together, as you only live once apparently!

The wood for my trapping box I sourced for free from work, with my only costs the following:
1 x sheet Perspex £35 from B&Q.
1 x tin Wood Stain £12.99 from B&Q.
2 x 6mm threaded rods from Jewson c£2 each.

As I made two traps, one for me another for a mate of mine, that meant that the above costs were halved, so in total the cost of my trap complete with electrics ran at just under £100, the box section ran at a cost of just £24 :t:

The only tips I might add whilst building this trap for yourself, is that whilst I taped up where I wanted to cut the perspex with masking tape using a jigsaw coupled with a fine blade (using a fine blade with the masking tape avoids any chaffing or splits) I failed to use a guide for straight lines, as a result this meant that the jig had a mind of its own at times and my lines were less than straight, this is only a minor quibble though, besides at £35 a sheet I wasnt going to run out and buy a new one:-O

The rainguard was put together using a spare bit of perspex, drill four 6mm holes in it as well as in the wooden strut that holds the light.
Cut your 6mm threaded rods to size (I bought two of these, but maybe have got away with buying just one), then just screw a bolt on either side of the rod down 1-2 inches and place in pre-drilled holes, thanks for this tip Oleander:t:.

Just need some decent weather now to try it out.

 

[Surreybirder]

I'm impressed, Birdspotter. I hope you get your adrenalin rush from some moths in the near future!
Ken

 

[Birdspotter]

I'm impressed, Birdspotter. I hope you get your adrenalin rush from some moths in the near future!
Ken

Cheers for that, cant wait for the rush of my first Hawk Moth:t:

 

[The Hairy Highlander]

At LONG last!!!!

Happy days! I've just finished building my moth trap, all I need now is for the night to come!

 

[Azzy]

I've never seen traps like these before, it's very interesting. So the idea is that the moths flying towards the light, bump into the plastic which makes them drop down into the tub, usually funneled through a small hole that they can't make their way out through again? Looks really cool

 

[Oleander]

Azzy, you summed it up good there. Then you can take pictures of the moths in the morning, count them and then release them. It's really exciting because you never know what will come.

 

[Surreybirder]

Happy days! I've just finished building my moth trap, all I need now is for the night to come!

Great stuff, HH! It looks good. Might be worth rigging up some sort of rain shield?
Ken