Return to moth trapping!

Return to moth trapping!

Moths have taken a back seat in the last few years, but modern LEDs have given me renewed enthusiasm. Especially if there is a chance of a lightweight, portable solution enabling me to go further afield than the garden.

I bought a small book on building your own trap, which was useful for the electronics, but I couldn't get a UV bulb compatible with the design ( I did trap 3 moths with this method and a purple LED). Fortunately, I have now found a good supplier of UV LEDs (Future Eden), and my prototype suspended over my existing "Skinner trap" worked well on it's first evening. Despite the batteries running out in the early hours, the mornings results were more encouraging with a dozen or so moths. Also throughout the evening, you could see insect activity near the bulbs, which is a good sign.

So my next step will be to replace the heavy wooden box with a lighter design, make it all a bit more robust and showerproof, then think about taking it to different habitats in the local area. I am also tempted to double up on the bulbs.. the components all pretty cheap to buy.

I should clarify, that all the moths caught are safely released the following morning.