Help With Making A Moth Trap Please!

[jordanno]

hi can someone tell me how i could make a moth trap ive only got £20 to spend to make one because im only young and dont have much money and dont know were i could get the proper eqipment cheap i want to make a good looking one hopefully one that looks nice not tatty i know what to do for the box i can buy a large plastic box with lid for around £2 but im not sure about the lamp i would prefer a mecury blended because they just go straight to the mains and i dont want to get into the complicated stuff with all the different wires and things and im not sure how to make the trap mechnisiam (the funnel or glass stuff) someone please help.

[jordanno]

can someone at least tell me how to make a skinner or robinson trap (wichever gets the best catches) for £20 please im only 12

[eeyore]

Basically you get you plastic box (dark coured is best) then fix two bits of plywood, hard board, or plastic (or whatever comes to hand) at an angle into the top - leaving a 2 inch or so gap - this is the funnel.

On mine I cut tabs on the boards a little bit longer then the box then made holes in the side with a sharp knife for them to fit into - its very easy to slip and cut yourself so you might want to get a parent to help with this bit.

alternatively if you get one of those boxes with a folding lid you can force the lids downwards and stick a couple of drawing pins in to hold them in place

there are loads of different methods

bulb wise I doubt you have enough budget to get a MV lamp but i have had decentish results using a table lamp with the shade taken off with a 150W domestic bulb - there was no wiring for this I just plugged it into an extension lead

one point to bear in mind is that table lamps arent mean for outdoor use so you need to make sure that it doesnt get wet.

Thats basically it to make a simple skinner type trap

to set up you put your lamp in - and some egg boxes for moths to hide in when trapped (you can get these from the local butcher/supermarket/scrap store or just save them up when you buy eggs, put the funnel bits in position either side of the lamp, turn the lamp on and bosh , you are good to go.

by the way if you can get you hands on a copy of the "new amateur naturalist" by chris packham he covers building moth traps plus allsorts of other nature related activities

Hope this is helpful - and welcome to wab by the way

[eeyore]

also check out this thread for some links to suppliers , ideas etc http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/fo...moth-trap.html

[jordanno]

thnxs for your help ill use a normal light bulb then and look out for a cheap mecuryblenden lamp thing i saw a mecury grow light on ebay for £8 includin packaging but it needs an ignitor and 250 watt somin so im not going to get it i searched mecury blenden lamp two but nothing so ill look out for them how mcuh is a mecury blended lamp anyway?

[eeyore]

actually mercury blended lamps arent expensive , a quick google showed several at under a fiver (we arent allowed to give supplier recomendations on here but if you google with mercury blended lamp as your search terms you ought to find them)

i was thinking of the propper mercury vapour lamps which need a choke and are much more pricey

[jordanno]

cheers ill try and buy one by the way whats a choke?

[goosey]

Thanks jordanno for the orriginal question! I think I will give making one a go in as it doesn't look difficult or expensive. At the mo' I just photograph moths in the garden which can prove tricky.
Thanks eeyore for the comprehensive answer Also jordanno, I don't know what a choke is either so if any one can enlighten us?

[jordanno]

lol im gonna go with my parents when they go shopping hopefully get the box perspex and see if i can find a cheap mecury blended

i wanna trap the moths so i can hold em and look at them and maybe photograph them if their really nice ones i wanna catch some hawk moths too

[eeyore]

a choke is the thing you use to attach a mercury vapour lamp to the mains - I'm right at the limits of my knowledge here so dont take it as gospel - but i think its some sort of step up or down transformer

if you are using a mercury blended then its not necessary anyway ( I think) - I'll pm steve (fourwings) and oscar and ask them to give you a more expert answer