Releasing your catch

[leigh]

I have just noticed a blackbird searching through the area where I released last nights catch. Now I’m thinking it would be better to release my captures away from the garden.
What do you do with your moths?

[Adam Cheeseman]

I just let them go where I catch them. Robins and some other birds have sussed that they can get into Robinson traps for a free feed and then fly out again.

Cheers,

Adam

[earthdragon64]

I generally wait until it's getting dark before releasing them, after most birds are roosting, I feel they are too vulnerable to predation during a daylight release. At night there are just bats that might get them.

When I'm trapping overnight, I get up at first light and cover the trap and move it into my garage, otherwise the local Robin treats the trap as an all you can eat buffet. In the middle of June, that means getting up at about 2.30am, I usually manage to get back off to sleep pretty quickly though.

[acherontia]

Originally Posted by earthdragon64

I generally wait until it's getting dark before releasing them, after most birds are roosting, I feel they are too vulnerable to predation during a daylight release. At night there are just bats that might get them.

When I'm trapping overnight, I get up at first light and cover the trap and move it into my garage, otherwise the local Robin treats the trap as an all you can eat buffet. In the middle of June, that means getting up at about 2.30am, I usually manage to get back off to sleep pretty quickly though.

Good advice!
It's really nice to see that moth traps are treated as a 'friend' and a very good recording device instead of an hysterical over reaction to 'trapping' stuff.
In my experience moths just treat them as a nice little bunkering in homey nest and as long as you release sympathetically it can do nothing but good to record what is in your area.

Acher

[leigh]

When i was going through the traps this morning there were 4 blackbirds watching, waiting. One swooped down to the table as i was taking a egg tray of moths out of the trap. I have put the catch into a covered box so i can release them tonight.

[Jenny W]

If you are keeping them throughout the day to release at night, just be sure to keep them somewhere dark and cool so that they don't warm up too much and start flapping about during the day and damage themselves in the trap or escape! I've done it before when I haven't had time to actually go through the trap in the morning and found that many had escaped!