Bad start

[Dave Hallam]

Not good tonight, chav's up the road have their music blasting out

I got a couple of moths.

1. Square Spot Rustic?

2. Square Spot Rustic?


3. White Shouldered House?


4. This is a side on shot of the Agraphila from the night before, see above, any more thoughts? Agriphila geniculea?

[Graham Barker]

hello dave

i would definately go for building a trap and using actinic bulbs....i am surrounded by houses though luckily a couple of high fences stop light penetrating the neighbours windows...i ues a 15 watt actinic, though would probably get away with using maybe something a little brighter...though definately not a mv lamp!!.....
ive included a link below for the guy who supplied my electrics...i built the trap itself out of an old recycling box our local council used to use prior to wheely bins....though basically the trap is a box without a lid, just a strut to support the actinic bulb....easy to assemble...then just get yourself some baffles, i use clear plastic sheeting from b&q...then stick dozen empty egg boxes in the trap for the moths to crawl in to...easy...
my catches arent always great, ranging from 4 moths to around 40 moths, brighter light usually means more moths...however....this year ive had around 110 species for the garden, better than last years 90 or so...total numbers seem down comparative....

obviously i use a timer for leaving the trap on over night....i use small plastic pots to contain moths, quite cheap, we have a very cheap shop here called e.s.k. (some say it stands for extra special krap...and indeed some of it is!!...im sure you could get the plastic pots from a pound shop...)...though if i catch lots i simply put an old egg box in a lunch box / container...some people store the moths in the fridge till the next night rather than letting them go immediately as birds can get quite clever and learn when you empty the trap and simply sit around waiting for breakfast to arrive...

heres a simple plan to build a trap...it really is easy....

contact

...and heres a link to a guy called paul batty who will assist you in what you need, just electrics or a complete set up and varying range of options...

Mercury Vapour MAIN PAGE

hope this helps....and dont give up....its great fun....

graham