Moth trap advise please

[norfolkgrog]

Hi everyone this is my first post on this forum, ive been luking in the depths for a while.
I have been waiting for a while now to find a couple of strip lights, and yesterday whilst at the tip, I was given a couple, got them home wired them up and they work fine.
Now can I take all the guts out of them, put them into a waterproof box connect to two 30w actinic lamps. The two strip lights are thorn 75w each t8 i think, can I at last sort myself out with a moth trap ???

Thanks

Vernon.

[ornithom]

Hi Vernon,

I admire your pioneering spirit. When I began trapping last year I too made myself a skinner-type box setup, made from a wooden box I obtained from work (cut down to size) and some perspex from B&Q. The electrics, however, I didn't have much experience with but I was fortunate to have a guy working at my local Lampshed in Derby that knew exactly the kind of light/bulb I needed. He sent me of with a 15W Actinic which has worked extremely well in my modest-sized backgarden.

The best thing to do is try it!! If you get some good results post back and let us all know. If you don't catch more than 5 moths then the bulb setup isn't quite right, so you need to investigate a bit further.

I think everyone will agree it's the bulb that makes the difference, it needs to be giving off enough ultra-violet light to pull in the moffs. So things like normal fluorescent indoor lighting don't suffice. You need either Actinic or Mercury Vapour based bulbs, depending on how far you are trapping away from your neighbours. MV is very bright which is why I opt for the Actinic setup.

I must admit I had my doubts when I first started as I thought this wouldn't be powerful enough, but after my first trap I had 15 moths, in April and my largest catch so far is 218!

The next thing you need is plenty of time to process them all!!

Hope that helps and Happy mothing!

Steve T

[nightshade]

I made a skinner with a B&Q folding crate, electrics, I studied the specifications from here Mercury Vapour MAIN PAGE
cheapest to buy is a mercury vapour kit