Running a MV and actinic trap in close proximity (1 Viewer)

At the moment I run a 125w MV Robinson trap in my small back garden. I'm wondering if there would be any point in also running an actinic trap on the same nights. It would be at the most 10 yards from the MV trap. Would I be wasting my money?

Nick

A friend used to run a series of actinics in a circle around his double mv. However, they were some distance away - roughly where the mv light stopped. In your case I would expect the mv to 'overpower' the actinic and, therefore, be redundant.
That said, why not try it on a good night and see what happens.
Martin

Thanks for that Martin. I'd have to buy the actinic trap first hence my reluctance but I suppose I could run them on alternate nights if indeed the MV dominates the actinic to much. I have the WEM light I've taken abroad before so I think I'll experiment with that first. If you want to attract cicadas try a WEM light. I had to abandon a nights trapping in Taiping in Malaysia recently as the hotel balcony was inundated with cicadas. Horrible sounding things, horror sci-fi stuff. It was a shame as it was the only suitable balcony/ terrace I had during the holiday.

I've been running an MV and actinic trap about 15 yards apart (just paced it out!) for several years. They're both in my back garden but one is by the side of the house so the lights don't 'overlap' to any great extent. The catch in the MV trap is usually greater than the actinic but the species often vary between the traps. As Martin suggests, give it a go, I certainly find it worthwhile.

David

I've run them alongside and also had friends who have run twin traps incorporating actinic and MV together in one trap. This was on the basis that wavelengths would be complimentary:-

http://www.science20.com/anthrophys...veness_shortwavelength_artificial_light-82243

Of course, the problem is that you never have a control!

All the best