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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Your moth trap set up (1 Viewer)

Surreybirder said:
Great stuff, HH! It looks good. Might be worth rigging up some sort of rain shield?
Ken
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Absolutely Ken, I've got some clear perspex in the garage, I'm gonna cut out a circle and attach it to the vanes a la Robinson stylee...Not to bother about the risk of rain for tonight however, just a bit bothered about having to deal with millions of moths, here's hoping anyway!! :t:
 
Got a few pics of my trap finally at work...

#1 - The SUMO Genny
#2 - The grand turn on
#3 - the bulb a bit more warmed up
 

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Oleander said:
Azzy, you summed it up good there. Then you can take pictures of the moths in the morning, count them and then release them. It's really exciting because you never know what will come.
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Thanks :p It's a really clever idea. Though I had a thought, is it a good idea to release them during the day, as in, being nocturnal, are they likely to be easily picked off by birds etc if you release them in the day time? Or does it not seem to be a problem?
 
Azzy said:
Thanks :p It's a really clever idea. Though I had a thought, is it a good idea to release them during the day, as in, being nocturnal, are they likely to be easily picked off by birds etc if you release them in the day time? Or does it not seem to be a problem?
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I usually release them in the morning in bushes, tall grass and similar things where the birds can't see them. I don't know any better way ;)
 
Nice to see all these well made traps and good designs, and showing the fun part of building the traps too.
I do have a thread showing how I build my moth traps here:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=95708

Anyway, here are the traps that I use now:

Setup1: My main trap, a quite large bucket trap with a 60 cm funnel and 400w MV light.

Setup 2: A 12V battery powered bucket trap, using 2x Ø12 cm UV cold cathode tubes.

Setup 3: Most for showing the landscape where I live and do my main moth trapping all trough the season. Picture showing a trap with a lamp that did not work so well- a 125w Envirolite ESL. This trap is now equipped with a large funnel like the Setup1 trap, and with 125w MV light.

Setup 4: This is a new trap for this year, with a 35 cm funnel. I have a 12V solar switch equipped 22w actinic tube setup from Paul Batty for this trap, and solar cell panel for charging the 12V battery in the field- and for use when living at my cottage in summertime, where there is no electricity.

Svein B
 

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Svein nice traps ;)

Have a couple of questions. Does that big 400W MV attract a lot of more moths than an regular 125W? And about that actinic set up from Paul Batty.. I tried to contact him via email once last year about buying a set up, but didn't get any response. Does he sell stuff to others outside Britain? How did you get in contact with him?
 
Oleander said:
Svein nice traps ;)

Have a couple of questions. Does that big 400W MV attract a lot of more moths than an regular 125W? And about that actinic set up from Paul Batty.. I tried to contact him via email once last year about buying a set up, but didn't get any response. Does he sell stuff to others outside Britain? How did you get in contact with him?
Click to expand...

Hi Oleander,

Paul Batty has a web page (sorry cant do links, but a simple google will do), he can be contacted via e-mail from his webpage.

I have used him a couple of times, he is excellent and always comes forward with any questions I have asked, I once ordered a bit of kit worth £30, but he didnt have it but supplied me anyway with the next model up worth double the price, but sold it to me for the £30,top bloke:t:.
 
Oleander said:
Svein nice traps ;)

Have a couple of questions. Does that big 400W MV attract a lot of more moths than an regular 125W? And about that actinic set up from Paul Batty.. I tried to contact him via email once last year about buying a set up, but didn't get any response. Does he sell stuff to others outside Britain? How did you get in contact with him?
Click to expand...

Thanks Oleander, nice trap to You to (the new way to say hello mothers between?? ) ;)

The 400w is (in my opinion) far better in the open locations like where I live (see my photo..) and up in the mountains, and in the weeks of the Year when nights are brightest. In more closed locations the 125w seems to be the best choice. The 125w will give You plenty of moths to deal with, no need to worry :)

I know Paul Batty was a bit busy last summer, and for a long periode not easy to get in contact with. Give it a try now, he is more than happy to help us from outside UK too, a very kind and serious person. You will reach him from his website.

Svein B
 
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Okey, thanks for the replies! I don't need anything right now, but good to know that I can contact him if I do.

Guess I don't need a 400W MV then, since my garden is pretty much surrounded by trees :)
 
Are you mostly using mains electricity? If not what batteries do you use? Have been wanting to build a moth trap for a couple of years now but never quite got my head round it, seeing these is getting all the cogs spinning again!
 
turkish van said:
Are you mostly using mains electricity? If not what batteries do you use? Have been wanting to build a moth trap for a couple of years now but never quite got my head round it, seeing these is getting all the cogs spinning again!
Click to expand...

An Actinic will run off a 12V car battery (or a similar one sold specifically for the job). MV (Mercury Vapour) bulb traps run off the mains or require a generator.

... not sure if you can build an actinic so easily from scratch though?? Or is it that if you're going to diy, you may as well go for the 'better' one to start with...?
 
turkish van said:
Are you mostly using mains electricity? If not what batteries do you use? Have been wanting to build a moth trap for a couple of years now but never quite got my head round it, seeing these is getting all the cogs spinning again!
Click to expand...

As Dan mentioned an Acnic run from a car battery gives you mobility, but I can also run mine from the mains, thus best of both worlds.

The bigger & brighter Mercury Vapours are run from the mains, but can also be run away from a power source by using a generator, however these are not cheap.

My advice to you would be to sit down and have a think on what type of trap suits your needs best, once you have decided what type you want then there are plenty of plans and ideas on the web to get you started.

I bought a relatively cheap trap from Paul Batty's web site to start off with at around £100, (trapping box & electrics) although it would be easy to make your own catching box by buying one of these plastic storage boxes and a plastic funnel, then you could buy just your electrics and veins from Paul.

Hope this helps.
 
just about to go and finish building my moth trap. just need screw it all together really. just wondering about the electrics now. what do i need? what do recommend in terms of MV or otherwise? wheres the cheapest and best place to get them from?

Adam
 
Surreybirder said:
http://www.pwbelg.clara.net/mercury/kits/index.html
is a good starting place
Ken
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Still not sure what electrics I want.

I have had a look at both MV and actinic and cant quite make my mind up. I concerned about the neighbours complaining about an MV bulb, so actinic seems the better option. Although the kits I have found for them seem more expensive than for an MV one, hence the not sure bit.

IF I go for an actinic bulb, what will I need to run it of a mains plug? Do the kits I keep finding online come ready done, so its basically plug in and go??

Ditto with an MV bulb/kit.

Adam
 
Adam,
Paul Batty, who runs, that site, is very helpful. I would suggest emailing him. He went to a lot of trouble offering me advice on an earlier set-up I had.
MV will give better catches but it is bright! I am lucky in that I've only got two immediate neighbours and there's a high hedge between us. But I talked to them before I ran my MV trap. I sometimes use an inverted wheelbarrow to shield the light from our own bedroom window (which is on the ground floor) as direct light coming in makes it feel almost like daylight.
Ken
 
Adam,

If you are concerned about your neighbours complaining then I would go actinic. Even then, if you choose one of the brighter actinics, 40 watt say, and have immediate neighbours, I would still get the nod from them beforehand. I say this because I use a 40watt actinic and had my neighbours daughter complain that the light was keeping her awake. I did have the okay from her father beforehand and when I mentioned the problem to him, his response was that his daughter should buy some thicker curtains and stop bloody complaining! |8.| .... now that's what I call a good neighbour! |:D| Anyway, it was the daughters bedroom that the light was effecting so I decided to place a piece of board to shield the light from her bedroom, hence no more complaints and she hasn't bought new curtains, so all is now well in the neighbourhood. :cool:

Tony
 
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My moth trap is having its madien voyage tonight. Thanks for all the help everyone, especially with regards to the electrics, I also borrowed some ideas for a raingaurd as well. Only problem is I have had to make a barrier to stop it shining into the neighbours windows (you were not kidding when you said MV bulbs are bright) so this has limited the area the light can get to and might decrease the number of moths I catch. But any is better than none. With a bit of luck I will annoy the heck out of you lot tomorrow in the ID forum :king:

Adam
 
For those of you with MV's, or those of you who have always thought that generators are too expensive may I suggest you stick this into google-"Sumo SML34GEN 650W Generator"- it is available from Screwfix at just £70.
I bought one about a month ago and am amazed by it. It says it runs for just 5 hrs but will happily run my 125w MV from 21.00 to 06.00 with at least quarter of the tank left over. I can run it for 2 nights on 5 litres of 2 stroke petrol.
An amazing price for a fairly compact generator which you can buy from many large towns to save the delivery cost. I'm not sure it will last as long as some of the £600 generators but so far so good, its just a shame the moths have been so poor down here in Kent!
 
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