Hi all,
As some of you will no doubt be aware from my repeated postings to the ID section of the forum, earlier this year I started running a moth trap from my home in SW London. I use an Actinic Skinner trap, placed on my roof terrace, away from the neighbours' windows.
My efforts have been pretty hit and miss so far, with some quite good nights and some traps from which I've literally caught nothing. All this while reading of others' major successes... so, apart from my location (urban), the specific placement of the trap (away from much greenery), the fact that I use a low power bulb and so on, I wondered if I was getting some elements of the technique wrong...
So I'd appreciate some insight from anyone who can take the time, on the following topics.... the standard guides online are very useful in a general sense, but haven't given much specific guidance on these questions, as far as I can tell...
1. When to start?
What time is best to switch the light on? Dusk, or when it gets fully dark, or does it not matter?
2. When to stop?
What about switching off? Should I run the trap until daylight, or dawn, or switch it off whilst it's still dark (e.g. if I check it at midnight and there's nothing in there, is that a sign that I should abandon my efforts for the evening?).
If I switch it off, I guess I need to block up the trap so that nothing can escape?
3. Trap contents
I've followed the guidance and used egg boxes in the trap, but again, I often find nothing in there. I guess this is probably a function of there being no moths attracted in the first place, but is there a better alternative or other things that I could add to make it more hospitable?
I'm sure I can think of more, but those will do for now...
Rich.
As some of you will no doubt be aware from my repeated postings to the ID section of the forum, earlier this year I started running a moth trap from my home in SW London. I use an Actinic Skinner trap, placed on my roof terrace, away from the neighbours' windows.
My efforts have been pretty hit and miss so far, with some quite good nights and some traps from which I've literally caught nothing. All this while reading of others' major successes... so, apart from my location (urban), the specific placement of the trap (away from much greenery), the fact that I use a low power bulb and so on, I wondered if I was getting some elements of the technique wrong...
So I'd appreciate some insight from anyone who can take the time, on the following topics.... the standard guides online are very useful in a general sense, but haven't given much specific guidance on these questions, as far as I can tell...
1. When to start?
What time is best to switch the light on? Dusk, or when it gets fully dark, or does it not matter?
2. When to stop?
What about switching off? Should I run the trap until daylight, or dawn, or switch it off whilst it's still dark (e.g. if I check it at midnight and there's nothing in there, is that a sign that I should abandon my efforts for the evening?).
If I switch it off, I guess I need to block up the trap so that nothing can escape?
3. Trap contents
I've followed the guidance and used egg boxes in the trap, but again, I often find nothing in there. I guess this is probably a function of there being no moths attracted in the first place, but is there a better alternative or other things that I could add to make it more hospitable?
I'm sure I can think of more, but those will do for now...
Rich.