How to Build Your Own Moth Trap

Book excerpt: This book describes two designs of moth trap in sufficient detail for almost anyone to build using hobbyist skills using easily sourced materials and components. The design of the portable moth trap in this book is the result of several years experimentation with various materials and light sources. None of the experiments was ever a complete failure, but the final design using 0.75 W UV LEDS works about as well as established trap designs using an 8 W actinic tube when used in the countryside. I can easily carry eight of these traps when I am recording in the countryside. A second design, using a 240 Volt mains supply, allows use of brighter bulbs such as 20 W actinic CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) with proportionally larger catches. This mains powered trap is robust enough to be used in all weathers throughout the year, especially when a more robust storage box is used instead of a bucket for a base. In overlooked gardens CFL 'Black-light' bulbs are a good alternative and are unlikely to cause offence.