Insect Traps

[shorty]

I've tried to use fly traps with very little success. How many does your trap catch per day?

The amount of flies my traps catch is really variable and depends heavily on temperature and what attractant(s) I am using. On a warm day it can catch anywhere from ten to twenty flies within a few hours, but, like I said, it really varies. I also check the traps frequently and remove the flies as quickly as I can before they die. It also helps that I put the traps on my back porch, where the garbage cans are located. There are always lots of flies buzzing around out there, but I have noticed a significant drop in the number of flies I see since the temps have dropped into the upper 50's (Fahrenheit). For example, I only caught one fly all day today.

If you can design a good trap it will work beautifully, but if your method already works great you might as well just stick with that. I just like the advantage of the traps doing all the work for me. And I also have a dog that defecates all over the backyard, and I too was catching them off the feces for a while, lol. I'm glad I don't need to do that anymore.

 

[Precarious]

If you can design a good trap it will work beautifully, but if your method already works great you might as well just stick with that. I just like the advantage of the traps doing all the work for me. And I also have a dog that defecates all over the backyard, and I too was catching them off the feces for a while, lol. I'm glad I don't need to do that anymore.

I would love to use a trap, but, like I said, I'm feeding over 30 mantids so I don't think a trap would cut it. The big ones eat a lot of flies! Besides, nothing keeps the ego in check like dealing with poop.

I ordered the Zoo Med Bug Napper. I hope it helps! For $40 it better catch something.

 

[shorty]

I would love to use a trap, but, like I said, I'm feeding over 30 mantids so I don't think a trap would cut it. The big ones eat a lot of flies! Besides, nothing keeps the ego in check like dealing with poop.

I ordered the Zoo Med Bug Napper. I hope it helps! For $40 it better catch something.

Well, you could just make several traps, use different attractants in each of them, and place them all in different locations; this way you could catch a variety of insects in the amount you require. And you could always use traps and the poop-trap method in tandem.

And, yeah, for $40 that thing better catch more than just something, it should be able to feed most of your inverts for that price! I was thinking about getting one too, but it's kind of late in the season to be using traps now. The temperature has been consistently in the upper 50s to lower 60s. You'd be surprised how much colder it gets up here compared to just a hundred miles or so to the south. When my Ma was in Washington, D.C. recently, it was in the 90s there and in the lower 60s here. You might have a longer season where you live.

 

[ismart]

I would love to use a trap, but, like I said, I'm feeding over 30 mantids so I don't think a trap would cut it. The big ones eat a lot of flies! Besides, nothing keeps the ego in check like dealing with poop.

I ordered the Zoo Med Bug Napper. I hope it helps! For $40 it better catch something.

Just be careful with the plastic pieces. If you drop them, there is a good chance they will break! I found that out the hard way!

 

[Wallace Grover]

I use a really sophisticated technique, that most of you probably couldnt recreate at home.

1. Kick around in some tall grass, look for grasshoppers

2. Grab one (i.e. clumsily dive and flail until you find a lazy one) and cup it in your hand

3. ?????

4. Profit!! (om nom nom)

 

[lancaster1313]

I use a really sophisticated technique, that most of you probably couldnt recreate at home.

1. Kick around in some tall grass, look for grasshoppers

2. Grab one (i.e. clumsily dive and flail until you find a lazy one) and cup it in your hand

3. ?????

4. Profit!! (om nom nom)

:lol: I do that, but with a butterfly net from the Dollar store, and a container. I can get quite a few hoppers in one trip that way. It also works to send my kid out to do the work while I watch her.

 

[Wallace Grover]

Bahaha, I should probably get a net. I never knew grasshoppers could fly a little

 

[sjb123]

i have chickens that ###### all over the garden - i use a net over their

 

[Precarious]

i have chickens that ###### all over the garden - i use a net over their

It would be silly not to take advantage of all that free food, right?

 

[sporeworld]

Hey, Precarious!

How did it go with that insect catcher thingee you mentioned above...?

 

[Precarious]

Hey, Precarious!

How did it go with that insect catcher thingee you mentioned above...?

Waste of money. All I get are beetles and very small moths. I'm sure placement is everything but I have limited choices where to hang it because it needs to plug in and it must remain under a roof in case of rain.

Dog poop is still the ultimate draw for free mantis food.

 

[sporeworld]

Darn. Was hoping for a set it and forget it moth catcher. :-(

Good thing I didn't spontaneously order it, huh? Oh, wait. I did...

Doh!