I’ve become slightly obsessed with moths recently. I’ve tinkered over the last few years with a homemade moth trap but wasn’t having much success so I decided to try and refine it.

I found a plastic bucket in the local bits and bobs shop that seem the right size. I cut out a hole in the middle of it to allow the moths in. This would also have made it easy for rain to fall in so I added a piece of old tube I had laying around and siliconed it in place.

As we are in quite a built up area I decided to try a blacklight which I suspended from the handle

I also added a normal bulb to see how bright I could get away with. I’ve also filled it with egg boxes for the moths to settle in

The handle was a bit unstable so the lights now attached by some clip-on lightbulb holders

The moths weren’t staying so I painted the bucket black to try and help them settle. This seems to have helped retention quite a lot. I’ve also added a rain guard made from an old bird feeder tray to stop the bulb getting wet in the lovely Welsh weather. As I didn’t get any complaints I’m now trialling a new light. It is a 100w reptile light, it gives out a lot of UV. Results seem pretty good.

It’s quite bright so I have to position it carefully so the light doesn’t fall on neighbouring houses

It seems to work really well and I’ve caught some amazing moths (which I will post later).
Easy to make and cheap! Well worth a try.