Collecting Beetles and Others with Blacklight Trap

B

BobBarley18

L1
So I'm looking at starting to blacklight for beetles etc. at night this summer. However I'm up in the air on what blacklight to get. I don't want to spend too much on a full setup with a car battery and pvc pipe and all that so I figured the battery operated UV flashlights would be enough. However, I don't know which is the best to use.

Here are the two that I'm looking at:

$20 one https://www.amazon.com/Escolite-Fla...7&sr=8-12&keywords=blacklight+battery+powered

$40 one https://www.amazon.com/uvBeast-Blac...ons&keywords=blacklight+battery+powered&psc=1

Now obviously I would like to spend only $20 over $40 but if the $40 one is exponentially better then it could be worth it. Thoughts? If there are others you guys prefer let me know. Thanks!

For those of you that don't have a clue what I'm talking about, basically I'm going to stake a large, white tarp overlooking a hill that I know has tons of wildlife (with permission from the landowner) and angle the UV light at it to attract as many insects and other Arthropods as I can. I want to use this method so I can pick and choose what to collect and what to leave. Any tips are appreciated, thanks a bunch!

 
I haven't used a flashlight like this personally but I have a feeling you won't draw in much with it. I use a 400w mercury vapor light with external ballast almost every night during the summer with pretty good results but I wouldn't want to settle for much less. Since it's battery powered you have limited use and flashlights are designed to direct a beam of light which won't be as effective as a bulb which sends out rays in all directions.

I think this is the better low cost option. http://www.bioquip.com/specials/product_special.asp

 
Jordan said:
I haven't used a flashlight like this personally but I have a feeling you won't draw in much with it. I use a 400w mercury vapor light with external ballast almost every night during the summer with pretty good results but I wouldn't want to settle for much less. Since it's battery powered you have limited use and flashlights are designed to direct a beam of light which won't be as effective as a bulb which sends out rays in all directions.

I think this is the better low cost option. http://www.bioquip.com/specials/product_special.asp
Click to expand...
Thank for the reply! If I were to get the Bioquip one, how would I set it up? Would it just be to lay it in the middle of the tarp and secure it there?

 
I just use some rope between trees to make 2 different lines. One line to clip my sheet to and one line to hang the light from.

 
Sure the flashlights wouldn't work? I would probably position the tarp on the slope of the hill and have the flashlight pointing downwards at it so as to illuminate as much of the tarp as possible.

And with the BioQuip are the batteries rechargeable or do I need to keep getting more.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
With input from other people, I've decided to go ahead and try with the $40 one lol. I'll update this thread with either my success or my (probable) failure lol.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top