How to make an insect pit trap

Yesterday evening, I made an insect pit trap to see if I could catch any bugs. This post will show you how to make one of these mini booby traps.

You will need:

A small yoghurt container

4 stones of roughly the same size

A square piece of wood

A small shovel

Bait, such as cheese or pieces of a cracker

How to make

Dig a hole with the shovel. Put the yoghurt container into the hole and fill up the hole so that the dirt is at the rim of the container. Make sure you don't get too much dirt into the container. Put the four stones beside the container in a square shape. Drop the bait into the container. The bait can be cheese or anything else that you think will attract insects. Put the wood on top of the stones so that it covers the trap. This will protect the trap from the rain and dew so that any trapped bugs won't drown. Your trap is complete! Now all that's left to do is wait.

Cutaway view of the finished trap.

Check your pit trap a couple times a day, and if any insects have been caught, go to the sidebar in this blog (open it by clicking the three lines in the top left corner), scroll down to "Websites you might enjoy", and click the link labelled "Insect Identification".

Once you have identified the insect, you might want to make a record of it in a nature journal. You can use any journal for a nature journal. Once you are finished, release the bug. Try experimenting with different baits. Does a certain insect like only one sort of bait, or will it eat anything it can reach?