syncvorti.blogg.se - Pitfall trap bait mixture

Leaves, twigs, and dirt fall into the cups, increasing processing time in the laboratory.Time-consuming to sort invertebrates in the laboratory, as debris and dirt have to be washed away to see ants.Time-consuming to dig cups into ground (recommend doing it with an auger, used for digging holes for planting trees), and pulling them out.Cost of ethanol and glycol is expensive (pitfall traps can be reused).Significant non-target catch, including many other insects, spiders, and sometimes lizards (depending on lizard fauna in the area, a mesh may have to be placed over the opening of the cup, to allow small ants but restrict lizards falling in).Cannot be used in many urban and semi-urban areas as they need to be dug into the ground.

A limited number of sites can be visited in a single day.

A return visit is needed (to dig traps in, and then pull them out).

Non-toxic bait indicates likely acceptance rate of toxic bait (can use as a prefeed).

No identification skills required for initially placing baits out.

Can assess effectiveness of control programmes using recruitment counts.

Pitfall trapping is an easily learned technique.

Can be left out for long periods (1–4 weeks), significantly improving the chances of catching smaller infestations of Argentine ants if they are in the area (if the preservative in the cups is renewed every 2–4 weeks, then traps can be left out indefinitely).

Note: ant abundance is extremely difficult tio measure accurately (because it is so variable), so ant abundance in pitfall traps should be treated only as a rough guide. In addition, the method can also give a rough indication of abundance. Pitfall traps give information on presence and absence of Argentine ants. The chances of detecting Argentine ants increases with increasing duration of pitfall trapping (Stanley et al. Pitfalls traps should be left out ideally for 4 weeks (but can be left out for shorter periods).

Pitfall traps are usually spaced about 5–10 m apart. Cups need to be able to have a lid placed on them, for transporting back to the laboratory. A few drops of fish oil should be placed into pitfalls traps this increases attractiveness to Argentine ants.Ĭups used need to be plastic (to avoid them breaking) but can range in diameter from 3 cm to 10 cm. A preservative of ethanol:gylcol mix (50:50, or 75:25) is used to kill invertebrates, preserve them from rotting, and prevent them from crawling out of the cup. As ants (and other invertebrates) run along the ground they fall into the cup and cannot get out. Pitfall trapping involves digging a small plastic cup into the ground, so the open lip of the cup is level with the ground. In fact, in some circumstances pitfall traps may be better than direct searching, or using baits. Pitfall traps can be a useful technique for collecting Argentine ants.