Collecting Insects with Pit Fall Traps
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- In this video we discuss how to build a pitfall trap, what types you can make and show off some of the cool insects you can find using this technique. This technique is great for gathering ground insects for collections or just to see what types of insects are around is using pitfall traps. These traps do the collecting work for you as long as you check them often. They can be made to fit a variety of circumstances.
Sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension
Intro & Outro Music By Epikus and FarWest Methods Music:
Visit his channel here: / epikmyuzik
Burying Beetle Photo by
Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
To learn more about pitfall traps the following resource could be helpful.
www.four-h.purd... (see page 12)
![Beetles, Mites, Cockroaches Oh My! [Insect Collection Tour]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rgUP3x8_smY/mqdefault.jpg)
My dad is an entomologist and when I was a kid I had an entire 200 specimen + collection we built together. I am 21 now, married, in the military, ect and haven’t gone collecting with him since probably since I was 12 or 13. This video inspired me to get back to collecting!! I’m going to go collecting with my dad again next time I see him 🙂
Racerkid998 Glad I can inspire you to go out collecting!
Collecting? You mean killing, right? Start collecting post stamps, not living beings.
@@InsectHunter I only collect spiders and keep them as pets. I also keep large tarantulas.
@@joshuahull9982 awesome sounds fun! I am just getting into tarantulas!
Your dad is an entomologist?!!!!!????
“If your mom doesn’t tell you she’s turning on the sprinkler in the garden”
Lmaooo
yeah... life happens. It could be much worse haha.
7:51 is a Hobo Spider.
Hobo Spiders were shipped from Europe to the Pacific Northwest. These spiders can be incredibly difficult to identify/ find. The hobo spider can cause toxic reactions with a wide range of severity. However, the toxins are typically targeted at their prey and predators. They are usually not fatal to humans. The hobo Spider is a Funnel Weaver and is also known as the “Aggressive House Spider”. Like most spiders, Hobo spider prefer dark, damp hiding places and often make garages and basements their homes.
Scientific Name: Eratigena agrestis
Hope this helped! Cool find and awesome video!
No actually it's a male giant house spider you can tell by its body shape and spots and I've kept them as pets before so I know what they look like
@@thegamingant6100 apparently you do not because that indeed is a hobo spider
@@funkyfungus1073 you clearly don't know what your talking about because that is indeed a giant house spider
As you said, they are very difficult to identify as many other species and genera look like the hobo spider, which is most readily identified by dissection of the palpal bulbs in males. This video is taken in I assume Texas, where the hobo spider is not found (yet).
@@thegamingant6100 L skill issue,your so wrong!
I didn't know I wanted to watch this but this is weirdly interesting
ha ha then it was a success!
im looking for
instructions on how to build pit fall traps to catch humans
ha ha I don't know that I can help there.
A giant plastic cup
just remember to punch holes and check often so they dont et each other
@Mystical Hoopa
This, and you can use pizza as bait.
And if you want it to be a kill trap, just add land mines at the bottom.
pizza
This video has rebooted my love for insect collecting! My parents and I are headed to Payson AZ to find some western Hercules beetles (dynastes granti) this weekend. Great video by the way, I set up some pit fall traps in my garden. I can't wait to see what I find! Thank you!
Miyagishima Farms awesome! I am so glad you shared this. This has long been one of the goals of my channel. I am glad I can help inspire you to get excited about the awesome world of insects!
Didnt know they had Hercules in AZ.
We also have stag beetles, but they're pretty small.
I dont even care about insects but this is interesting
then my channel is a success. I am excited to help people get excited about insects.
same
Instructions unclear, now stuck in a pitfall trap.
go outside
not much likes
Haha found ya
5th reply i’m better than everyone else
You
I didn't ask for this channel, but I was actually looking for it. Well, well.
Insects/bugs/animals in general interest me so this sort of channel is a welcome find. Thanks mate!
Glad you found it!
Thank you for the wonderful video. I am an arachnologist, but I dont have much formal experience with collecting (except for jumping spiders). These seems like some fun techniques to try out this spring/summer.
Spiders after a few days in their web:
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
Thank You. Most people don't know how important and simple this method is.
Regarding earthworms. InsectHunter, you suggest that one never sees them unless digging. But if you go out at night with a light in many places (I've done it in CA and IL), providing moist enough conditions, you can see them eating and mating all over the place. My understanding (and observation) is that earthworms keep one end in the borrow to anchor themselves, and use their elastic-like body to stretch around to grab onto and consume decaying material. During the day, they keep inside their borrow for safety and moisture retention. Other worm species behave differently, of course; this is just for earthworms. The night terrain is a very different world than the same terrain during the day! It comes alive in ways one will never see without night excursions.
Thanks for the thorough response and clarification. What I should have said is something along the lines of it’s not the norm to see earthworms moving around out of the earth except for rainy days and the night time. Sorry if what I say isn’t always spot on, but I prefer to be spontaneous rather than scripted about every single word I will say. Thanks for watching and sharing your knowledge of worms which I am still learning about.
Thanks IH, I was just about to set some traps with cheap plastic takeout containers ($10 for 200) and the double cut idea is great. Also like the idea of putting two cups in at each trap, great!
marlon Wood thanks please let me know how that goes! Are you planning on putting out 100 traps or just doing them over time haha!? If you do a lot of traps please take some pictures and send them to me please! theinsecthunter@gmail.com
Harvestmen are cool
Yeah I don't know why so many people are afraid of them. They don't even bite.
@@InsectHunter Easy. It's really creepy looking. Too similar to a spider, which some bite. Although, I'd be more scared of a Velvet Worm
Agreed it is unfortunately a human trait we developed to be afraid or disgusted of insects, most of us don’t interact with nature as much like we used to, especially in urban areas.
I’m just getting started with insect collecting and currently only have three beetles 😅 thank you so much for this video because this is super helpful!!!
The spiders you were finding are called Grass Spiders. Fairly common, but they're far less harmful than people think they are.
Thank you for video recording of many details in one episode! Many trap places were shown and many collected insects and spiders were shown! It needed to cut-cut-cut videos and conbine it in a good order. Good luck in a new stories!
Thank you, I need ground beetles to complete my ecosystem
Yes they are important predators no doubt. Using traps can help you see if you have them or not.
Really cool method! I'm glad this was recommended to me, I never would have thought of this...
Yes it works great!
I didn't realize the ground beetles were so helpful. They are really common around here.
Yes many insects are beneficial in some way.
Idk WHY I'd completely forgotten about spiders. I was watching just out of curiosity, I don't like most bugs but I can han them. But I have the WORSE arachnophobia you could EVER imagine. I JUMPED when it popped up on my phone and wanted to fucking scream. SMH how TF did I forget to think about that 🤦🏾♀️💀 lmao
I would like to catch a........... HERCULES BEETLES
Joash Gabriel Mizona-Geronimo I would love to catch one of those too! Maybe some day.
some day they are rare, I WANT A STAG BEETLE
ive caught many eastern Hercules beetles and my best advice to catching them or really any giant beetle like stag beetles is to go to big lights like gas stations, car dealerships, sports stadiums, churches or anywhere with big very bright lights. for best results go on nights when the humidity hits 75% to 80% right before a thunderstorm comes. the storm must be coming at night and there must be at least an hour of darkness before the storm hits because the rain will drop the temp and the beetles will dig into the ground to hide from the rain. for some reason Hercules Beetles need high humidity to become really active. you only get a few nights like that in a summer so you must be ready to go as soon as the opportunity arises. doing this has never failed me, unfortunately this summer all of the beetles ive found someone found them first and crushed them flat. i hate the human race
Im in the same boat, I hate it when people dont appreciate insects and just think of killing them instead of actually looking at them
Come on over to Arizona during late summer we've got Hercules beetles, stag beetles, death feigning beetles, darkling beetles, palo verde beetles, cactus longhorn beetles, and tons of other beetles LOL.
Wow, so interesting trap!!
thanks youtube i really wanted to see this
glad you found it!
Pepe Memelord sarcasm
this is pretty cool i want to catch insects for my vivarium i already have roly polys, earwigs, snails, and three different species of beetle larvae in there but i want to find more! thank you for making this awesome video
Same thing but i only keep beetles
same reason i came here!!
I just caught A Mantis Couple doin the thing XD
Using pitfall traps I assume? Awesome!
@@InsectHunter I called them bob and sally but sally ate bob
@@ahmedaak1867 wtf
グェンジェシカ seem normal 🤣🤣🤣
@@h0rcrux774 Its normal once they breed the female eats the male
summer is gonna be so fun now, thank you
"and made me feel bad"
me: watching these because I need to pin them....oof
don't let them wait too long before you pin.
Same here i hate it when people scold me in the comments for pinning them lol
Very nice video! Thanks for the tips and the information. It was very useful :)
Greetings from Madeira island, Portugal!
Thanks Miguel! I appreciate the kind words.
I do prefer to colect small and smallest Hymenoptera Parasitica in a shallow yellow pan traps, and they are really very much effective for collecting.
Thanks for sharing the tips.
im absolutely terrified of bugs / insects but this was so wholesome and interesting i had to watch it :O
I am glad you did! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
This video was in my recommendations and its probably bcoz i keep searching up what bugs fish can eat and how to catch them
I just dig up earthworms everywhere since they're a good source of protein and this vid is pretty helpful
More snacks for my fish I guess 😋
Yes meal worms work well too and can be raised easily.
Once again UA-cam's algorithm wants us to see some random video that's at least a year old.
7:29 And thank you for that yummy image.
ha ha you are welcome. Which image are you refering to?
Squirells will not only eat insects but also eat small raw animals or even their own kind.
Meat is too nutritious to pass on.
interesting.
Can’t wait to try this come spring!
yeah its a lot of fun and really works.
Really interesting video thank you .
Thanks for watching Raymond. Glad you enjoyed it :)
Another recommended video that was actually interesting. Usually I get recommended trash but I guess not today.
Awesome glad you found it!
hello insect hunter just got a flower beetle
Awesome congrats!
@@InsectHunter suh dud its been 2 years congrats on 166k views lol
Summer is comming soon in where I live. I will sure be using this trick
glad you are willing to give it a try!
Thanks
I live in new mexico. Are there good beetles here? and I've only seen like... 2-3 beetles (not including ladybug's and junk) but they've all been preeeety BIG! so I'm excited to go looking for some this summer! I'm just curious if I'll have any luck...
Corbin Jose I’m sure you can find some awesome beetles out there in New Mexico! Good luck using a pitfall trap should work good or a sweeping net. You might try under large rocks too!
Insect Hunter I live within walking distance of a lot of pretty moist mountains, I was thinking about leaving some out there for a day or two
There are a lot of beetles in NM. you are most likely to trap ground beetles and darkling beetles.
Thank you for video! Good luck!
You are welcome! Thanks or being a long time viewer!
nice
...at long last... NOW I feel like a Pit Fall Trap EXPERT!
Couldn't you get a 2liter?/gallon of milk/oil container for a massive hole?
Wackums yes you could do a bigger one, but my thoughts are that 5 little ones spread out randomly will do better than 1 big one. If you do a big one let me know because I would like to hear how it works for you!
Mom ,, stranded in the yard for three days ,,,,,,,,,,,,, a broken leg and hip from ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
falling into a large bug trap . Kid comes to check traps , sees Mom , and says , DARN I DON'T HAVE MY CAMERA
"when your mom turns on the sprinklers, n doesnt tell you shes doing that" lolol this totally happened to you
Yes she did! She could care less about my traps.
I am based in Hangzhou, China. I am hosting a maker space at the Provincial Science Center and will be offering an insect-trap activity at one of its nature-set. It is going to be conducted as an educational experience for all participants. Do you have any advise for me to achieve the goal in the best possible way.
AST Space awesome I am glad you are trying to use some of this information! Just last week I taught kids about how to trap insects and they loved it. I would do the following to increase success. 1) I would setup some pitfall traps before hand in some dirt in a flower bed or other area near the science center. Set them up 2-3 days before you teach them. 2) let the kids set up and make their own pitfall traps. Let them poke the holes in the cups and dig up the dirt to set the traps. Kids love doing things. If they set up traps at your center they will likely check them every time they visit to see what types of insects have fallen into the traps. 3) maybe send the kids home with materials to make their own pitfall trap at home! Those would be my suggestions which worked well for me.
CRAZY bugs in China
Perfect vid loved it a lot just about to try it out
Yes they are a simple tool that can work well to learn about insects.
Insect Hunter I actually found a stag beetle from this thanks agen
This is an interesting video but the close up of all these different spiders and beetles are making me feel itchy 😅
That's ok you will adjust. Hopefully we can change your mind about insects!
Insect Hunter I used to play with bugs and insects in the dirt when I was a younger but now I’m not a big fan of most bugs. It’s not that I hate bugs, most scientist keep bringing invasive species to try to get rid of other bugs and things like Stink Bugs are really getting annoying.
Trying to make a Beetle pendant for a friend. Thanks. 👍
you are welcome.
*animal crossing vibes*
Dude where do you live, so many bug videos and cool bugs
I live in Idaho, but there are way more bugs further south. I am just always looking for bugs and have the eye for them. You just have to train yourself.
What camera do you use to record the insects?
I currently use a Cannon XA20 with different macro filters for better close ups on some smaller insects.
The Professional Camcorder?
Yes to me it is a professional camcorder. They run about $2,000. I like it because it is quite mobile and not too heavy, but still give good footage in my opinion. Did I answer your question?
It certainly did thank you.
Glad to help!
That dirt is beautiful. What state do you live in?
Ha ha you must be a geologist or something. This was filmed in Idaho.
“May the odds be in your favor”
congrats!...... when i was here it has 127 views now it like a 100,000+ congrats
yeah youtube has been suggesting my videos more lately. It's exciting!
Just got a giant rhinoceros beetle
Aileen Abejar are you serious that is totally awesome!
Can I have it
Or it died?
The child in me came out cus of this. Insects are such incredible creatures
Thanks! What an interesting video!
Castle of Costa Mesa thanks glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you, I did setup a pitfall trap and now I'll see If I did catch something.
me: in the backyard putting soap and water in the cup
my mum: hey sweetie what are doing
me: comiting mass genicide against beetles
Great job👍💐 Beautiful video ! Thanks for beautiful sharing! 🌹🤝
i dont like insects why am i watching this
meh o well good video
ha ha thanks!
I believe you just helped me identify the insect I had a not so fun encounter with in the pool last week! The rove beetle! Not sure how exactly it must have been bleeding, but shit, they hurt! I was just laying in the pool minding my own business and then I suddenly felt an awful burning on my thigh! And then 2 more times, made me jump off my floaty and I saw it! At first I thought it was maybe a earwig baby, but now seeing your video makes me think it must have been a rove beetle. They're not so nice lol!
Yeah look up the devils horse coach. Pretty mean looking guys.
Rove beetles not only bite, but have a chemical defense that can burn humans and really hurt and damage your skin. I can't believe he caught one or 2 though, they are masters of escape. They are smart, fast, and can climb smooth surfaces. Very cool fierce insects, and difficult to keep in captivity.
Insect Hunter Oh wow yep! And with these guys it does say they have a painful bite so that makes sense now! Sheesh, with how tiny it was, I dont ever wanna get bit by a bigger one because it genuinely did hurt!
marlon Wood Google was telling me at first that they didn't bite, so hence why I said "don't know how it was bleeding" because I read their blood is what causes the chemical burning so yeah! But with these devil's it does say they have a painful bite, and yikes they do! And it was like the tiny one in this video ! It hurt!
lol i dont know where i inherit my mom and dad and my brither hates insects btw is finding insects and easily find insects and not aftaid of them is a valueble talent sorry for misspelling
jed ducado ha ha yeah even my wife doesn’t like insects all that much. Finding and understanding insects can be a helpful skill for agriculture and urban settings.
Thanks for your help with this matter. Thanks again.
You are welcome glad you enjoyed the video!
thanks bro i got tones of insects for my lizard
I am glad this video helped you find some bugs.
Dont use wild insects they may contain parasites and diseases your lizard is not built to fight, you can breed your own feeders for pretty cheap and I highly reccomend that.
Leonardo The Useless yeah I have heard that from many pet keepers. I personally think it depends on whether your species is native to the area or not and what it’s natural diet is. I have gotten into raising feeders myself now too.
UA-cam recommendations brought me here. I dont regret it.
Glad you found it! :)
Net + trap tool, if you play monster hunter 😂😂
I have played a couple times, but not too much those games take a lot of investment and time.
this is amazing
It is a pretty neat technique and does work for certain insects.
lol just checked i got a weevil
jed ducado awesome!
Does this kind of trap work on centipedes if you substitute the cup for a long neck plastic bottle? If not what do you recommend? In my area (Puerto Rico) they get mostly 6-7½ inches. People call a centipede "alacran".....hurts like hell and they are immediately a reason to be rushed to a hospital if bitten. They say the pain it's like dying.
Some centipedes can have a painful sting. It could work with a plastic bottle, but a bigger hole means more like crossing of paths between target and trap.
@@InsectHunter I'm using a tropicana juice bottle. Planing on setting it this weekend. Ive been told that they like to come out on hot days and/or after high volume of rain has saturated the area.
6:21 daddy long legs?
yes there are some daddy long legs in the cup with the beetles. Daddy long legs isn't the most technical term depending on where you live they might be called something else. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
That is so cool! I will have to try that! CTR.
Oh yeah pitfall traps work great! Glad you got to watch the video! What do you mean by CTR, I have an idea, but don't want to assume.
This guy talking like we are actually going to do this.
Yes, there are thousands of people who do this all the time surprisingly. Thanks for watching! Glad you found the video.
If I was still a kid I would try it
I do it!
Maybe you want to know what’s in your garden.
That spider with the pull ups...black widow, that one sure was a beaut!
man you would be such an awesome friend to have!
Does this work in winter? On a separate note, where can I catch insects in winter?
In the winter it doesn't really work unless you are in a warm climate like Texas or Florida/the south. In the winter your best bet is to look inside buildings, but they are still rare sometimes hiding under debris or furniture. Good luck!
Thanks for the tutorial! (off topic but i was wondering if you mount arachnids as well)
I personally do not mount arachnids, but it is possible to do so depending on what type of species you have. A lot of arachnids are just preserved and stored in large vials of preservatives. If you do pin them many arachnids need to be gutted which is very tedious. Here is a guide with some good ideas if you want to try it www.instructables.com/id/Dry-Mounting-a-Scorpion/.
Insect Hunter is it possible to mount crustaceans such as crayfish
I have mostly seen them in alcohol because it would be difficult to remove their internal organs and restuff them since they are so large. It could be possible though.
Insect Hunter most crustaceans aren't actually that big, believe it or not. The giant crabs and lobsters you see at restaurants are the exception, not the rule
Oh all the spiders in my yard are gonna fall in a pit full of oil haha thx man
Ha ha I don’t think it will catch all of them but some.
My favorite part is finally getting to pull out the cup and see what's inside of it.
yes for me too!
Good stuff Man!!
Cool video . I'm an insect collecter myself.
UNKNOWN _101 me too
What do you say about using preservative in the pitfall trap? Do you "dispatch" the specimens by placing freezer?
Usually a freezer, but you could use alcohol or something. This video may be of help to answer your question ua-cam.com/video/BC-H8wTQjwE/v-deo.html
@@InsectHunter Many thanks.
Please share more about the malaise net
So good to see your simple techniques . So clear and best
me: sees big spider in the pitfall trap
me: MAH TURN ON THE SPRINKLER
A few years ago I watched this video but did not really understand anything and I also did not have the motivation to try it but now I come back to this channel and woah thats a lot more subscribers than before and also I suggest upgrading the trap by putting a slippery barrier that makes insects fall off when they try to climb its a mixture of baby powder and isopropyl/rubbing alcohol ant keepers like me use this to prevent our ants from escaping but it also helps with other insects bigger than ants like beetles and roaches and also only put the slippery barrier if your trap is located in an area that does not rain much because I'm pretty sure the rain will destroy the barrier
I love your videos I hope you make more videos
Very cool!
Glad you found the video!
Hi, great video i am planning to try this soon!
This guy seems like such a friendly dude.
Cool video
Thanks for watching!
I have been collecting beetles for two years or so, and I have 215 or so specimens. I have not collected using traps before, but next year I will for a survey of my school's campus. I plan to use malaise and lindgren traps for longhorns, buprestids and scarabs, but pitfalls also figure big in my survey. I'll set some out deep in the woods, on the edge of the meadow, etc.
Expected catch is Meloidae, Tenebrionidae, Scarabeidae, Trogidae, Geotrupidae, Carabidae and other ground dwelling insects. Baits will be dung, fruit (fresh and rotten), plain (no bait), ethanol, also rubbing alcohol with cantharidin soaked into it from preserving Meloe I caught this year. I may post results from the pitfalls here as a separate post.
Yeah that's fine or you can reach out to me via my University contact info if you want to share more about your research. Sounds like a good project.. www.uidaho.edu/extension/our-people/s-t/jason-thomas
cool video, insects are awesome
I don't know if I will get something but I will try it out.
I’m starting to get into this kind of things. Pretty interesting for a hobby
I did this with a bucket and cut a big circle out of another bucket the put a metal rod on it so when something heavy steps on it It falls on thinking that it is a solid. Btw I was doing this to catch toads.
really that is cool. Sounds like a goo idea.
What are the pitfalls of using such traps?
ha ha not great for flying insects is the number one pitfall of pitfall traps.
congratulations ! good educacional documentary
How to build a common bug lootbox
ha ha another way of saying it.