The spring season is approaching and I am inevitably going to be “mothing” religiously. Do y’all have any recommendations regarding an effective black light(s) that can be purchased off of Amazon? I have been using a bug zapper that I had modified to not harm wildlife; it has been rewarding but not to what I had hoped.
Also, where is the best place to setup one of these lights? Near a wooded area or perhaps a more open environment?
So I’ve been moth lighting for going on 5 years now. My lights are Barrina UV LED Blacklight Bar, 9W 2ft, T5 Integrated Bulb, Black Light Fixture for Blacklight Poster Halloween Decorations and Christmas Party, Fun Atmosphere with Built-in ON/Off Switch(4-Pack) on Amazon. I use these and my college advisor have used these. They’re relatively tough and fairly effective.
As far as set up goes I live in a heavily urban area and only really have access to an alleyway which still gets a decent amount. I drape a sheet over a fence and use binder clips to hold it in place. The light is hung in front of it from a rope. If you have more choice of setups than I do, the best place is on the margin of deeper vegetation where you have a relatively open area which make it most visible but just about anywhere will work.
Timing is also important. Warm cloudy evenings during a new moon with little to no wind are best if you aren’t doing it every night
There are many existing threads about moth lighting that you could check for ideas and setups. Examples:
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/mercury-vapor-light-for-mothing/26716
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/attracting-moths-with-light-source-abroad/33306
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/light-setups-for-mothing/48231
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/light-traps-for-moths-with-limited-power-sources/12028
I didn’t get them off Amazon, but I use 2 Entolights. I did pick up a 100w LED light off Amazon. I think the combination of incandescent bulbs on my porch lights and the entolights work better. I have a compact fluorescent on one side of the porch and that side was not quite as active.
Either environment will probably work, just give you different moths.