Pea Moth Pheromone Trap

What Are Pea Moths?

The Pea Moth (Cydia Nigricana) is small, with a wingspan of only 12-16mm. It is of brown colouring with black and white bands on the edge of its wings. The adult moths lay their eggs on flowers, or leaves, of peas during June and July. These eggs will hatch into larvae/caterpillars within 2 weeks.

The caterpillars are white initially, but turn to a yellow colour with a brown head and will tunnel into pea pods. The pea pods that have been attacked by the caterpillars can be difficult to identify until the pod is opened, as the entrance holes made by the caterpillar are very small. The caterpillars will feed on the developing seeds in the pea pod. The peas will appear eaten and lots of frass is produced within the pod. Some pods will have two caterpillars inside, and the pods can sometimes appear yellow, and ripen earlier.

How Does This Trap Help Combat Pea Moths?

The Dragonfli Pea Moth Pheromone Trap uses a species specific pheromone lure to catch and trap male Pea Moths. The Pea Moths will detect the pheromone and fly into the trap expecting a female Pea Moth to be present. Moth mating and egg laying will be reduced as a result, and future generations of larvae will be prevented from developing. Moth populations can also be monitored through this trap which will help provide you with an early warning as to their activity.

How Do I Set Up The Trap?

The Pea Moth trap supplied by Dragonfli is called a castellation trap, that prevents the capture of larger insects and small birds, which might fly into a conventional trap by accident. The entry holes on the castellation moth trap are only big enough for moths.

Each trap is supplied with two pheromone lures, one for each generation of Pea Moths in the year. Simply remove the lure from the foil sachet and place it in the cage at the top of the trap. The trap is also provided with a sticky pad to place inside the trap. Remove the paper to activate the glue and place the pad at the bottom of the trap. This helps contain the moths in the trap and can be removed to count catches. The male moths are attracted by the pheromone lure, will fly inside the trap and drop down onto the sticky pad inside the trap.

Full application instructions are provided on delivery.

Where Should I Place The Trap?

The pheromone traps should be placed in the pea crop field, and hung level with the top of the crops. The traps should be raised accordingly as the crop grows and remain level with the top of the crop. 

How Many Traps Do I Need?

Each trap can cover a large crop of pea plants, and up to 250m².

For large cropping in areas over 50 hectares, multiple trap sites may be required.