Summer Night Bug Hunt

Are you and your kids into insects? Summer nights are the perfect time to get out and discover what’s in your own backyard. Go on a summer night bug hunt and see what you can find. Build a simple insect black light trap to attract even more bugs. I get commissions for purchases made through the affiliate links in this post.

Catching insects can be done any time during the day but night time is an excellent time to catch them because you can get them to come to you! If you have ever left your porch light on in the evening on a summer night, you know that insects often come flying irresistibly toward it. This phenomenon is called phototaxis. Phototaxis can drive insects either toward or away from light depending on the species and environmental conditions.

If you want to dive right in and start attracting insects right away, turn on your porch light, wait a while, and start catching the insects that are flitting around the light. However, if you have a little time and money, you can make an insect trap that will attract in more insects and a more diverse insect clientele. I’ll show you how to make a simple and fun insect black light trap that you and your kids can build together.

How to Make an Insect Black Light Trap

Black lights are more attractive to insects than yellow/white lights and you can use that to your advantage. To build a black light trap you’ll need:

2 6-foot 1/2″ or 3/4″ PVC pipes
2 4-foot 1/2″ or 3/4″ PVC pipes
2 2-foot 1/2″ or 3/4″ PVC pipes
2 PVC 3-way elbows
2 PVC 2-way elbows
4 clamps (or clothespins or tape)
White fabric (a sheet will do)
String
Black light + batteries
Tent stakes

Putting the black light trap together is quick and easy.

Connect the two 3-way elbows to both ends of a 4-foot section of pipe
Connect the two 2-way elbows to the other 4-foot section of pipe
Insert the 6-foot pipes into the 3-way elbows and 2-way elbows creating a large rectangle
Insert the 2-foot sections of pipe into the 3-way elbows and stand the frame up to allow it to rest on its feet
Loop the string around the top 4-foot section of pipe and use the tent stakes to stake down the string down at about a 45-degree angle on both sides of the frame
Connect the fabric to the frame using the clamps making sure that it is taut
- Let a 1-2 foot section of the fabric to rest on the ground on the side where the black light will be mounted
Connect the black light to the string about a foot down from the top 4-foot pipe

Once you have the trap put together, turn on the black light and wait for the insects to come. Give the trap about 5-10 minutes to work and then come look at all the bugs you’ve caught.

The closer the trap is to a natural area, like a forest or grassland, or the edge of two habitats the more interesting insects you’ll get!

We set up our trap a half hour before sunset. At sunset we turned on the black light. Almost immediately insects started landing on the fabric.

We waited about 10 minutes and came back out to find the fabric covered in insects. My oldest said, “that’s more bugs in one place than I’ve ever seen in my life!” He was excited to find all the species of insects that had landed.

Most of the insects were moths and beetles.

Several click beetles arrived and were fun to watch as they clicked and jumped.

We also got some lacewings, true bugs, crickets, and a number of other insects.

Nearby our trap we also found a special treat, an insect we had never seen before. A spider had caught an owlfly in its web and was feeding on it.

If you are unable to identify insects, don’t worry! Just enjoy looking at the insects as they land. Take some pictures of the ones you are not sure about and try to identify them later with your child.

State conservation websites will often have insect guides that will help you identify what you catch. Our state has an online field guide that can be helpful in identification in Missouri and surrounding states. You can also buy field guides to insects, such as the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America.

Don’t get wrapped up in identifying insects down to species. Often it is overkill for anyone but experts.

More Insect Activities for Kids

Want to learn how to attract fireflies (or lightning bugs) so you can observe them more closely? It’s all about the patterns of light flashes.
You can investigate insects during the day, too. This post has tips for where to look for them and how to observe them with young children.
Conduct an experiment with insects. Science Sparks created choice chambers to investigate which conditions a pill bug prefers.