how to stop moldy butterfly bait

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ctron
Posts: 187
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2016 12:30 pm

how to stop moldy butterfly bait

Post by ctron »

To attract butterflies and moths to my new trap, I make a mixture of bananas and sugar and then let it fermet for a day or two before using it as bait. Today, I noticed my latest bait, after being in a metal coffee can covered by a paper towel, is moldy and I had to discard it. I have two questions: 1) How do I prevent mold in the fermenting bait and (2) why did it get moldy in the first place?

Thanks!

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

1) add acids: vinegar, orange juice, raisin juice concentrate and even yogurt fluid (which are all natural edible acids)

Or use natural mold inhibitors: cinnamon and clove

The above were mentioned by bakers:
http://bakerpedia.com/ingredients/natur ... nhibitors/

You can use other chemicals, but butterflies may not like them.

2) mold spores are everywhere (floating in air and maybe even on our skin), so it is difficult to prevent them completely.

Questions:

Do you have to ferment (I don't know if it is required as butterfly bait)? You would get less mold, if you don't ferment that long.

Do you use a food fermentation agent, such as baking yeast or yogurt bacteria? Those should reduce mold as well.

ctron
Posts: 187
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2016 12:30 pm

Post by ctron »

With my hornet traps, I use sugar water, a banana peel, and a little bit of white vinegar. Doesn't dissuade the wasps, so figured I'd go ahead and add a little of the vinegar to my butterfly bait. Thanks for the info.

MarkSturtevant
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Post by MarkSturtevant »

I am not sure that the mold is even that big a deal to the insects to the insects you want to attract. It might still work just fine.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

zzffnn
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Post by zzffnn »

I am guessing it was ctron himself that cares about the mold, not butterflies. I have seen butterfly food with mold at zoo/museum and butterflies take it in just fine (in the wild, mold on their food is hard to avoid and butterflies likely evolved to live with mold).
Selling my Canon FD 200mm F/2.8 lens

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