The Development and Use of Pitfall and Probe Traps for Capturing Insects in Stored Grain

The development and use of pitfall and probe traps for capture of insects in bulk-stored grain are outlined. Unbaited traps are effective in detecting infestations and they detect a large number of species compared with grain-sampling devices. The effectiveness of the traps is related to temperature, trapping period, and grain moisture content; and traps are less reliable for detecting insect species that are less mobile, have a nonuniform distribution in grain, feed within kernels, or can escape from the traps. Comparisons are given between effectiveness of probe traps and grain sampling for detecting insects, and experience using probe traps in stored grain is reported.