# Japanese Beetle Trap to feed fish?



## ckosal (May 20, 2013)

I caught a flash of a set up where a guy used a five gallon bucket with rocks and a Japanese Beetle trap to feed his bass. I thought it was great and wanted to build a bunch but have not been able to find it. He cut a whole in the bottom and filled it with rocks and then attached the trap somehow on the top to the lid. 

I see one where a guy uses a clear tube but i liked the one i saw where it was a five gallon bucket with the bottom cut out. Anyone seen it or have the plans? Ideas?

I have beetles and hungry fish in my pond so it seemed like a match made in heaven. (or hell if you are the beetle). 

Thanks in advance for a link, plans or suggestions.


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## eucman (Jan 24, 2009)

ckosal said:


> I caught a flash of a set up where a guy used a five gallon bucket with rocks and a Japanese Beetle trap to feed his bass. I thought it was great and wanted to build a bunch but have not been able to find it. He cut a whole in the bottom and filled it with rocks and then attached the trap somehow on the top to the lid.
> 
> I see one where a guy uses a clear tube but i liked the one i saw where it was a five gallon bucket with the bottom cut out. Anyone seen it or have the plans? Ideas?
> 
> ...


That sounds interesting; I hope it works!
I have heard that those traps draw beetles from a long way away. Hopefully they will end up in the digestive tracts of your fish. Otherwise you may end up with more beetle problems


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Spectracide "bag a bug" uses a plastic cross piece with lure .
Lure is beetle scent ,and floral scent.
I bought one for what must not be beetles. (Or just smarter Jap beetles.)
The cross piece is two plastic plates that fit together due to slots thus forming a cross shape.
Beetles (in theory) are lured to the smell ,try to land and slide down smooth plastic into a bag attached to the lower cross piece....

Not sure which specie flowers they like the most....But the right potted one suspended above your water ,with clear deflectors each side might cause beetles to collide with them and drop in the water.

A guy used to keep a light above his trout to lure bugs at night.


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## ckosal (May 20, 2013)

So here is the plan. Going to try this myself. 

Ordered tangle foot hard plastic traps. Which is a typical yellow lure holder (cross-pieces of plastic) and then a hard field tile like green trap. The trap is flexible to expand. I bought 5-gallon buckets with lids and obviously water proof adhesive.

I am going to drill a hole in the lid to get a saw in there and then cut a circle hole in the lid just so the trap can slide in. I will then glue the hard plastic trap to the lid and attach the lure and trap to the lid. On the bucket i will cut a hole about six to eight inches high over about a 30% of the bucket bottom to permit the fish to get in to grab the beetles. I will also put a rock in the base to keep the bucket in place. I will place in about six inches of water to let the little bass and blue gill get in there. 

I will take some pics. I am NOT handy at all. So, pray for me! Ha! 

As it relates to drawing them in. It is for my farm pond. This is all about feeding hungry fish and not about the beetles (pray for the beetles too - ha). I have some fruit trees maybe 100 yards from where i place them, but i don't think these traps are going to draw in beetles that aren't already there to bug those trees.


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## MuddybootsGB (May 14, 2016)

Many years ago the plant mgr where I worked had a trout pond. He had a cable across the pond with a trolley system and hung a bug zapper out over the pond. The bottom was taken off so bugs dropped into the water. Kind of funny watching how the trout would scramble to it every time there was a flash and then the surface of the water churned like crazy from the trout grabbing flash fried bugs. He felt the trout grew faster and tasted better?


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## cmonkey (Nov 6, 2004)

Odd, my trout in my pond will not even look at a beetle or grasshopper tossed into the pond. But, when there is a flying ant hatch, they're right at the surface waiting for the next one. I'm wondering how much any fish might like eating a hard scratchy Japanese Beetle.

And I rarely see the rainbows go after a minnow though they will hit a lure. The browns however stalk minnows practically all day...and I presume night...long.


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