Forestry and Agriculture Lure Types

Contech manufactures many kinds of lures, each designed to release a pheromone or other message-bearing chemical at a desired rate. Each type of lure is tested experimentally in the field against specific insects. To purchase a specific bait or lure please contact us.

Rubber Septa

• used primarily for volatile moth pheromones which are attractive to adult males
• placed on the sticky surface of delta or other traps, but pheromone dispersion can be improved if hung from roof of trap using plastic tab
• used mainly for detection and monitoring of moth pests, such as codling moth and spruce budworm

Flexlures

• made by adding a volatile semiochemical to a liquid plastic, which then hardens
• release rate determined by cutting lure to desired length
• semiochemical releases from walls and end of lure
• used for many types of pheromones including nun moth sex pheromone, lineatin (an ambrosia beetle aggregation pheromone) and honey bee queen mandibular gland pheromone

Sleeves

• used to release large amounts of semiochemicals
• typically used to release large amounts of host plant volatiles like ethanol and alpha-pinene
• high and low-release ethanol sleeves available
• provide constant release rate until the material is gone
• wide sleeves should be suspended on the outside of Lindgren or panel traps
• Contech’s new and improved ethanol UHR lure has a clear inner bladder in addition to the black outer sleeve – vastly improving the structural integrity of the product. The release rate is very similar to that of the previous design.

Bubble Caps

• contain liquid lure in a reservoir with an impervious backing, and a thin plastic membrane heat-sealed over the bubble
• used for release of pheromones at the milligram level at a constant rate over many weeks
• often used for bark beetle pheromones
• typically suspended within central column of Lindgren trap

Polyethylene Bottles

• used to provide intermediate release rates (between sleeves and bubble caps)
• used to release small amounts of tree volatiles like alpha-pinene or myrcene
• used in Lindgren and panel traps
• if used in Lindgren trap, should be placed to rest within the open central column

Eppendorf Tubes

• provide slightly lower release rates than polyethylene bottles