THE CONICAL HOOP TRAP.
A trap which appears from extensive tests made by Mr. E. W. Laake and the author to be best for effective trapping, durability, ease of construction and repair, and cheapness may be made as follows:
Fig. 1.—Conical hoop flytrap, side view. A, Hoops forming frame at bottom. B, Hoops forming frame at top. C, Top of trap made of barrel head. D, Strips around door. E, Door frame. F, Screen on door. G, Buttons holding door. H, Screen on outside of trap. I, Strips on side of trap between hoops. J, Tips of these strips projecting to form legs, K. Cone. L, United edges of screen forming cone. M, Aperture at apex of cone.
The trap consists essentially of a screen cylinder with a frame made of barrel hoops, in the bottom of which is inserted a screen cone. The height of the cylinder is 24 inches, the diameter 18 inches, and the cone is 22 inches high, and 18 inches in diameter at the base. Material necessary for this trap consists of four new or secondhand wooden barrel hoops, one barrel head, four laths, 10 feet of strips 1 to 1½ inches wide by one-half inch thick (portions of old boxes will suffice), 61 linear inches of 12 or 14 mesh galvanized screening 24 inches wide for the sides of the trap and 41 inches of screening 26 inches wide for the cone and door, an ounce of carpet tacks, and two turn-buttons, which may be made of wood. The total cost of the material for this trap, if all is bought new at retail prices, is about $1. In practically all cases, however, the barrel hoops, barrel head, lath, and strips can be obtained without expense. This would reduce the cost to that of the wire and tacks, which would be 80 cents. If a larger number of traps are constructed at one time, the cost is considerably reduced.
One of these traps is illustrated in figures [1] and [2]. In constructing the trap two of the hoops are bent in a circle (18 inches in diameter on the inside), and nailed together, the ends being trimmed to give a close fit. These form the bottom of the frame (A), and the other two, prepared in a similar way, the top (B). The top (C) of the trap is made of an ordinary barrel head with the bevel edge sawed off sufficiently to cause the head to fit closely in the hoops and allow secure nailing. A square, 10 inches on the side, is cut out of the center of the top to form a door. The portions of the top (barrel head) are held together by inch strips (D) placed around the opening one-half inch from the edge to form a jamb for the door. The door consists of a narrow frame (E) covered with screen (F) well fitted to the trap and held in place (not hinged) by buttons (G). The top is then nailed in the upper hoops and the sides (H) formed by closely tacking screen wire on the outside of the hoops. Four laths (I) (or light strips) are nailed to the hoops on the outside of the trap to act as supports between the hoops, and the ends are allowed to project 1 inch at the bottom to form legs (J). The cone (K) is cut from the screen and either sewed with fine wire or soldered where the edges meet at (L), or a narrow lath may be nailed along these edges. The apex of the cone is then cut off to give an aperture (M) 1 inch in diameter. It is then inserted in the trap and closely tacked to the hoop around the base.
Fig. 2.—Conical hoop flytrap, top view. Letters designate parts as in figure 1.]