Got some dung beetle pitfall traps put together and thought I’d share what they look like. They’re like a dung beetle bungalow. We’ll call them Dungalows. I will be deploying these as I follow the cattle searching for more dung beetles. I’ll let you know what I find!

To build a Dungalow:

1. Take an 8” PVC pipe and cut in half about 8” long to create the covers.
2. Drill a tiny hole in the center so you can fish a string or twisty tie to hang the dung inside the mesh. Use a small twig on top of the half pipe to wrap the string so that it can hang over the pitfall trap.
3. Dig a small hole to place the liner cup.
4. Place the trap cup inside the liner cup.
5. Fill in sides of hole until the soil is up to the lip of the cups.
6. The liner cup makes it easier to remove trapped beetles without the sides of the hole caving in.
7. Put dung ball in the mesh. The mesh can be cheesecloth or something similar.
8. Wrap the string around the top of the mesh holding the dung ball.
9. Fish the string up into the hole of the half pipe.
10. Use a small twig to hold the string in place so the dung ball is suspended above the trap.
11. Leave the trap for 24-48 hours and see what you get!