Red Apple Maggot Lure with Chemical Attractant

thingiverse

I needed more sticky red fake apples to help with controlling the apple maggots. I started making them 80 cm in diameter after reading that smaller sizes were more effective than larger ones. This design has two halves that I super glue together. I also add half a paper towel to the inside before assembling. I tie the folded paper towel to the string and try to get it in the middle of the sphere to act as a blotter for holding the chemical attractant. There are small holes around the seam to add the chemical attractant, increasing its efficiency. I'm planning on trying some without the chemical attractant just to see if I notice any difference. I added a picture of the plastic syringe used to inject apple oil into the lure. Note that this should be done before adding Tanglerfoot goo. I used eight or so lures in this first tree. These are very light and don't weigh down the branch. I'm guessing these fake apples are good for just one season, so they're made very thin and cheap. I don't like making disposable objects, but it's either this or spraying trees and myself with pesticide or using other chemicals to clean up Tanglefoot glue. I used PLA, which will degrade over time. Hint: run the string through both parts before gluing. Lukasz L. Stenliski and Liburd O. published an article on Attraction of Apple Maggot Flies to Synthetic Fruit Volatile Compounds and Food Attractants in Michigan Apple Orchards, Volume 35, Number 1, Spring Summer 2002.