Pond-breeding Salamander Monitoring
Funnel Traps

There are many kinds of funnel traps available that have been used for the capture of pond-breeding salamanders. Commercially available traps, however, have mesh that is too large to capture larval salamanders, making them unsuitable for this program. Funnel traps made of window screening are inexpensive and effective for capturing both adult and larval salamanders.

To construct 10 funnel traps you will need:

• 24 ft. of 18 inch wide aluminum window screening (alternatively, you can use 15 ft. of 28 inch wide screening) for the cylinders;

• 15 ft. of 36 inch wide fiberglass screening for the funnels;

• 25 ft. of string or small rope for the handles;

• Utility knife and scissors for cutting the screen and rope; and

• Stapler with 1000 staples.

Cut a piece of aluminum window screening 28” X 18.” Roll it into a cylinder 18” long and 8” in diameter, leaving a 1” lip on the top. Staple this lip to hold the cylinder together. Using this template (Adobe .pdf document), cut out 2 funnels from the fiberglass screening with an opening of 9” on the wide end and 1 ¾” on the narrow end. Roll the wide end of the funnel over the outside edge of the cylinder and staple every ½.” Attach the string handle (~30”) to the lip. Gently rolling the funnel trap between your hands will help shape it into a round cylinder.

Next page: The 1st Survey