Be sure to put a few small holes in the bottom of the cans so they will not collect rainwater. Specimens can be preserved, pinned and identified, or identified and released. Various types of beetles can be attracted placing bait, such as rotten meat, in the pitfall traps. These animals are very secretive and spend much of their time hiding under cover. Field ecologists duplicate natural hiding places by placing boards, tin and other scrap construction materials on the ground.
Boards do best in soft, sandy soil near a wetland area.
Boards do not have to be checked daily, just as often as the class wants to do so. Boards should be lifted with sticks that have a bent end, never with bare hands, to avoid an unlikely bite from a venomous snake, spider or insect. Low-lying metal drift fences can be used to sample populations of turtles, lizards, snakes, frogs, salamanders and other small animals. The fence is placed where animals entering and exiting their habitat will encounter the obstruction. When they move right or left of the fence, they fall into one of the buckets buried at periodic intervals on both sides of the fence.