« Back to post
/ Photos

Oops! Leave without saving?

If you leave this page, the information you have entered will not be saved!
Are you sure you want to leave this page?

Leave this page Stay on this page

Hometalk.com

  • Sign Up
  • or
  • Log In
  • Professionals
  • Community
    • All Members
    • Professionals
    • Bloggers
  • About
    • About Hometalk
    • Blog
    • FAQ
    • Guidelines
    • Resources
    • Support
    • Media Center
    • Contact
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
  • Following
  • All Topics
    • Cleaning & Organization
    • Crafts
    • Design & Décor
    • DIY Projects
    • Gardening
    • Home Maintenance & Repairs
    • Outdoor Living
    • Painting
    • Remodeling
    • Repurposing & Upcycling
    See More Topics »
  • Questions
    • All Questions
    • Open Questions
    • Unanswered Questions
  • Clips
Post & Ask
Join Now Log In

Hometalk is where people share and help with everything home & garden

20891
9855
29
BrightNest
BrightNest Professional Denver, CO
Like 510 Clip 681
Crafts Gardening

Make A DIY Butterfly Feeder In 6 Easy Steps

Encourage butterflies to visit your yard and pollinate your plants by making a butterfly feeder. It's easy! You'll need: A small jar (a mason jar or a baby food jar will work), hammer and nails, string, a sponge, sugar, water and construction paper.

The first few steps are below the photo, but for the full tutorial, visit: http://blog.brightnest.com/2012/06/24/attrac...

#Bestof2012 #FavoriteProject #JuneMaintenance

  • Like 84 | Clip 43
    17
    First, prepare "butterfly food" by mixing nine parts water with one part sugar. Depending on the size of your jar, you'll use either a tablespoon or a teaspoon.
  • Like 46 | Clip 23
    Let the mixture boil until the sugar is dissolved, and then let it fully cool before putting it in the feeder.
  • Like 96 | Clip 80
    11
    Using your nail and hammer, punch a small hole in the lid of the jar. You're going to be cutting your sponge and you want your sponge to fit tightly through the ho...
  • Like 22 | Clip 10
    Cut your sponge into strings about one inch wide, and then pull it through the hole so there is about a half-inch of sponge sticking out from the top of the lid.
  • Like 22 | Clip 11
    1
    Remember, you want the sponge to stick tightly even when it's wet, so you might need to make it larger than you think.
Post Comment | Like | Clip | Share
on Jun 25, 2012 | 112103 Views
91 Comments Displaying 25 of 91 comments | See Previous
  • Kathy Noethen Armenia
    need to do this
    on Mar 10, 2013 · Like 0
  • Suzanne D Suffolk, VA
    Thanks for this amazing idea! I can't wait to try this in my yard! I am going to make this with my granddaughter, she loves butterflies and so do I!!!
    on Mar 10, 2013 · Like 0
  • Vici Hood Roswell, GA
    Go to Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association website for swarm assistance.
    on Mar 11, 2013 · Like 1
  • Tina Valentine Monroe, MI
    Those instructions are just about useless. How about some pictures that have something to do with the instructions?
    on Mar 11, 2013 · Like 4
  • Carol Brown Azle, TX
    For our yard it is the wasps that go after our feeders any suggestions?
    on Mar 11, 2013 · Like 1
  • Rebecca Johnson Rooney Weston, MO
    The photos had nothing to do with the instructions. Confusing.
    on Mar 11, 2013 · Like 8
  • Debby Boyle Necedah, WI
    Very cool!!
    on Mar 12, 2013 · Like 0
  • Gayle P. Cantonment, FL
    what kind of sponge can you use? For the butterfly feeder? I love the idea and have what I need execpt for some type of sponge.
    on Mar 12, 2013 · Like 0
  • Miss Charming @ Charming ... Pflugerville, TX
    Fun idea!
    on Mar 14, 2013 · Like 0
  • Marilee H Youngstown, OH
    Confused! There doesn't seem to be a picture of the actual project, just other styles of feeder.
    on Mar 17, 2013 · Like 3
  • Gayle P. Cantonment, FL
    I agree.I still don't understand what kind of sponge can go through a nail hole,etc. This coming week end I am going to be off line for a week or so we are moving and I can't wait to get my computer back on and see what;'s new.But till then I will check everyday maybe someone will know the answer to the sponge condrum.......

    on Mar 17, 2013 · Like 0
  • Jeannie DiMauro Spring, TX
    I think I see what happened. Go to the top of this article & click on the FULL tutorial (you'll also notice it states partial directions FOLLOW the photos). I think somehow the layout automatically formatted the written instructions to the unrelated photos. Anyhow... click the full tutorial... you'll see a link ('Home Training Tools') IN the full tutorial directing you to select that link to see a picture of this butterfly feeder along with suggestions for other easily made feeders. In ...»
    fact, they also suggest exactly what my Grandmother used to do... back in the 50s & 60s! She had a small peach orchard. ALmost every summer day she'd cut a few of the overripe and/or rotting peaches and lay them on warm rocks around her garden. We'd see tons of butterflies feeding at those rotting fruits! Of course, there were lots more butterflies then... and she was out in the country. Many other fruits work too... I usually leave bananas, watermelons, and oranges out especially when they're a bit overripe... and I usually add a little water to keep the fruit a bit moist. Good luck... the photo in the second link really clears up most of the questions abt making the feeder.

    on Mar 19, 2013 · Like 2
  • Gayle P. Cantonment, FL
    Thank you Jeannie.
    on Mar 22, 2013 · Like 2
  • Melody H Maxwell, CA
    http://www.hometrainingtools.com/butterfly-f...
    on Mar 31, 2013 · Like 0
  • Anne D Canada
    have to try this for sure..Thanks so Much for the post :)
    on Apr 05, 2013 · Like 1
  • Sherrie S Debary, FL
    I finally put sliced tangerines in my bird bath (for butterflies) & in the morning all of the tangerines were gone. I have 5 lb feeders that were empty every few days. I looked at my security cameras & there he was: bear eating birdseed & drinking from the birdbath. Now I take the bird feeders in each night.
    on Apr 07, 2013 · Like 3
  • Dana Shuster San Antonio, TX
    if you want "butterfly magnet" plants, go to your local nursery and watch the butterflies carefully. If they are quickly flitting from flower to flower without lingering, that plant, no matter how bright or beautiful, holds no nectar for them. Many of the newer cultivars like the new lantanas have the nectar bred out of them. Stick with the old standbys instead.
    on Apr 16, 2013 · Like 1
  • Lyle Larkin San Marcos, CA
    None of these pictures match the notes? Really bad directions!
    on Apr 16, 2013 · Like 1
  • Tina Hawkins Vassar, MI
    http://blog.brightnest.com/2012/06/24/attrac... for those of you who are saying that the directions are bad or horrible obviously didn't read the whole thing .. this is the link for the full tutorial... really? open your eyes before you open your mouth to say something neg... thank you have a blessed day.
    on Apr 19, 2013 · Like 1
  • Jeannie DiMauro Spring, TX
    TINA: Sorry... the comments are accurate. This is a very nice group of helpful people. It would be BEST if all could keep their negative comments civil. I explained the problem about one month ago:

    "Jeannie DiMauro Spring, TX I think I see what happened. Go to the top of this article & click on the FULL tutorial (you'll also notice it states partial directions FOLLOW the photos). I think somehow the layout automatically formatted the written instructions to the unrelated photos. ...»

    Anyhow... click the full tutorial... you'll see a link ('Home Training Tools') IN the full tutorial directing you to select that link to see a picture of this butterfly feeder along with suggestions for other easily made feeders. In ...» fact, they also suggest exactly what my Grandmother used to do... back in the 50s & 60s! She had a small peach orchard. ALmost every summer day she'd cut a few of the overripe and/or rotting peaches and lay them on warm rocks around her garden. We'd see tons of butterflies feeding at those rotting fruits! Of course, there were lots more butterflies then... and she was out in the country. Many other fruits work too... I usually leave bananas, watermelons, and oranges out especially when they're a bit overripe... and I usually add a little water to keep the fruit a bit moist. Good luck... the photo in the second link really clears up most of the questions abt making the feeder."

    on Apr 26, 2013 · Like 2
  • Lyle Larkin San Marcos, CA
    this is NOT the link for that project, it's the link to the home page of BrightNest
    on Apr 28, 2013 · Like 0
  • Evelyn McMullen Montgomery, AL
    Going to bury the pedestal top to my dead solar fountain for the butterflies when I find the right spot, the bottom is now just a birdbath in my iris bed.
    on Apr 28, 2013 · Like 0
  • BrightNest Denver, CO
    We've updated our post to include step-by-step photos! Here you go: https://brightnest.com/posts/attract-butterf...
    on May 15, 2013 · Like 0
  • Lyle Larkin San Marcos, CA
    So much more informative! Thank You!
    on May 24, 2013 · Like 0
  • Chantis Wakefield Norcross, GA
    Thank soooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!
    7 days ago · Like 0

NOTE: You can drag and drop your photos to reorder them
[?]
You can select multiple files by holding down the Ctrl key (or Command key on a Mac) and left-clicking on individual files. Each file can be up to 20 MB.
or Embed Video
Add
Required
Comment Saving...

Related Posts

  • Window Salvage
  • EASY SWEATER PUMPKINS made with Dollar Tree faux pumpkins and a sweater from Goodwill! Tutorial on my blog!
  • This project is for the birds....
  • 510 Likes

    Chrissy Roston Patricia Flack Derick Monika O'Brien Pat Saunders Mary Reinhardt Becca Billie Keightley Cindy S Catherine Smith Marlene Miranda Candy Hodge Donna
    +497 more

Clipped to 597 Boards»

  • I heart Mason Jars OR 1001 Mason J...
    By Anne @ DesignDreams by Anne
  • Mason Jar Mania
    By Carolyn ~ homework

Recent Questions»

  • Tammy Brenner
    Any ideas on how to re-purpose the top part only of this...
    40 minutes ago 3 answers
  • Sherry
    What kind of plant(s) are these?....or are they...
    43 minutes ago 16 answers
  • Have a question?
    Ask now to get the best answers & advice»
      Back
      to top
      Feedback