Homemade Butterfly Feeder to Attract Butterflies By Melissa Lavabre, eHow Contributor Sitting back and relaxing in your garden, watching butterflies flutter about on a casual sunny day ... can be helped a little with a butterfly feeder. If you are crafty and like to build things, this might be a great summer project. Turn your backyard into a colorful haven and share a delicate show with your children, friends and family with a homemade butterfly feeder. Butterflies like sunlight, humidity, colors and sweets. If you dont have a meadow in your backyard, you can still create a attractive environment for butterflies. Difficulty: Moderately Easy Instructions Things Youll Need •Small jar with a lid that seals well (such as baby food jar) •Sponge, cotton, candlewick or other clean absorbent material •String •Hammer and nail •Sugar •Water •Artificial flowers, colored construction paper or other colorful material 1 Prepare some butterfly food with six parts water to one part sugar. Bring your mixture to a boil to let the water evaporate and condense the sugar. Let it boil for a few minutes, then let the mix cool down. 2 Poke a hole in the center of the lid of your jar with a nail and hammer. It is safer to remove the lid from the jar before you do this. 3 Fill the jar with the butterfly food. 4 Cut a strip of the sponge, cotton, candlewick or other absorbent material and pull it through the hole in the lid. Leave approximately a half-inch sticking out of the top of the lid. Make sure it fits just right so that the material soaks in the butterfly food but does not drip. If it drips, you will need to use a thicker piece. You can test it by turning the jar upside down. 5 Make a hanger with the string. Attach some string around the mouth of the jar (string 1)---not too tight as you will need to leave room for four knots but not so loose that it will slip out. Cut two more pieces of string double the length you wish to hang your feeder (strings 2 and 3). Take one end of string 2 and tie it onto string 1. Attach the other end of string 2 to string 1 on the opposite side of the jar from the first knot. Now, take string 3 and tie it to string 1 perpendicular to string 2, in the same manner you tied string 2, one end then the other. 6 Tie the loops obtained from string 2 and string 3. You will have two loops obtained from string 2 and 3. Tie the top of these two loops together and use the double loop to hang your feeder. Alternatively, if you know how, you can also make a macrame-style hanger instead of following steps 5 and 6. 7 Decorate the jar with the artificial flowers and colorful materials to replicate flowers. Butterflies are attracted to bright colors---in particular to yellow and orange. Make it appealing for yourself too and choose your favorite colors and designs. 8 Hang your feeder lid-side down, preferably in a sunny but cool area with some humidity. If you have actual flowers around, all the better. Certain flowers attract butterflies more than others too. 9 Clean your butterfly feeder every few days. Clean the jar with hot water and a tiny amount of bleach or white vinegar to prevent mold. Then, replace the butterfly food and hang the feeder back in its place.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 13:50:21 +0000
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