Summer may be coming to an end but, there is still plenty of time to try to bring more butterflies to your yard. Lately, I have been seeing a lot of butterflies both around my house and out and about. I can happily say that you can easily attract these late bloomers to your yard to enjoy for the rest of the summer.
Right Plants
Planting the right kind of plants for the butterflies will help immensely. Butterflies are attracted to bring colors like pink, orange, yellow and red to name a few. They also prefer flat flowers with short flowering tubes. Providing these kinds of plants helps the butterflies be better pollinators.
Sun
Butterflies prefer to be in sunny areas versus shaded areas so, if you are looking at attract butterflies be sure to have some of your bright colored flowers planted in full sun.
Resting Place
Providing the butterflies a flat spot that is in direct sunlight will give them a place to land and rest thus, inviting them to your yard. Places like flat rocks and patio furniture are perfect places for butterflies to land.
Feed the Caterpillars
Planting the right kinds of caterpillar food will attract specific kinds of caterpillars to your yard. Those caterpillars will soon become the beautiful butterflies that you have been trying to attract. The National Wildlife Federation has a list of common butterflies and the types of plants their caterpillars eat. Using this list will make it easier to attract the most common butterfly in your area.
Puddling
Butterflies love to puddle. What is puddling? It is when a butterfly (or group of butterflies) land in wet sand or mud and drink water. You can create places for the butterflies to puddle in your yard by placing course sand in a flat pan or shallow dish and adding water to dampen the sand. It is not necessary to hand standing water, just damp sand.
Provide Milkweed
Butterflies feed strictly on milkweed. Making sure to plant milkweed in your yard or garden will help draw them to your yard. The catch is, trying to plant the correct milkweed for your area. You can check this guide for which type(s) to plant in your area.
Continuous Bloom
Many times when we plant flowers in our yards they bloom and then they are gone. No flowers means no butterflies. Making sure that you have flowers in continuous bloom in your yard will make it very inviting for butterflies the whole summer.
Wind Protection
If your backyard typically has pretty breezy conditions this may be enough to keep the butterflies away. Try to find a way that you can block your flowers from the wind yet, keep them in full sun.
Keep Birds Away
If you are trying to attract butterflies to your garden, it is important that you keep bird feeders and bird baths away from the area.
Butterflies are beautiful creatures and it is pretty amazing when we can sit in our own yard and enjoy them. These tips should help you to create the perfect place for butterflies to make your yard home.
Pesticides
Many of the commercial pesticides for weeds and other bugs and insects actually are very harmful to butterflies. If you are commonly using pesticides throughout your yard, it may be a good idea to check into if your preferred product may also be killing them.
