Creating my butterfly feeder was quick, easy and inexpensive. I had much of what I needed on hand. A dollar store windchime with four attachments where the chimes hung was the perfect piece of mechanics for hanging a shallow container filled with Gatorade or boiled sugar water. (4 parts water to 1 part sugar)
No instructions needed, use what you have on hand. The secret lies in the wire and plastic container: a plastic dish scrubber. The butterfly can land on this and use his long proboscis to dine on the nectar. I created holes in the plastic dish with a hot ice pick.
When I added the wire for hanging I let the end curl upward. These make the perfect spear for rotting/old fruit. I was going to use a strawberry, but remembered they are heavily sprayed with insecticide. It is better to use fruit that is within a peel unless it is organic.
MINDING MY P'S WITH Q 
Sweeet! I suspect some birds will be eating the fruit also.
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Hi Janie, I hope so…but I am wondering…will it draw skunks at night. Last evening, as we were watching television, we smelled a faint scent of skunk. I wondered if he was drawn to the yard by the fruit.
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Dunno. They are scavengers aren’t they? Yeah, getting that whiff of Eau de Pepe on the evening breeze happens on occasion. About 40 years ago, I was driving down a dark back road to my tennis lessons and ran over something (was an unnoticeable impact)… but when the odor hit me I knew what had happened. It took forever for that smell to dissipate from my car.
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I remember a friend of ours…a skunk sprayed under her car. Everywhere she went when driving, standing in a store grocery line, etc., people around her would say, ‘Do you smell skunk?’ It still makes me laugh.
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XD Yes, it takes FOREVER!! Don’t recall if it ended up smelling up my clothes as well, don’t think so. How embarrassing.
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BTW, I did some quick research. Article said skunks are scavengers so keep fallen fruit (don’t think you have an fruit trees, do you?) picked off the ground and don’t leave bowls of dog or cat food out. Also, they are poor climbers. Don’t know how far off the ground your butterfly feeding station is.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/keep-skunks-out-yard-harming-pets-101598.html
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Thanks Janie, The feeder is probably 2.5 to 3 feet of the ground, so I think it is okay. The skunk probably can smell it though. We made the mistake of laying a bag of kitchen trash near out back porch a while back, meaning to take it to the trash, and the skunk found it. It took a few weeks for the smell of him to disappear off the concrete and surrounding area.
I think he returns now and then in hopes of another feast.
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She laughed about it when she told me. My husband once got sprayed direct…he said it was so bad he felt like he was going to be sick.
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Sounds easy! Will butterflies find this on their own?
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I think the center yellow piece might resemble a flower. I also placed it in full sun, near a flower border that always has some butterflies flitting around in the summer.
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That is so very clever!
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Thanks, It was easy and now I wish I had waited to do it with my grandchildren. Maybe we can make one for their yard too. 🙂
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Kathy,
I hope a lot of butterflies come to your garden.
I love your project and your green garden.
God is good.
Susie
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Hi Susie, I hope they do too. When more flowers bloom they will come, but right now, the nectar situation is probably lacking for them. It is still cool and not many flowers are blooming.
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