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How to Attract Butterflies to a Butterfly House

Butterfly houses attract spiders far more often than butterflies. What the research shows, and the planting that genuinely brings butterflies in.

By Zakaria 2 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A monarch butterfly feeding on purple asters
Photo: PublicDomainPictures, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
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Butterfly houses are mostly occupied by spiders. That is not a failure of siting — it is what surveys of installed boxes keep finding, and it follows from how butterflies actually overwinter.

Siting one properly

  • Orientation: south or south-east, for morning warmth
  • Height: three to six feet, out of the wet grass
  • Shelter: behind a hedge or wall, out of prevailing wind and driving rain
  • Adjacent: a nectar block within a few feet, and a flat stone or paved patch in full sun for basking
  • Maintenance: clear spider webs each autumn, or nothing else will go in

What goes inside

  • Loose bark pieces, set vertically
  • Thin twigs and a few dry leaves
  • Bare, unfinished wood — no paint, stain or sealer inside

No sugar water or fruit inside the box

It draws wasps and ants and goes mouldy in an enclosed space. Put overripe fruit out on a dish in the open if you want to offer it, away from the house.

What actually brings butterflies

Host plants are the half that gets skipped, and they are the half that decides whether butterflies breed in your garden rather than pass through.

needexamples
Caterpillar host plantsMilkweed (monarch), nettle (tortoiseshell, peacock), fennel and parsley (swallowtail), native grasses (skippers)
Spring nectarPrimula, aubretia, willow, dandelion left to flower
Summer nectarBuddleia, verbena bonariensis, echinacea, oregano, lavender
Autumn nectarSedum, aster, ivy flowers
ShelterLog pile, ivy, standing dead stems left over winter
BaskingFlat stone or paving in full sun

The winter shelter that does get used

Leave it rough: a log pile in a shaded corner, a patch of ivy allowed to flower, stems left standing until spring, and a shed or garage with a gap a brimstone or tortoiseshell can slip into. That is the real version of a butterfly house, and it costs nothing.

Common questions

Do butterfly houses actually attract butterflies?

Rarely. Surveys of installed butterfly houses consistently find them occupied by spiders, wasps and solitary bees rather than butterflies. The design is based on the idea that butterflies shelter in slots overnight and over winter, but most species overwinter as eggs, caterpillars or pupae rather than as adults, and the few that do hibernate as adults pick log piles, ivy, sheds and tree bark instead. A butterfly house is a decorative object with a low hit rate, not a reliable shelter.

What should you put inside a butterfly house?

A few pieces of loose bark, thin twigs and dry leaves, giving vertical surfaces to cling to. Keep the interior bare wood with no finish. Do not add sugar water, rotting fruit or nectar inside — it attracts wasps and ants and encourages mould. Clear out spider webs each autumn if you want any chance of butterfly use, since a web-filled slot will be avoided.

Where should a butterfly house be placed?

Facing south or south-east, three to six feet off the ground, sheltered from prevailing wind and driving rain, close to nectar planting and a sunny basking spot such as a flat stone or a bare patch of paving. A house in deep shade or exposed to weather will not be used by anything you want. Even sited perfectly, expect spiders more often than butterflies.

What actually attracts butterflies to a garden?

Host plants for caterpillars and a long nectar season for adults, plus sun and shelter. Host plants are the part people skip and the part that matters most: milkweed for monarchs, nettles for tortoiseshells and peacocks, fennel and parsley for swallowtails, grasses for skippers. For nectar, aim for something in flower from early spring to late autumn and plant it in blocks rather than singly. No house substitutes for either.

Do butterflies need shelter in winter?

Some do, as adults, and those species use natural cover. Brimstones tuck into ivy and holly, small tortoiseshells and peacocks go into sheds, garages, log piles and hollow trees, and others overwinter as pupae attached to stems. The useful equivalent of a butterfly house is therefore leaving a log pile, a patch of ivy and standing dead stems through winter rather than cutting everything back in autumn.

Is a butterfly house worth buying at all?

As a garden ornament, or as a nest site for solitary bees and a home for spiders, yes. As a butterfly attractant, the money is better spent on host plants and nectar. If you already have one, site it well and stock it with bark, but judge the garden by the butterflies flying in it, not by whether anything is using the box.

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