Mud Puddle for Butterflies.

An easy addition to the garden to attract butterflies is a muddy area. They are attracted to mud for the minerals in the soil. This type of habitat can be easily duplicated in the garden.

Waterlogged soil with some rocks pushed in to the mud is basically all that is required. Small stones can be added, depending on the size of the container.

We used a 3 inch deep container, a few small rocks and a couple of stones and soil. By supplying this mixture in a container it can be placed in a viewing area.

Fill the container with soil and sprinkle a little table salt on it. Push in the flat rocks leaving them just above the surface. Small stones can be added between the rocks.

Place the container where you can observe the butterflies that use it. It can be buried up to the rim in the garden, or placed on a stand or even hung up. We stood this one on a stone flower pot.

Set it in a sunny location, preferably near some flowers.

The next step is to make the mud, fill the container with water. This should be done once or twice daily, until the soil becomes saturated, forming a standing puddle. Check it daily making sure that it contains standing water every day.

An extra snack can be achieved by dribbling a little maple syrup on the rocks once you see some butterflies using it..