Will a butterfly feeder endanger a vegetable patch?
My dad loves his garden, so I was going to buy a butterfly feeder/house for him. However, I was wondering if this would ultimately attract more butterflies to lay more eggs on his vegetables and flowers, which would be very very bad. Has anyone got any experience with increasing numbers of butterflies in their garden, resulting in more plants being chomped? Thanks!
Public Comments
- Why not a bee house to pollinate ?
- Probably. You'll likely end up with more butterflies, and more birds as a result, and more feral cats as a result of that, and more foxes as a result of that.... Kist kidding, I think. I guess it's possible.
- The normal way of attracting butterflies to your garden is to plant more plants that the butterflies feed on, and yes, butterfly eggs hatch into dreaded caterpillars, instead (maybe not the same ones that feed on your desired vegetables and flowers, though). I've never used a "butterfly feeder/house", I assume you must be baiting it with pollen or something similar, but still, this sounds to me like a marketing invention that gardeners may like to buy, but I wonder if the butterflies realize they are supposed to be attracted to it in any great quantities. I doubt it truthfully does much, one way or another, but it would give you a reason to claim credit for every butterfly that ever flies into his garden again. I think if you want to give this to your dad, go for it
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