A butterfly house gives overwintering and resting butterflies a dry, predator-shielded place to tuck their wings on cold or windy days, while a nectar feeder keeps adults fueled when blooms are scarce in early spring and late fall. Neither is a magic trick — butterflies still need host plants and nectar sources to show up — but paired with the right planting they extend the time pollinators linger in your yard. After comparing the cedar shelters, decorative slatted houses, and saucer-style feeders that gardeners actually keep buying, these are the seven we would put on a fence post or shepherd’s hook this season.
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Key Takeaways
- Look for untreated cedar or hardwood with narrow vertical slits — the slits mimic bark crevices and let butterflies in while keeping birds out.
- A house alone rarely attracts butterflies; site it near host plants and a sunny, sheltered spot 4 to 6 feet off the ground.
- Nectar feeders (sugar water or fruit) draw far more adult activity than houses, especially for non-overwintering species.
- The Esschert Design WA81 and Woodlink Audubon NABFLY are the most consistently available, well-built picks for house and feeder respectively.
- Place feeders in part shade, refresh nectar every 2 to 3 days in heat, and clean weekly to prevent mold and fermentation.
| Product | Best For | Key Spec |
|---|---|---|
| Esschert Design WA81 Butterfly House | Overall shelter | Untreated wood, 7.9 in tall, slatted front |
| Woodlink NABFLY Audubon Butterfly Feeder | Nectar feeding | 12 oz, yellow, 11 in tall |
| Esschert Design WA11 Butterfly Feeder | Fruit feeding | Hanging dish, weather-resistant wood |
| Nature’s Way Cedar Butterfly House | Durable cedar build | Kiln-dried cedar, vertical entry slots |
| Heartwood Flutterbye House | Decorative copper roof | Cypress body, solid copper roof |
| Home Depot Butterfly House Wood Kit | Budget / DIY | Pre-cut wood, made in USA |
| Duncraft Cedar Butterfly House | Compact gardens | Cedar, 8 x 5.5 x 13.5 in |
Esschert Design WA81 Diapositive Butterfly House
The Esschert Design WA81 is the house we recommend first because it gets the fundamentals right: natural untreated wood and a front panel of narrow vertical slits that copy the bark crevices butterflies naturally seek out. At roughly 7.9 inches tall it is small enough to mount on a single fence post or wooden stake without looking like a birdhouse, and the simple unfinished look weathers to a soft gray that blends into a planting bed.
Because it is untreated, the wood will eventually need re-siting under an eave or a light coat of raw linseed oil on the exterior after a year or two outdoors. Drop a few strips of bark or a small twig inside to give butterflies something to grip. Mount it in a sunny, wind-sheltered spot near nectar-rich perennials and you have given resting and overwintering species a genuine refuge rather than a garden ornament.
Pros
- Natural untreated wood, safe for wildlife
- Authentic narrow entry slits keep birds out
- Compact size suits small beds and posts
Cons
- Untreated wood needs occasional sealing
- No internal perches — add bark yourself
Woodlink NABFLY Audubon Classic Butterfly Feeder
If you want to see actual butterfly traffic, a nectar feeder beats a house nine times out of ten, and the Woodlink NABFLY Audubon Classic is the easiest one to live with. It is an 11-inch yellow saucer feeder holding about 12 ounces of homemade nectar — a simple 4-to-1 water-to-sugar solution, boiled and cooled, no dye. The bright yellow color and built-in bee guards help it read as a flower to passing adults while discouraging wasps.
The wide dish design makes refilling and cleaning genuinely quick, which matters because warm-weather nectar ferments fast. Plan to dump, scrub, and refill every two to three days in summer heat. Hang it in dappled shade near zinnias, lantana, or other nectar plants and you will draw painted ladies, swallowtails, and skippers far faster than any shelter will.
Pros
- Bright yellow color attracts adults reliably
- Wide dish is easy to clean and refill
- Trusted Audubon-branded build
Cons
- Nectar needs refreshing every 2 to 3 days
- Can attract ants without a moat
Esschert Design WA11 Butterfly Feeder
The Esschert Design WA11 takes a different feeding approach: it is a hanging wooden dish built to hold sliced overripe fruit — banana, orange, melon, and watermelon rinds — which draws species like commas, question marks, and red admirals that prefer fermenting fruit to nectar. It pairs naturally with the WA81 house from the same line, giving you a coordinated wood look across the garden.
Fruit feeding is messier than nectar and you will need to swap out spoiled pieces and rinse the dish often to keep fruit flies and yellow jackets in check. But it is the single best way to attract the non-flower-feeding butterflies that a sugar-water feeder simply ignores, and it costs nothing to stock from your own kitchen scraps.
Pros
- Attracts fruit-feeding species nectar misses
- Stocked free from kitchen scraps
- Matches the Esschert wood house
Cons
- Spoiled fruit must be cleared frequently
- Can draw wasps and fruit flies
Nature’s Way Cedar Butterfly House
Nature’s Way builds its butterfly house from kiln-dried cedar, which is the material we would choose for a shelter meant to stay outdoors year-round. Cedar resists rot and insect damage without chemical treatment, so it weathers gracefully and lasts seasons longer than pine or particle-style kit wood. The tall, narrow vertical entry slots are correctly sized to admit butterflies while excluding most birds.
It is a slightly larger and sturdier house than the Esschert, which makes it a better long-term mount on a permanent post in a perennial border. As with any house, success depends entirely on placement: full sun, out of the prevailing wind, and within a few feet of host plants like milkweed, parsley, or violets that caterpillars feed on.
Pros
- Rot-resistant kiln-dried cedar
- Correctly sized entry slots
- Sturdy enough for permanent mounting
Cons
- Larger footprint than slim slatted houses
- Effectiveness still hinges on placement
Heartwood Flutterbye Butterfly House
The Heartwood Flutterbye is the decorative splurge in this lineup, with a cypress body and a solid copper roof that develops a living patina over the years. Heartwood is a US maker known for hand-built birdhouses, and the same craftsmanship shows here — tight joinery, a cleanout, and a finish that earns its keep as a garden focal point even on days when no butterfly is home.
You are paying for looks and longevity, not for any extra butterfly-attracting magic, so judge it accordingly. If you want a shelter that doubles as garden art on a deck post or in a cottage border, the copper-roofed Flutterbye is hard to beat. If you just want function, the cedar or Esschert options do the same job for less.
Pros
- Solid copper roof and cypress body
- Hand-built quality, US maker
- Doubles as garden art
Cons
- Premium price for decorative value
- No functional advantage over plain cedar
Butterfly House Wood Kit (DIY)
For families with kids or anyone who likes a weekend project, a pre-cut butterfly house wood kit is the budget entry point. These US-made kits ship as flat, numbered wood pieces you glue or nail together, then paint however you like. It is a genuinely good rainy-afternoon activity, and a hand-decorated house is more likely to actually get mounted and used than one that sits in a box.
Build quality is what you make of it. Use exterior wood glue, seal the painted surface, and the kit will hold up for several seasons. Skip the assembly steps and it will warp by the second winter. For the price, it is the lowest-risk way to test whether butterfly houses earn a spot in your particular garden.
Pros
- Lowest cost in the roundup
- Fun project for kids
- US made, customizable paint
Cons
- Durability depends on your assembly
- Thin kit wood needs sealing
Duncraft Cedar Butterfly House
Duncraft’s cedar butterfly house rounds out the list as a compact, naturally weather-resistant option measuring about 8 by 5.5 by 13.5 inches. The cedar construction means no treatment is required, and the tall vertical profile fits neatly against a fence or on a slim post where a wider house would crowd a planting. It is a sensible middle-ground pick between the minimalist Esschert and the larger Nature’s Way.
Like every shelter here, it works best as part of a butterfly-friendly habitat rather than on its own. Combine it with a nectar or fruit feeder, a shallow puddling dish of damp sand for minerals, and a few host plants, and the whole setup starts to function as a small pollinator station instead of a single isolated box.
Pros
- Naturally weather-resistant cedar
- Slim profile for tight spaces
- No treatment required
Cons
- Plain, undecorated look
- Needs feeder and host plants to perform
What to Look For in a Butterfly House or Feeder
Material. Choose untreated cedar, cypress, or hardwood. Pressure-treated lumber and chemically sealed wood can off-gas compounds you do not want near pollinators. Cedar and cypress resist rot naturally and last the longest outdoors.
Entry design. Real butterfly houses have several tall, narrow vertical slits — typically 3 to 4 inches long and under half an inch wide. These admit butterflies while shutting out birds. A house with one large round hole is a birdhouse in disguise.
House vs. feeder. Be honest about your goal. Houses provide shelter and overwintering sites but often sit empty for long stretches. Nectar and fruit feeders generate visible daily activity and are the better choice if you want to actually watch butterflies. Many gardeners run both.
Placement and habitat. Mount houses 4 to 6 feet up in a sunny, wind-sheltered spot near host and nectar plants. No piece of hardware substitutes for a good planting. If you are building out the surrounding beds, our cut flower garden guide and the broader plants and flowers hub cover the nectar-rich annuals and perennials that bring butterflies in. For more pollinator gear, browse the tools and gear hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do butterfly houses actually work?
They work as shelter and overwintering sites, but uptake is unpredictable and many houses sit empty. They perform best mounted near host plants in a sunny, sheltered spot. For guaranteed activity, pair the house with a nectar or fruit feeder.
What should I put inside a butterfly house?
Add a few strips of tree bark or thin twigs leaned vertically inside. These give butterflies something to grip and roost on, mimicking the bark crevices they shelter in naturally.
What do I fill a butterfly feeder with?
Use a nectar solution of four parts water to one part white sugar, boiled and fully cooled, with no dye. For fruit feeders, offer overripe banana, orange, melon, or watermelon. Refresh nectar every two to three days in heat.
Where should I mount a butterfly house?
Place it 4 to 6 feet above the ground in full sun, sheltered from prevailing wind, and within a few feet of nectar and host plants. Avoid deep shade and exposed, windy locations.
How do I keep ants and wasps off a butterfly feeder?
Use an ant moat above the feeder, keep the dish clean, and site it in part shade. For wasps, a yellow feeder with bee guards and prompt removal of spoiled fruit reduces unwanted visitors.