Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Fruit Feasters, 1 by TexasPuddyPrint

TexasPuddyPrint wrote:
You can use it right away or use little by little leaving it to continually ferment.

I make about a gallon of the stuff and leave it in my garage for anywhere from a week to a year. I put some out when it's freshly made...and keep using it throughout the year until the jug is empty :o) I use only an ounce or so maybe once a week...sometimes not even that depending on what my work schedule is and what the weather is like.

I usually brush the stuff onto a bait log or pour a little on top of a fence post (it helps to cut grooves into the part of the log that will be facing up - the bait will seep into the crevasses). If you decide to use a dish...make sure it's shallow or set a new plastic scrubbie or some marbles, stones etc. in the dish so the butterflies will have something to walk on and they won't walk into it and get stuck or drown. The scrubbie works great in a cottage cheese or cream cheese container that's been cut down to about an inch. I sometimes pour the bait about 1/2 deep and add the scrubbie - the butterflies can easily use their proboscis to reach the bait through the scrubbie and the bees/wasps can't.

The longer the stuff sits in your garage...the more it ferments :o) Just make sure to vent the plastic jug elsewise the pressure inside will make it explode :o)

This message was edited Nov 18, 2006 11:22 PM