🏡 INDOOR Setup for Raising Monarchs🌿🐛❓

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Welcome Back Royal RAISEr,

I hope this 🐫 day finds you swell 🤗

It has been a busy few days planting the garden, and not optimal with summer-like heat putting extra stress on new plants. 🥀☀️

The advantage to sultry summer temps has been the explosive growth of our common milkweed, which is suddenly ready to host monarchs. 🌿🚀

In your last email I shared info on some of the how of raising monarchs. Today, I’m here to discuss the where 🤔

But first…

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Let’s Take it INSIDE 🏡

Raising Indoors has been an essential part of my 95%+ survival rate raising monarchs. Raising monarchs indoors protects them from predators, wayward pesticides, and extreme weather conditions like wind or heavy rains.

Yet, this inside strategy seems to create controversy when I bring it up, because some people make (incorrect) assumptions about this part of my process.

So let me be clear about where you should consider raising butterflies indoors:

Monarchs need environmental cues to enhance their chances to survive the long migration south. These cues tell the caterpillars to eat more to reach migration-size, and tell the butterflies when it’s time to migrate. In order to prevent cue-interference, I suggest the following:

1. Raise Monarchs in a screened-in porch:

This allows you to open windows to expose them to natural heat, light, humidity, and windows can be temporarily closed in inclement weather: (wind, storms, extreme cold).

This can work with an unscreened porch too, but there will be an elevated risk from storms or potential predators chewing their way into the cage…mice, lizards, etc…however, a screened in porch is better than none!

2. Raise Indoors by a window:

Again, the idea is to have the window open as much as possible. If you have AC, close the vents in your raising room, and close the door to keep your electric bill at bay. 📉

3. Wherever you keep your growing monarchs inside, do not clean those rooms with household chemicals during the process unless you remove the cages and let rooms air out. This includes letting pets get too close with recent flea and tick treatments ⬅️

These are the inside rules we follow to grow strong, healthy monarchs, for the great fall migration. I will include photos of our exact set up when we begin the 2025 raising season.

Raising Resources❓🤔

Floral Tubes SUGGESTION:

If you find there’s not enough room to use all 8 floral tubes across your milkweed holding rack, try getting this combo so you can have just four tubes for each rack:

1a. Two Floral Tubes RACKS ONLY ⬅️

WITH:

1b. Eight floral tubes ⬅️

2.INVISImesh Caterpillar Cages ⬅️ (these windowless 4-sided viewing cages will no longer be available when are shop shuts down later this summer, so don’t miss out if you prefer them for raising monarchs…we do! 🌿🐛)

We pay shipping on all shop orders $50+

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Coming Up Next?

Raising Season 2025 begins…

Blue Skies and Butterflies

Tony your Butterfly Guide 🦋