Entry slots cut just under 20 mm — wide enough for Orchard Swallowtails and Australian Painted Ladies, narrow enough to shut out common mynas and starlings.
Final run from Bev's Maleny shed • In 14 active carts • 38 left
Dulcie's Handmade Butterfly House
Dulcie's Handmade Butterfly House
Ships within 2–3 days
30-day money-back guarantee
Free tracked shipping Australia-wide
Hand-built by Bev Carmody · Maleny, QLD
★★★★★
4.8 (310+)
Couldn't load pickup availability
Dulcie's Handmade Butterfly House
Regular price
€32,95
Regular price
€32,95
Sale price
€47,95
Unit price
per
Hand-built in a Blackall Range shed — Maleny, Queensland
Dulcie Carmody, 74. Thirty-one winters at the bench, more than 2,600 houses. This is the last collection — 68 left, and no more will be made.
“People buy a house, hang it up — and nothing ever comes. Not one visitor. It is nearly always the house.”
— Dulcie Carmody, Maleny QLDWhat arrives in the box
🏠The HouseTeardrop, scorched pine
💧The PuddlerSand dish on a curved shelf
🧵Jute RopeWith steel clip, ready to hang
✍Dulcie’s NoteHandwritten, every order
Why this one gets used when others sit empty
Butterflies take minerals from damp sand. Entomologists call it puddling. Almost no butterfly house sold here has it.
Ron Carmody’s shape, an engineering decision. Wind load spreads evenly — no spinning, no rocking, no strain on the mount.
Untreated natural timber. No stain, no sealer. Chemical odours read as danger to a butterfly, and a painted house gets avoided.
The back opens without tools. Brush it out once a season, top up the sand, done — no mould, no larval debris, no parasites.
Dulcie’s oldest house has hung from the same silky oak since 1999. Same hardware, never retightened. Same visitors every spring.
“The private garden has become the last viable habitat for a number of butterfly species across settled Australia. A functional house — correct slot geometry, a puddling station, untreated timber — can be the difference between a local population holding on and quietly disappearing. Willingness is not the problem. Most butterfly houses sold here simply do not meet the basic biological requirements.”
Dr Alison FrayneEntomologist, University of the Sunshine CoastWell suited to
🌳 Backyards🏠 Verandahs & courtyards🌼 Pollinator gardens🎃 Gifts for gardeners👥 Grandparents & grandkids🎓 School nature projects🌱 Landcare plantings🏚 Balconies
What you are actually getting
- Hand-built, not moulded. Every house cut, sanded and fitted by one pair of hands in a Queensland shed.
- Calibrated, not decorative. Slot width, dish placement and timber choice all come from thirty-one years of watching what works.
- Weather-ready. Scorched surface and solid timber walls hold temperature steady through a hot Australian summer.
- Cleanable. Tool-free back panel — the reason these last a decade instead of a season.
- Finite. 68 houses remain. The jigs are not going with her. There will be no reorder.
30-day returns, no questions
Hang it up and see whether it gets visited. If it does not, send it back — no stress, no hassle.
A note on handmade: grain, scorch pattern and colour vary from house to house. No two come out the same, and the one you receive will not look identical to the photographs. That is the point.
Product details
| Material | Untreated natural pine, lightly scorched surface |
| Finish | No stain, no sealer, no paint |
| Shape | Teardrop profile (wind-stable) |
| Dimensions | Approx. 21 cm high × 14 cm wide |
| Entry slots | Three vertical slots, just under 20 mm wide |
| Puddler | Round metal dish on a curved shelf — fill with damp sand |
| Mounting | Jute rope with steel clip included |
| Care | Brush out once a season, top up the sand |
| Made by | Dulcie Carmody, Maleny, Queensland |
| Remaining stock | 68 houses — final collection |
The Last Winter in the Shed
The Last Winter in the Shed
A note from the shed:
Beverley “Bev” Carmody has been building butterfly houses in a thirty-square-metre corrugated-iron shed behind her place at Maleny, on the Blackall Range in Queensland, since 1995 — more than 2,600 of them, every one to the same slot calibration. Her late husband Ron, a cabinetmaker, taught her the teardrop form and built the jigs in 1993. Ron died three years ago. Her daughter and the grandkids are in Geelong, a great-grandchild arrived in February, and Bev is moving south to be near them. Sixty-eight houses are left on the bench. The jigs are not going with her, so when those are gone there are no more.
Shipping & Dimensions
Shipping & Dimensions
Free tracked shipping Australia-wide
- Delivery time: 3–7 business days
- Every house is hand-packed, wrapped in kraft paper with a handwritten note
- Approx. 21 cm high × 14 cm wide; three entry slots just under 20 mm
- Round metal puddler dish on the curved base shelf — fill with damp sand
- Jute rope with steel clip included; hangs from any branch, beam or hook
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email info@backroad-goods.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@backroad-goods.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (AEST). Whether it is about your order, where to hang it, or just to say hello — a real person writes back.
Can I send it back if nothing comes?
Can I send it back if nothing comes?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Hang it up, give it a few weeks, and if nothing visits, email info@backroad-goods.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions, and shipping is free.
How is it actually made?
How is it actually made?
Bev cuts each house from untreated pine on Ron's 1993 jigs, lightly scorches the surface, sands every curve by hand and fits the shingled edge piece by piece. The three entry slots are cut just under 20 mm — wide enough for Orchard Swallowtails and Australian Painted Ladies, narrow enough to keep common mynas and starlings out. The metal puddler dish is set into the curved base shelf last. No stain, no sealer, no paint.