DH built me a cage that is currently out on my deck. As for exact dimensions, I couldn't tell you. He did the woodwork and hinges, I did the screening (roll of flexible aluminum screen, I believe, and a staple gun). It wasn't as easy as I had thought and hoped, but I eventually got it done. My main concern was keeping the edge of the screen (that I had cut) away from the caterpillars, so they wouldn't slice and dice themselves, if they did wander along the screen (which at least one did, that I know of). Strike one against it was that I didn't make it tall enough. I figured 4' would be good, only my potted milkweeds were 5'+, so they didn't fit. Okay, I'll wait and see how I can do this. Finally, I found 2 BST cats on my parsley, which was in a windowbox on the deck, and fit only with bending the top shoots, which of course, the cats were on. Okay, no problem now, my potted parsley and cats are in the new cage. Whew. What I didn't think would be a problem was the gap on the front door; one of my cats slipped out, never to be seen again. Okay, to keep #2 inside, I put some painters tape (that wide blue tape, pulls off easily, no tape residue) to seal the gaps, temporarily. Had plenty of twigs & sticks for the cat to pupate on. From what others had told me, they never had any cats pupate on the screen itself, so I thought I was okay. My game plan was for it to pupate on a stick/twig/branch in order for me to overwinter it in my garage. Now, of course you know what happened; it pupated on the screen. So, my cage cannot fit in the overstuffed cluttered garage, so my baby is still on the deck. If they overwinter in the wild outdoors, it'll overwinter on my deck, I can only hope. It only has a sheet as a cover to shield it from any harsh winds, which we had just gotten. It's been pretty mild, so I haven't been too concerned. Strike 2 was that I wanted to put it in the lawn. Duh, wood on the lawn, termite damage. Been there, done that, and not using pressure treated wood near my cats. I could actually put down a row of brick, then put my cage on top of it. Hmmmmm, that may work next year. My cage gets hot direct sun from late morning to late afternoon, and it didn't fry my cats. Then again, I didn't use it until September, but I could've moved the cage had I been using it in July or August to a shadier spot on my deck. Once it got cooler at night, I covered the cage overnight with sheets, until it pupated.

Unfortunately you can't - that's why I advise going through your garden in the fall and bringing in any cats to raise yourself.

I would recommend putting the pop up into a mild bleach/water mixture to disinfect the enclosure. If you have a tub large enough to lay it down so that one side is completely submerged and then turn it every 10 minutes or so, that would work. I use a large rubbermaid bin and put a couple inches of water in the bottom (this is probably about 5 gallons of water) and add about 1/4 cup bleach and soak my cages and other items used in rearing the cats. As to when you can expect to see the black swallowtails, I have only seen one so far this year and it was this morning when I released her! Momma BST came and laid 3 eggs and only 1 survived to make a chrysalis. I still have 3 or 4 chrysalids from last year that haven't eclosed as yet. I keep checking my fennel and rue to no avail. Hopefully, they will show up soon. I have lots of other butterflies fluttering around and laying eggs, just not the BST. Mechelle

I have the cages you have Miss Sherry and I take all the cats out and put them somewhere safe. I have all the chrysalis' up top too so I can't take off the cover yet so I take the attachment to the vacuum and suck it up-- off the sides. It has a smaller attachment that gets right into the corners and gets it all. I then clean the vacuum with a Clorox wipe and all is well. totally clean cage! It's the only thing I can do to get all the frass without bothering the cats in J's and the chrysalis. I hope this helps! Aggie