7 Ways to Attract Fireflies to Your Yard

Fireflies can make your backyard feel a little bit magical. These bioluminescent beetles are found all over the world, but in the U.S., they’re found west of the Rocky Mountains. Also called lightning bugs, they emerge in spring or summer, earlier in the south and later in the Northeast U.S. and Midwest.

But fireflies do more than enchant us on summer evenings with their golden glow—which could be a part of a mating ritual or a signal to ward off predators.

Their larvae feed on garden pests like snails and slugs, and fireflies are an important aspect of healthy ecosystems at every phase of their life cycle.

Unfortunately, researchers have found that 14 percent of firefly populations are threatened with extinction.

Luckily, there are lots of easy ways to support firefly populations in your area while creating more of those magic moments on warm summer nights. Read on for 7 tips to attract fireflies to your yard.

Avoid Pesticides and Synthetic Fertilizers

One of the factors threatening firefly habitats is the incorrect use of pesticides and fertilizers in backyards and home gardens.

Create a more hospitable home for fireflies by using organic pest control methods in your garden, like hand-picking insect pests from vegetables or spraying away spider mites on flowers with a strong jet of water from the hose.

Seek out alternatives to synthetic lawn fertilizers like natural fertilizers—or go low-maintenance and plant a clover lawn instead.

Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best-growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more!

Leave Low-Hanging Branches

Fireflies’ natural habitat is marshy, wooded areas. During their sparkly mating ritual, female fireflies remain stationary, hiding on low-lying vegetation, while males fly around flashing their signals.

Leaving low-hanging branches on shrubs and trees in your yard rather than pruning them away. This helps provide a place for fireflies to complete their life cycle.

Keep a Wood Pile in Your Yard

Rather than keeping your yard looking picture-perfect, leave some debris behind to create a firefly habitat. Adult fireflies lay their eggs on or close to the soil, such as in rotting wood or among other plant remnants.

A pile of logs, sticks, or other wood provides a safe place for female fireflies to lay their eggs, which then hatch into larvae, pupate, and emerge as more twinkling fireflies.

Mow Your Lawn Less

Another way to cut down on yard work while attracting fireflies to your area is to mow your lawn less often in the spring and summer. Frequent mowing during this time of year can kill fireflies or their larvae resting on tall blades of grass.

When you do mow, leave the grass a little taller—at least 3.5 inches—to benefit fireflies, which prefer taller grasses. As an added bonus, this strategy may make your lawn healthier, too.

Add Firefly-Friendly Native Plants

Native plants offer all kinds of benefits—both for fireflies and for our ecosystems. Incorporating native species of flowers and tall grasses into your yard’s landscape can help increase soil moisture while providing habitat for females to lay their eggs and for firefly larvae to live.

Tall grasses in particular offer hiding places for fireflies as they send out their flashy signals.

Some options for the eastern U.S. are grasses like Pennsylvania grass and little bluestem, asters, cardinal flower, buttonbush, and dogwoods.

Consult your local cooperative extension or garden center for specific plants native to your region.

Have a Water Source Nearby

Fireflies prefer wet, marshy environments. In addition to adding native plants to help the soil hold moisture, you can provide these bioluminescent bugs with the water they need as part of your landscaping.

Fireflies need a shallow place to drink water without drowning—think a small pond, a water garden with aquatic plants, a birdbath lined with rocks, or a tray of pebbles filled with water.

Choose a sunny spot for your firefly oasis and add a pump or change out the water every few days to keep mosquitoes at bay.

Reduce Light Pollution

Artificial light from porch lights, string lights, and streetlights interferes with fireflies’ life cycle. Without sufficient darkness when they emerge at dusk, they can’t communicate with each other, mate, or defend territory using their glow.

Keep exterior lights off as much as possible during firefly season, and consider switching to yellow LED light bulbs, which may reduce the impact on firefly populations.